The two men found guilty of murdering an employee in 2018 were sentenced to 24 and 28 years in jail by the Brussels Assize Court on Monday night.
Ludovic Lefèbvre (38) and Tanguy Lecocq (48) were found guilty on Friday of the death of Hakim Menhal, who was drugged and strangled with a cable while watching a football match in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre in April 2018.
Lecocq and Lefèbvre were partners at a small telecoms company where the victim, Menhal, worked with a relatively high commission rate. According to Lefèbvre – who confessed to the strangulation – Lecocq convinced him that Menhal had to be killed as he was the source of their financial issues. Lecocq denied this during the trial.
On Monday morning, the public prosecutor asked for a prison sentence of 20 to 25 years for Lefèbvre, explaining that there could be a case for mitigating circumstances, particularly considering his claim that he acted under the influence of Lecocq.
The prosecutor asked for a life sentence for Lecocq, pointing to how the accused lied throughout the investigation and the trial, and put the blame on his colleague and co-defendant, Lefèbvre.
Ultimately, the court sentence Lefèbvre to 24 years in prison. Meanwhile Lecocq received a 28 year sentence, with the judges and jurors recognising extenuating circumstances including the lack of a prior criminal record.
'Take care of my dog'
The case began when a friend of Ludovic Lefèbvre alerted the authorities by reporting that Lefèbvre had called him to show what looked like a body wrapped in a blue tarpaulin. "He said to me ‘keep this to yourself’, then told me it was a joke, but I didn't believe him and called the police," the friend said before the court on 6 December.
When the police arrived at Lefèbvre's apartment they found the body in his bathroom. "Mr Lefèbvre immediately said to us: It's me, I admit it, but please look after my dog," said one of the officers before the court earlier this month.
While Lefèbvre accused Lecocq of being the mastermind behind the crime, Lecocq denied any involvement. He claimed that Menhal was fine when he left the apartment after the match.
However, the jury did not find Lecocq's testimony credible, as a toxicology report concluded that, given the dose of the pills the victim was drugged with, Menhal would have been fully unconscious around 22:30.
During the trial, police investigators also revealed that the adhesive and tarpaulin used to wrap the victim's body matched a purchase made by Lecocq on the day of the murder. The jury also found Lecocq guilty of this.
