“Never experienced this in 30 years of career”: what happened behind the walls of this bungalow in Wakken? | Dentergem

LOOK. The brother and sister lived alone in this house.

It was around 10 o’clock yesterday morning when a drama unfolded in the Molenstraat in Wakken, a village in West Flanders. Two people rang the doorbell at the white bungalow in the street, both clearly worried. When they did not hear from the residents, they walked to the neighbor. “I just came home from the store when a man and woman were standing at the door in complete panic. They said that something bad must have happened: the woman – my neighbor, that is – had not shown up for work and that was not her habit,” says Peter Valck (61).

The neighbor could not help the couple, after which they climbed over the fence at the back and entered the house. “I kept my distance,” said Valck. Not much later he saw them again, much more panicked than five minutes earlier: they had found the resident, 26-year-old Charon DB, lifeless in her bed. “They were completely upset, but had already called the emergency services. They arrived quickly, but all the help came too late.”

The young woman lived with her brother Sannie DB (25) in the whitewashed bungalow. He was also found lifeless in the garage a little later. What exactly happened behind the walls of the house is far from clear, even after the police and medical examiner spent a whole day making the necessary observations and determining the causes of death. “But everything points to a family tragedy,” is the only thing the Bruges public prosecutor’s office wants to say. Mayor Koen Degroote of Dentergem – Wakken is a sub-municipality – adds: “I have not received any official message from the public prosecutor’s office. But the story going around is that the brother first killed his sister and then committed suicide. But that is far from certain.”

Despite all the loose ends, it remains a remarkable case. In 30 years, court psychiatrist Hans Hellebuyck has never experienced such dramas between brother and sister, he says. “Family dramas usually involve partners, which are based on a large spectrum of triggers – financial problems, jealousy or, in older couples, caring for the other person that is starting to weigh too heavily. But this is about young people who are not in a loving relationship.”

Psychiatrists are certain that there must have been a special bond between the two. “But you can come up with 100 hypotheses about what exactly happened to them. You cannot speculate about that in the current circumstances. Further research will be needed to provide clarity on this.”

Brother and sister had lived in Molenstraat for several years, but they apparently had no further contact than occasional contact with the neighbors. Three years ago they moved into the house that had previously been difficult to sell. The asking price of 360,000 euros may have been a stumbling block for interested parties, especially because there is a high-voltage pylon right above the roof. Initially they lived there with their mother, but shortly after the move the woman died – their father had already died earlier. Charon has lived there all this time, her brother Sannie only recently returned to Wakken.

Sannie DB worked at a construction company and was a car and motocross enthusiast. Charon shared little on social media, but did have an Instagram profile on which she sold her rarely worn clothing. No one among the neighbors in Wakken had received any signals that such a dramatic denouement was about to happen. A neighbor recognized the friend who was panicking at the door as someone Charon had gone out with on Sunday. “When I saw them, they always waved a friendly hello,” says neighbor Peter Valck. “I am not aware of any problems or arguments between the two.”

Anyone with questions about suicide can contact the Suicide Line on the free number 1813 and on the website suicide1813.be.

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