murder case
© Carlo Coppejans
A 78-year-old man, the partner of Annie De Poortere when he disappeared 30 years ago in Sint-Martens-Latem, has been arrested by the investigating judge in Ghent. He has been placed under electronic monitoring for acts that are provisionally classified as murder.
Annie De Poortere disappeared without a trace from her house along Kerkstraat in Sint-Martens-Latem on November 12, 1994. Last Saturday, the remains of a woman were found in the house next to De Poortere’s. The two houses share a garden with two garages. “Based on several strong indications,” the East Flanders public prosecutor’s office assumes that the remains belong to the disappeared woman.
After the discovery of the body, an investigating judge was summoned to investigate the circumstances of the death. “That investigation has now led to the arrest of a 78-year-old man, the then partner of the victim,” the public prosecutor’s office said.
HD, Annie De Poortere’s husband, was the last to see her. “It must have been around 2 p.m.,” he said in the 1999 investigation program Call 2020. The man told how he then went shopping and then left for a football match. “When I got home it was dark. She was gone. Some clothes that had been on the sofa were gone.”
According to the public prosecutor’s office, “further investigation will now have to reveal what his actual role was in the death of the victim.” The man will have to appear before the council chamber within five days, which will decide on his further arrest.
Sister responds
Karina De Poortere, Annie’s sister, reacts with surprise to the arrest of her former brother-in-law. On Sunday she already had mixed feelings when the news broke that her sister had possibly been found: she was sad because she is now certain that her older sister has died, but above all she had many questions about the investigation.
“I am happy because things are finally moving forward,” she now said in response to the arrest of her then brother-in-law. “I am excited that answers will finally come. Why wasn’t this possible 30 years ago? But now I want to know what the exact role of HD is in the disappearance and death of my sister.”
