A 62-year-old woman arrested last week in connection with an unsolved case dating back to 2008, will be able to leave prison but has to wear an electronic bracelet, the Antwerp Council Chamber ruled on Wednesday.
The decision, which the Antwerp public prosecutor's office did not appeal, means that she will continue to be on remand at home.
The woman was arrested as part of an investigation into the disappearance of a 27-year-old man from Antwerp in 2008. According to the public prosecutor’s office, the man was involved in criminal activities, which made his disappearance worrying. His car was found six months after his disappearance in Roosendael, in the Netherlands.
No major progress was made in the investigation and no body was ever found. Three years ago, however, the case was reopened by the Antwerp Federal Judicial Police, PJF, and the judicial investigation was resumed in 2021.
This led to four searches last Thursday, in Koekelberg, Edingen and Hal. The Antwerp PJF was assisted by the Federal Police’s laboratory and canine assistance service.
Two women, aged 62 and 70, were held and questioned. They appeared before the examining magistrate on Friday. The woman in her sixties was placed under arrest, while the woman in her seventies was released with conditions.
