The assize court in Ghent has begun hearing the case of the 2021 killing of a Belgian man, who was lured to a park in Flanders through a fake profile on Grindr.
David Polfliet, 42, exchanged hundreds of messages on 5 March 2021 with someone presenting himself on the gay dating app Grindr as a 16-year-old boy. According to the investigation, the profile was fictitious.
That evening, Polfliet drove from his hometown, Sint-Niklaas, to a park near the railway line in Beveren, where the meeting had been arranged.
Shortly before 22h00, after expressing unease in text messages about 'the place getting dark', he was lured into the park and stabbed two times in the thigh and left to bleed until death.
His body was discovered the following morning.
Three accused, tried as adults
In the days after the killing, three teenagers handed themselves in to police. They were aged 16 and 17 at the time. Now in their early twenties, they are being tried as adults after the juvenile court relinquished jurisdiction.
All three have admitted involvement in the events, but have given differing accounts. One of the accused later confessed to inflicting the fatal stab wound, shortly before a reconstruction of the crime.
If convicted, they each face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
Planned robbery
According to the prosecution, the defendants had used fake underage profiles on Grindr in the days leading up to the killing to lure gay men into traps.
Three days earlier, another man had allegedly been lured to a field, threatened and robbed. Those involved were later convicted in that case.
On the evening of 5 March, the three accused allegedly planned to lure Polfliet to the park, force him to his knees, make him apologise and rob him. Each carried a weapon, including knives and an airsoft gun.
When Polfliet arrived, a confrontation ensued. The situation escalated into violence, during which he was stabbed in the thigh. The court will have to determine who delivered which blows and whether there was intent to kill.
After the stabbing, the accused fled the scene. No emergency services were called. The victim's phone was taken and later destroyed.
The case prompted widespread debate in Flanders about homophobia, as Polfliet had been targeted via a gay dating app. Rainbow flags were displayed in several public places, including in Brussels' Rue de la loi.
However, investigators have classified the case as a robbery-murder. The Public Prosecution Service has not formally characterised it as a homophobic crime, stating that the precise motive remains to be determined.
Over the coming days, a 12-member jury will hear evidence and decide on the defendants' guilt, their respective roles and the appropriate sentences.
