The trial for the death of Baroness Myriam 'Mimi' Lechien has started in the court of Nivelles, just outside of Brussels, on Thursday, with her stepson Nicolas being charged with murdering her following a dispute over the family fortune.
Nicolas, a former intelligence agent at the Belgian State Secret Services, has confessed to shooting her and unintentionally injuring his father, Baron Guy Ullens de Schooten.
The shooting happened on the morning of 29 March 2023. After visiting his father in Ohain (Walloon Brabant), Nicolas lingered around the driveway of the luxury villa. When Mimi and Guy left the house and drove down the driveway, he boxed them in, raised a gun and fired six shots.
Mimi died on the spot, and Guy told his son to kill him too.
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Nicolas went to a nearby police station and turned himself in, confessing to the murder.
While there is no doubt about who shot Mimi, the trial is being held to find out what happened that day before Nicolas pulled the trigger. The defence claims that he acted on an impulse; Nicolas says that seeing his stepmother's grin drove him to lose control after years of growing frustrations.
But why did he bring a gun to a meeting with his father in the first place?
Family fortune
The motive for the murder is well established. Nicolas visited his father that morning to discuss financial matters. The family Ullens de Schooten has been Belgian nobility since 1816 and managed a large estate.
The father, Baron Guy Ullens de Schooten had increased the wealth of the family by investing in sugar plants, agri-food companies, and Weight Watchers. The family is considered one of Belgium's richest. At its peak, Guy's personal fortune was estimated to be around €3 billion.
He married Mimi, his second wife, in 1999. Together, they founded the Stichting Guy en Myriam Ullens ('Guy and Myriam Ullens Foundation'), to acquire and manage a large art collection. He invested a large part of his fortune in Mimi's fashion company, but this business lost significant amounts of money.
Baroness Myriam Ullens de Schooten (left), then Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel (middle) and Baron Guy Ullens de Schooten pictured during the first day of an official visit of the Prime Minister to China, on Sunday 30 October 2016 in Beijing, China. Credit: Belga/Dirk Waem
In the decades leading up to the murder, a large conflict had been brewing between Guy, Mimi and Nicolas.
While the conflict was primarily about money, Nicolas resented Mimi as his relationship with his father had become distant following their marriage. Father and son used to have a close relationship, sharing a passion for hunting and the outdoors, but this faded over time.
At the time of the murder, they are said to have been estranged, but Nicolas had requested the meeting to ask for a financial gesture towards his own children. His father and Mimi refused.
As a hobby shooter, he had a license for the murder weapon, a Glock-26. He had brought a second magazine, but did not use it.
More than 100 witnesses and experts will be heard in the Court of Nivelles. The trial will last about two weeks.
