Most wanted couple goes to Belgian jail 25 years after murder | Abroad

The former spouses were arrested in Abidjan, the capital of Ivory Coast, in November 2019 after Europol put Van Acker on a special ‘Most Wanted list’ with only women a month before. Her ex-husband Lacote had been on a Europol list for some time. Shortly afterwards they were extradited to Belgium.

The two had been arrested in 1996 on suspicion of murdering the Briton, but fled to South Africa on parole. There, Lacote ended up in jail after an attempted kidnapping. Van Acker freed him in 2008 in a spectacular way by posing as a policewoman. Since then, any trace of the two has been missing. In 2011, they were sentenced in absentia to life in Belgium for the murder of the businessman.

Also in the new trial, in which the sentence to life could be reviewed in the presence of the suspects, the jury now rules that they are guilty of the murder. They themselves maintained their innocence.

Lacote and Van Acker are considering appealing their convictions. They have fourteen days to do this.

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