Verdict and sentence

The assize court in Ghent sentenced Dave De Kock, 39, to 30 years in prison on Monday, 19 October 2026. Of that term, 25 years must be served before he can apply for parole. The court also imposed 15 years of supervision under a terbeschikkingstelling (TBS) order, which allows a sentence enforcement court to keep him in custody beyond his prison term. Reports describe the sentence as the maximum possible for manslaughter, and the court found no mitigating circumstances. The verdict matches the prosecution's demand, although the prosecutor had also asked that conditional release not be considered before 20 years. Outlets differ on the charge wording, with some describing manslaughter and others also citing abduction resulting in death. In its reasoning the court wrote:

“Manslaughter is one of the worst crimes.”

Prison term30

Years before parole eligibility25

TBS supervision15

Prison term

30 years

Years before parole eligibility

25 years

TBS supervision

15 years

Data from the article text

Events of January 2022

The boy, aged four and from East Flanders, often stayed with De Kock and his girlfriend, Romy W., friends of the boy's mother. On the evening of Friday 14 January 2022, De Kock left with the boy alone. A reconstruction built from number plate camera data, phone records, CCTV and bank transactions shows him driving around Flanders, crossing into the Netherlands and spending the night at several places in Zeeland. In court De Kock admitted that he had hit the boy several times with his fist in the car during a fit of rage, which he linked to frustration over his own relationship and life. He gave various accounts during the investigation before admitting responsibility for the death. Dutch police arrested him on 17 January 2022 after an Amber Alert, and the boy's body was found that same evening on Neeltje Jans, an island in Zeeland.

Medical findings and the trial

The court cited 80 marks of impact on the boy's body, including serious head injuries, bruising to the skull and abdominal trauma with damage to the spleen. Suffocation could not be ruled out. How exactly the boy died remained unclear during the trial, and De Kock says he does not remember everything. The court's reasoning turned to the child's suffering, and it concluded that the violence was extreme.

“He must have fought a death struggle and suffered an enormous amount of pain.”

The court described De Kock as unpredictable, untrustworthy and socially dangerous, and said he had caused immeasurable human suffering.

Romy W. and the 2010 conviction

Romy W., 29, was acquitted on Friday, 16 October 2026 of abduction resulting in death, the main charge against her. The jury found her guilty of possessing and distributing images of child sexual abuse. She had copied screenshots of a video from De Kock's phone to her own phone in order to confront him. The court granted her a suspended sentence with conditions that include treatment for alcohol addiction, and she had spent several years in pre-trial detention. Prosecutors had sought 1.5 years in prison for her, Telegraaf reported. In 2010 De Kock was sentenced to ten years for the fatal abuse of his two-year-old stepson. He served that term in full without supervision, because TBS only came into force in 2012. His release without follow-up later fueled political debate over how high-risk offenders are handled.