Dori P., a 34-year-old man from Knokke-Heist, West Flanders, appeared before the Bruges Correctional Court on Monday charged with attempted murder, harassment, threats and theft.
The man, who had attacked his ex-wife with a box cutter, faces up to ten years in prison.
On 4 March 2024, the accused attacked his former wife at her workplace in Zeebrugge. The 31-year-old victim was pushed into her car. She tried to escape, but Dori P. attacked her with a box cutter. The woman was wounded in the neck but her life was not in danger, and passers-by eventually intervened.
The accused, who was under the influence of cocaine at the time, fled in his ex-wife's car but was apprehended a few hours later.
The public prosecutor noted that Dori P. had been threatening the victim for some time. He had also received a restraining order a week earlier. The accused, who has been in custody since his arrest, even tried to call the victim several times from prison.
The prosecutor requested ten years' imprisonment.
The defence did not contest the attempted murder charge. However, Randall Huysentruyt, Dori P.'s lawyer, asked that he be acquitted on the theft charge and on the one relating to the previous threats.
It was also pointed out that Dori P. had a serious drug and alcohol problem. The defence therefore asked for part of the sentence to be suspended.
The court will deliver its verdict on 25 November.
