Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Top stories
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Weird
  • 1-1-2
Image
Dean Verberckmoes
Dean Verberckmoes - Credit: Police Fédérale / police.be - License: All Rights Reserved
Crime
Dean Verberckmoes
abduction
murder
Neeltje Jans
Zeeland
Belgium
Sint-Gillis-Waas
Sint-Niklaas
Elke Verberckmoes
Rony W.
Dave De K.
Thursday, 20 January 2022 - 11:10
Share this:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • reddit

Kidnapped boy may have been killed in Belgium, body dumped in Netherlands

The Belgian authorities believe that 4-year-old Dean Verberckmoes may have been killed in Belgium and suspect Dave De K. brought his body to the Netherlands to dump it. The police performed a trace evidence investigation in the apartment in Sint-Gillis-Waas where alleged kidnapper D K. lived with his Dutch girlfriend Rony W., who is also in custody on suspicion of kidnapping and murder, AD reports.

The authorities are awaiting the results of an autopsy done on the 4-year-old Belgian boy's body by the Netherlands Forensic Institute. The results are expected on Thursday. Detectives hope that they'll reveal how and, importantly, when Dean died. Was the child already dead when De K. brought him to the Netherlands and left his body in a parking lot near the Zeeland working island of Neeltje Jans?

De K. will appear in court in Amsterdam on Thursday, where the judge will decide on his extradition to Belgium. Romy will be arraigned in Dendermonde on Thursday.

De K. will be prosecuted in Belgium, the Dutch and Belgian Public Prosecution Services decided. "Because both the victim, the next of kin, and the suspect have Belgian nationality, prosecution by the Belgians is most opportune," the Public Prosecution Service in Breda said. The Dutch part of the investigation will continue, and the results will be passed on to the Belgians.

Dean was taken from the Belgian town of Sint-Niklaas on January 12. The 34-year-old De K. and W were babysitting him while his mom was in the hospital. His mom, Elke, reported him missing over the weekend. De K. was arrested in Meerkerk on Monday. Dean's body was found near Neeltje Jans later that evening. Rony W. was taken into custody on Wednesday.

"I trusted them, and they have betrayed that trust enormously," Elke Verberkmoes said at a vigil for Dean in Sint NIklaas on Tuesday evening. "I hope he never gets out. And he'd better stay away from me too because I don't know what I'd do if I saw him."

Reporting by ANP and NL Times

Follow us:

Latest stories

  • Tropical temperatures expected in the Netherlands this weekend; free sunscreen at beaches
  • Train traffic in Amsterdam running again after temporary halt due to ProRail's relocation
  • Groningen local looking for person who spray painted her cat, raising funds for vet bill
  • Bitcoin becoming more popular payment option for elite Dutch sex workers
  • Warm weather pushes increased demand for air conditioners
  • Dutch man gets 8 years for attacking swimmers with machete at Belgian ice cream shop

Top stories

  • Tropical temperatures expected in the Netherlands this weekend; free sunscreen at beaches
  • Train traffic in Amsterdam running again after temporary halt due to ProRail's relocation
  • All overnight trains cancelled near Amsterdam; Schedule should resume Saturday morning
  • Many households see monthly energy bills fall by 14 percent
  • EU asylum deal a "building block" to reduce influx to Netherlands, State Sec. says
  • Extra public transport to beaches this weekend as summer weather hits

© 2012-2023, NL Times, All rights reserved.

Footer menu

  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Partner content