Court of appeal in Mons sentences former Flemish MP Christian Van Eyken (Union des Francophones) and his wife Sylvia Boigelot to 20 and 22 years in prison respectively for the murder of Marc Dellea: both were immediately arrested
Court of appeal in Mons sentences former Flemish MP Christian Van Eyken (Union des Francophones) and his wife Sylvia Boigelot to 20 and 22 years in prison respectively for the murder of Marc Dellea: both were immediately arrested
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**The Mons Court of Appeal made a difference between the couple in terms of punishment at the end of their third trial. The Mons Court of Appeal ordered the immediate arrest of the Van Eyken couple, who were taken to the Mons prison.**
The Mons Court of Appeal on Tuesday sentenced former Flemish parliament member Christian Van Eyken to 20 years in prison and his wife Sylvia B. to 22 years in prison for the murder of Marc Dellea, her ex-partner, in July 2014. Marc Dellea was shot in the head in the Laeken flat he shared with Sylvia B. There was no sign of a break-in. Neither the weapon nor the victim’s mobile phone was found. CCTV footage from the hall of the building shows the defendants leaving the flat on the night of the crime. Marc Dellea was not heard from again.
The sentence is “slightly less” for Mr. Van Eyken because it appears from the file that the animosity towards the victim is more important in the head of Sylvia B., who also has a certain ascendancy over her husband, the judgment notes.
**23 to 27 years**
In September 2019, the Brussels criminal court found them guilty of the crime and sentenced them to 23 years in prison. The couple, who fiercely deny any involvement in Mr Dellea’s death, had appealed against this judgment. In February 2021, the appeal court confirmed their guilt and increased the sentence to 27 years in prison. The Van Eyken couple were arrested at the hearing.
They remained in prison for four months until the Court of Cassation partially overturned the ruling on the sentence. The High Court ruled that the appeal judges had violated the rights of the defence by relying on the couple’s persistent denial to justify the increased sentence.
The case was then sent back to the Mons Court of Appeal, which was to retry the two defendants, but only on the sentence. The couple had already been found guilty twice.
At the end of a curious trial, which mainly reopened the debates on the merits of the case, the penalty was set on Tuesday, slightly lower than in the first instance. The Mons Court of Appeal took into account the absence of any previous criminal record. The public prosecutor Laure Wynands, who had requested 25 years in prison, asked for the immediate arrest of the convicts.
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Can we send reuzengommers to Mons court