2023-10-09 14:06:00
When the police from the Boraine zone arrived at rue Charles Rogier in Frameries, on the morning of July 2, 2021, a doctor was already on site. He informs them that the little girl died as a result of violent acts. He adds that an agitated man, probably under the influence of narcotics, is present in the house, as well as another young girl who is terrified.
According to the ambulance driver, the man in question showed no emotion, his only concerns being smoking and drinking a soda. However, the driver notices that this man is carrying the other little girl “like a potato sack”.
A photo, a silence
On Monday, a photo of Neva, lying on the couch, was broadcast during the trial, in cathedral silence. Neva is dressed in a diaper since the emergency services took off her pajamas. The child’s face is unrecognizable. On the bench reserved for the family, a young girl breaks down. The little girl’s parents preferred not to attend this broadcast.
The police say they froze the crime scene while waiting for the arrival of the judicial authorities who were transported to the scene at 2:25 p.m. “When I entered the house, it was this little raised hand, sticking out from the couch, that caught my attention. Néva was frozen like a doll,” says the investigating judge, Emmanuelle Guisset.
A large part of the child’s face is covered in bruises. Lesions and hematomas were also noted on the back, as well as a trace of gripping at the child’s throat. The investigating judge orders an autopsy. The child died as a result of head trauma resulting from blows to the head. Traces of sexual abuse are noted.
The house has been scrutinized. On a table, located near the couch, we find a box containing tobacco, a grinder and a precision scale, signs of consumption of narcotics. The kitchen is not clean, excrement litters the table, around a child’s diaper.
The indictment
A neighborhood investigation is requested by the investigating judge, as well as an initial interrogation of the suspect, Mickaël Van Haute, who was alone that night in the house with his partner’s two little daughters.
He was interviewed at 6:51 p.m. on February 2, and gave a first version, speaking of an accidental fall. Before the investigating judge on February 3, the accused mentioned a fall down the stairs. However, the judge notes that, according to his version and the narrowness of the stairs, he should have caught the child. He was then charged with murder and imprisoned in Mons prison.
Hair in a broom
On February 3, 2021, the scientific laboratory of the federal police noted that the house appeared to have been cleaned before the arrival of emergency services. Hair, still containing the bulb, was found in a broom.
As for Neva’s sister, she is hospitalized. A pediatrician notes that she is afraid of the dark, that she is very attentive to the cries of other children, that she does not want anyone to hurt them, and that she is afraid of taking a bath. She is also afraid of men. A nurse notices that the child mimes scenes of strangulation, fingers in the mouth and that she repeats: “Mick hits the baby”, “Mick kill the baby”, “Mick naughty”… A projection gesture is also mimed by the child.
Phone calls
The investigation continues with the completion of several investigative tasks. The telephony highlights the mother’s numerous calls to her partner. From 7:45 p.m. on February 1, the accused no longer answered him, despite three call attempts and around twenty SMS messages. At 8:55 p.m., the accused answered his godmother’s call, he stammered while talking about the children and suggested that they were in bed. However, he stammers: “but Neva”.
From Mons prison, the accused called the child’s mother. “According to her, he admitted to having hit the child, before catching himself and talking about an accident,” relates a police officer.
New version, suffocation
On April 15, 2021, the accused no longer spoke of a fall down the stairs, but of choking while eating food, followed by cardiac massage. He still does not explain the numerous blows noted on the victim’s body during the autopsy. Hearing is strained. “He was sometimes flippant, sometimes vindictive, unable to stand being confronted with his contradictions,” says a police officer.
The accused claims that he consumed Italian alcohol, but the police did not find this type of bottle. “I threw it in the garden,” replies the accused.
Fifteen days later, the accused was taken to Frameries for reconstitution. Although wearing a bulletproof vest, he refuses to participate in this reenactment because he is afraid for his life. He was transferred to Lantin prison where, over the months, his attitude changed. According to a message sent by the prison management to the investigating judge, Mickaël Van Haute is no longer afraid of his fellow prisoners, but he is feared by the others.
A closed session requested
On January 6, 2022, the accused was questioned by the police, for the third time, in particular regarding Neva’s hair, found in a broom. The experts are clear: the hair was pulled out. “He explains that he had no contact with the child, which explains this. Once again, he is robbed. He came back later, apologizing for his attitude towards us from the start,” says a police officer.
A fourth hearing takes place on February 15, 2022. The accused declares that he lost his temper and that he threw Néva into the couch two or three times, because it was impossible to calm her down. He denies having raped Neva.
The accused will never be interviewed again, before the hearing on Monday. He said he no longer remembers what happened, but that he was responsible for what happened that night. He contests the rape of little Neva, whose photo shown at the hearing moved the assembly.
The forensic doctors were immediately interviewed, but the attorney general requested a closed hearing due to the sensitivity of the photos. Logic.
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