Guilty of murder and attempted murder! It is the decision of the Assize Court of Tongres which estimated this Friday evening that Yvo Theunissen had been guilty of the murder of Amaury Delrez and of an attempted murder of his colleague Ghislain Schils. Contrary to what the public prosecutor and the civil parties estimated, the jurors did not retain the premeditation when they leaned, this Friday evening, on the guilt of the Dutch forties.
This Friday morning masters Alexandre Fabribeckers and Gino Houbrechts, counsel for the parents of Amaury Delrez, Ghislain Schils and the Fagnes police zone, considered that the guilt of the accused suffered from no doubt. The civil parties were convinced that there had been premeditation. They hoped to see the facts qualified as assassination for Amaury and attempted assassination on his colleague Ghislain Schils. “It is obvious that we are facing an assassin. The intention to kill emerges from the weapon he used, a weapon used by Hitler to equip his troops and manufactured in 1.2 million copies. This weapon has a range of 70 meters “, pleaded Me Houbrechts. For him, the accused still had enough time to retrace his steps. “Amaury Delrez was executed at point-blank range, three or four centimeters, by a shot in the neck”, had insisted Me Houbrechts and Fabribeckers, according to who “this gesture demonstrates the intention to kill”. According to the lawyers, “the intention to kill Ghislain Schils also seems obvious”.
The Crown shared the same view. “The intent to kill is beyond doubt, given the 9mm caliber firearm used, the part of Amaury Delrez’s body targeted by Yvo Theunissen – namely the head and neck region – and of the very short distance separating the barrel of the weapon and the neck of Delrez”, noted the public ministry. “A bullet in the head leaves no chance of survival. “, had indicated the deputy of the prosecutor of the King, Ken Witpas.
The deputy prosecutor had retained several elements proving that the accused acted with premeditation. “That evening, he was in possession of a loaded weapon. If he had not carried this weapon, Delrez would not have lost his life”, he had underlined.
On the defense side, Sven Mary contested this aggravating circumstance of premeditation. “My client might never have predicted how events would unfold. In my view, the conditions for premeditation are not met. What was exposed to the jury in four hours actually happened in 10 seconds maximum, “he pleaded Sven Mary.
It was ultimately Sven Mary who convinced the jurors who deemed it to be murder and attempted murder rather than murder and attempted murder.
Sentencing is scheduled to take place on Monday.
Françoise Peiffer with Belga
