2023-06-13 15:26:00
After two and a half hours of deliberation, the jury of the Ghent Assize Court sentenced, on Tuesday, Jurgen Demesmaeker (52 years old) to 30 years of imprisonment, as well as five years of availability to the court of Enforcement of Penalties (TAP). The accused was found guilty Monday evening of the assassination, in 2020, of his partner Ilse Uyttersprot, the former mayor of Aalst.
The defense had challenged the premeditation while the civil parties and the public prosecutor had ordered the jury to declare the fifty-year-old guilty of the assassination of his companion. The jury found that there was indeed premeditation.
Earlier in the day, the public prosecutor had requested life imprisonment and seven years of availability of the TAP against him, finding no mitigating circumstances for the accused. The defense, for its part, was hoping for a prison sentence of between 20 and 25 years.
Hit in the head with a hammer
Ilse Uyttersprot was killed on the night of August 3 to 4, 2020. Her body was found at the home of the accused, who presented himself to the police on August 4 in the morning. The man had been in a relationship with the victim for a few months. He explained to the police that he hit her on the head with a hammer. The autopsy revealed that the death was due to severe head trauma caused by half a dozen blows.
Jurgen Demesmaeker claims not to have planned the facts. During his first hearing, the accused had declared to be in depression and to have to face financial worries, problems amplified by the crisis of the coronavirus, according to his statements. He and the victim had started a relationship three months earlier, on May 11. Jurgen Demesmaeker had however met Ilse Uyttersprot four years earlier, at the carnival in Aalst. According to the 50-year-old, the politician wanted to live their relationship in broad daylight but had imposed certain conditions because of her role as a political agent.
Put under pressure
During this same hearing, the 50-year-old declared that Ilse Uyttersprot would end their relationship if his depressive state did not improve and he felt pressured. The day after this exchange, he says he was woken up by Ilse’s alarm clock, but she turned him off and continued to sleep. He said he was afraid his partner would put more pressure on him and went to the storeroom, where he grabbed the hammer from his toolbox before inflicting six blows on her head.
Accused brutally and bloodily murdered his girlfriend as she slept
In the judgment on the sentence, the seriousness of the facts is mentioned. “The defendant murdered his companion Ilse Uyttersprot in a particularly violent, brutal and bloody manner while she slept helpless. He took the life of a beautiful person. (…) Her wide smile visible in the photos of the record is an accurate representation of what it was.”
Those close to Ilse Uyttersprot reacted with relief to the sentencing. The victim’s mother, two sons and ex-husband were present during the arrest. “He is and will remain an assassin. He will keep this label until the end of his life. It is very important for us”said the ex-husband of the victim. “These weeks have been difficult. What we must remember is that the testimonies have painted a very beautiful image of our mother. A strong, gentle and helpful woman. A fantastic wife and mother too”concluded the younger son.
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