Nicolas Ullens, who killed his stepmother Myriam Ullens-Lechien in Lasne on March 29, admitted that he was deeply jealous of his stepmother. According to Nicolas, he was humiliated for years and didn’t understand why his step-siblings, Virginie and Gilles, were taking too big a share of the family fund. He was particularly envious of Gilles who had a duplex in Rome and Virginie’s husband who suddenly got the hunting lodge in South Africa. Nicolas felt neglected and ignored by his father after Myriam came into their lives. Guy Ullens, his father, gave his four children €50,000 per month, but Nicolas was not satisfied with that. On the day of the murder, Nicolas stormed into his father’s office in Lasne and demanded an explanation about the sale of the magnificent villa of Ohain. His father got angry and asked him to leave the house, so he met his mother-in-law on his way out who offered him her cheek, which he kissed. Relatives described this as the “kiss of Judas”.
Killer of his stepmother Myriam Ullens-Lechien, in Lasne, on March 29, Nicolas Ullens did not hide it: he was deeply jealous of his “wicked stepmother”. To the investigators, the son of Baron Guy Ullens de Schooten thus declared to have been humiliated for years. The Walloon Brabant prosecutor’s office quickly qualified the motive for the murder of his mother-in-law as a financial problem. But for the alleged murderer, the evil was much deeper.
In statements made to investigators during his interrogations, echoed by our colleagues from Het Laatste Nieuws, Nicolas Ullens explains that he does not understand why Virginie and Gilles, the biological children of Myriam Lechien from her first marriage, used a little too much for his taste in the family fund. According to him, they were taking too big a share of “their pie” which notably includes the many properties of Baron Ullens in the four corners of the world.
Funeral of Baroness Myriam Ullens, killed by her stepson: relatives behind black umbrellas as if to hide family secrets
“Why did Gilles have the duplex in Rome? Why did the hunting lodge in South Africa suddenly return to Virginie’s husband?” he lamented to those around him. He was deeply jealous of his brother-in-law and his sister-in-law. her husband and their seven children were having a little too much fun at the family villa in Saint-Tropez and on the Dragon Rouge, a luxurious 52-meter-long sailboat.
He felt unwanted
For years he had felt neglected, ignored, misunderstood and even unwanted. He explained to investigators that he had a very close relationship with his father before Myriam came into their lives. According to him, his father treated him and his three other children as second-class children because of Myriam’s actions. “I suffered a lot from it,” he said during his interrogation. In his confessions, Nicolas Ullens thus transforms, posthumously, his victim, his “evil mother-in-law”.
According Paris Match, Schooten’s Guy Ullens had clearly not abandoned his four children. According to the magazine, he gave them 50,000 euros per month and per child. Not enough for his son. “His children have everything, and I only have €50,000 a month,” lamented Nicolas Ullens.
Paris Match reconstructed the murder of Baroness Ullens in its latest issue. That morning, around 10 a.m., Nicolas stormed into his father’s office in Lasne. He had heard that the magnificent villa of Ohain was going to be sold and immediately saw it as a new trick from his mother-in-law. He demanded an explanation from his father. Angry, the latter then asked him to leave the house, especially since he and his wife had to go to a very urgent meeting.
Relatives of the family explained to Paris Match that Nicolas Ullens met his mother-in-law on leaving. “She politely offered him her cheek and he kissed her. The kiss of Judas!”
The tragic murder of Myriam Ullens-Lechien by her stepson Nicolas Ullens is a stark reminder of the often complex and fraught dynamics in blended families. While the initial motive behind the killing was thought to be a financial dispute, Ullens’ confessions reveal a deep-seated jealousy towards his stepmother and his siblings. His feelings of neglect and inferiority are not uncommon in such situations, and highlight the crucial need for open communication and a willingness to address grievances within families. Our thoughts go out to Myriam’s loved ones during this difficult time.