The Namur public prosecutor’s office has requested a five-year prison sentence against a 24-year-old man accused of committing a series of fires in Onhaye between April 14 and May 6, 2019 before the Dinant criminal court. On April 16, a bale of straw in a stable caught fire, but was extinguished. The next day, the barn was set alight again, resulting in the death of two calves. Another fire erupted on April 18 on a farm where 26 animals perished, and destroyed tractors, solar panels, and 10 tonnes of cereal. The accused was arrested on April 19 after three vehicles were set on fire. On May 3, a fire occurred outside the property where he lived, followed by another three days later in the apartment next to his. The defense argues that the defendant is a victim of a frame-up and pleads his innocence. The judgment is set to be delivered on April 26.
The Namur public prosecutor’s office requested, on Wednesday before the Dinant criminal court, five years in prison against a 24-year-old man prosecuted for a series of fires committed in Onhaye, between April 14 and May 6, 2019 .
On April 16 around 2:30 p.m., the fire was put out to a bale of straw that was in a stable. The next day, a new fire hit this barn, between 3 and 6 am. The fire was once again put out with straw and two calves perished.
On April 18, around 5:30 a.m., another farm in the region was affected by a fire. The same procedure was observed. A total of 26 animals lost their lives. “Tractors also burned, solar panels melted and ten tonnes of cereal were unusable,” explains the lawyer representing the insurance company that compensated the victim.
He is blamed for 8 fires
On April 19, the day the suspect was arrested, three vehicles were set on fire in the early morning.
The man very quickly benefited from detention under electronic surveillance. On May 3, the fire started in papers/cardboards outside the property where he resided. The fire spread to a terrace shelter. Three days later, it was in the apartment next to his that a fire broke out. According to an expert, the fire could only be put out by the skylight, located 1.50 m from his.
The alleged arsonist disputes the fires that he has been accused of from the start. “However, there is always something that connects you to it. Either you are the unluckiest man in the world, or you are an arsonist, ”says the president of the court.
The conspiracy theory
“He’s not the unluckiest, nor an arsonist. On the other hand, someone wanted us to think that he was, ” pleads his lawyer Me Gruslin. The latter puts forward the conspiracy thesis, also advanced by his client since the start of the investigation.
In 2016, fire broke out in the workshop of his ex-employer, a chocolate maker in the Verviers region. Although he denies being the cause, the defendant, aged 16 at the time, was convicted by the courts for these facts.
For Me Gruslin, the fires committed in Onhaye by another person served to support the guilt of his client in this other case, with enormous financial stakes. “The hearing date for this case was set for April 30, 2019. And ten days before, while he was gambling his life, my client allegedly committed fires around his home in Onhaye, including when he was on an electronic bracelet ? »
The lawyer also recalls that his client was the subject of threats in February 2019. He filed a complaint but no action was taken. Mr. Gruslin pleads the acquittal of his client for the benefit of the doubt.
“The police did not investigate any other leads, although there were some. »
Judgment will be delivered on April 26.
In conclusion, the trial of the 24-year-old man accused of a series of fires in Onhaye has come to an end, with the Namur public prosecutor’s office demanding a five-year prison sentence. The accused, however, has denied all charges and his lawyer has put forward a conspiracy theory suggesting that he was framed to support an earlier case with high financial stakes. The judgment is expected to be delivered on April 26.