48-year-old Annie De Poortere from Sint-Martens-Latem did indeed die as a result of a crime in 1994. That was the conclusion of the Ghent court last month, after they completed the investigation into the woman’s death in record time. On April 28 this year, a resident of Sint-Martens-Latem found her body while working in the garden. The woman had been missing since November 12, 1994. Her husband Hans D. had said all along that his wife had left home after an argument.
READ ALSO. 30 years after disappearance, she was found in a garden: investigation into Annie’s (48) death completed in record time
After the discovery of her body, Hans D. told a different story. According to the house painter, the wife herself took her own life by hanging herself. When he came home and found her body, he allegedly buried her in the neighbor’s yard. A story that Annie’s family has always wondered about.
“Annie’s sister has had to live with that uncertainty for years,” says lawyer Jef Vermassen, who is representing her. “That you then have to conclude that someone is going to bury someone themselves in the most cowardly way, which is immoral in the highest degree. That you can handle putting your wife in the ground like a dog, something you don’t even do with a dog. And also that that person continues to lie about what happened, that is hard.”
Court of assizes
The Ghent public prosecutor’s office ruled on November 18 that Annie De Poortere did indeed die at the hands of Hans D. But according to the Ghent public prosecutor’s office, it was manslaughter: in the eyes of the Justice Department, Hans D. did have the intention to kill his wife, but he did not plan the act in advance. “There are no indications of premeditation.” And if the crime is considered manslaughter, the statute of limitations should already be on November 12, according to a new law. Hans D. can therefore no longer be brought to court.
According to Jef Vermassen, lawyer for Annie De Poortere’s sister, limitation is a very difficult legal issue. “These are complicated rules that are often adjusted. Both parties have their views on it and, especially regarding this duration, it is not easy for the council chamber to make a decision on this.”
The lawyer therefore disagrees with the classification of De Poortere’s death as manslaughter. “The woman was killed by murder,” the lawyer argued, after he had been able to thoroughly review the file.
READ ALSO. Family of Annie De Poortere after Hans D’s release. “After her death, he changed completely. Suddenly he had a ‘very pleasant’ life”
Vermassen’s reasoning is the following: if Hans D. killed his wife and used a rope, then it was done with premeditation. After all, Hans D. had to buy a rope, he had to tie the rope, he had to find a place in the house, and he had to lure Annie De Poortere.
Treat it like murder
Vermassen therefore asks the council chamber to treat the file as a murder and refer it to the court of assizes. “If it is a matter of murder, the case has not yet expired,” says Vermassen. Hans D. was not present in person. Hard to believe for the bourgeois parties. “It’s scandalous that he’s not coming. He also does not cooperate with psychological and psychiatric examinations, which is painful to experience. You expect to at least be able to confront him with his behavior and his contradictory statements, and now he doesn’t come,” said Vermassen.
According to Ashley Bickx, Hans D’s lawyer, his absence has nothing to do with the importance that his client attaches to the case. “He thought it was absolutely important to be here, but this is an 80-year-old man who already has certain ailments,” said his lawyer Ashley Bickx on Friday after the council chamber session. “He was present at a previous hearing and that left a great impression. As a result, we decided that he would not come along so as not to have to experience that stress again.”
The council chamber will announce its decision on December 20.
