A former Flemish parliamentarian and his spouse have been found guilty of the murder of the woman's ex-husband and sentenced to prison time after a lengthy and oft-postponed trial.
Former city mayor and MP Christian Van Eyken and spouse Sylvia Boigelot were found guilty of murdering Boigelot's ex-husband Marc Dellea, who was found with a bullet in his head in a Laeken apartment on 8 July 2014.
On Tuesday, the pair's repeatedly postponed criminal trial ended with a guilty conviction from a Brussels criminal court, despite repeated pleas by the pair for their innocence and acquittal.
Both Van Eyken and Boigelot were sentenced to 23 years in prison each, Het Nieuwsblad reports.
"The perpetrator struck when the [victim's] caretaker, dog and daughter were absent. (...) The deed was meticulously prepared" a judge said during the conviction, according to the outlet, adding that the pair had "repeatedly" made false statements throughout the trial.
Criminal proceedings were initiated in 2017 after the Flemish Parliament lifted Van Eyken's parliamentary immunity in 2016 at the request of the Brussels public prosecutor, but the trial did not begin until June 2019 due to a series of jurisdictional concerns and procedural errors.
After the verdict was delivered, prosecutors demanded the immediate arrest of the couple, saying they were at flight risk, but Boigelot's lawyer said that his client had "no intention of fleeing" and asked for her to receive an electronic bracelet and be placed under house arrest instead.
"She will present herself in jail when necessary," he said, according to the outlet.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times