The trial of the two men accused of murdering an employee in 2018 continued as character witnesses were heard in the Brussels Assize Court on Thursday.
Ludovic Lefèbvre (38) and Tanguy Lecocq (48), who owned a telecommunications company, are on trial for the murder of Hakim Menhal, who was strangled with a cable while watching a football match in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre in April 2018. Menhal was an independent seller for the company who had negotiated relatively high commissions.
While Lefèbvre confessed to the strangulation, he said Lecocq convinced him that Menhal had to be killed because he was the source of their financial problems.
'Not aggressive'
One of Lefèbvre's childhood friends testified for his character before the court. "Ludovic is a helpful, hard-working friend who is not aggressive or violent, at least not with me," he said.
The pair had been friends since their youth in Soignies, in Wallonia, and while they lost touch when Lefèbvre moved to Brussels, they had since reconnected. "He had potential and ruined everything," the friend added, stating that he had visited Lefèbvre once in prison.
Another friend also spoke in court, describing Lefèbvre as courageous. "He had decided to make a fresh start by going to Brussels for work, and in particular to stop drinking. I think that's commendable," he said.
'I admit it, but please look after my dog'
Investigators and medical examiners spoke about the case details during the trial this week.
On the evening of 10 April 2018, Lefèbvre, Lecocq, and Menhal met up to watch a football game at Lefèbvre's home in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre. Menhal was drugged by unknowingly ingesting a large dose of sleeping pills. He was then strangled with a cable.
The police were originally tipped off by an individual who claimed to be one of Lefèbvre's friends. He told the police Lefèbvre had shown him a video of a body wrapped in tarpaulin.
When the police arrived at the scene, Lefèbvre told the officers the video was just a "joke". Eventually, the police found the body in Lefèbvre's bathroom. "Mr. Lefèbvre immediately said to us: It's me, I admit it, but please look after my dog," explained one of the officers on Monday.
Not intended for crime
Investigators also reported on the DNA and toxicology tests in court on Monday. They found Lefèbvre had high blood alcohol levels on the night of the crime.
The victim, Menhal, was found with relatively low levels of alcohol and cocaine, but high levels of two types of sleeping pills. According to Lefèbvre, there were two plans to kill Menhal: plan A was to cause an overdose, Plan B was to strangle him.
Though Lefèbvre confessed to the strangulation, he also accused Lecocq of being the mastermind behind the crime and drugging the victim. However, Lecocq denies any involvement and claims Menhal was alive when he left Lefèbvre's home.
On Tuesday, investigators explained to the court that the tarpaulin and adhesive used to wrap up Menhal's body matched a purchase made by Lecocq in the afternoon of 10 April 2018. Lecocq admitted to the purchases but denied that they were intended to conceal a crime.
