Verdict in Ghent

A jury at the Ghent assize court found Dave De Kock guilty of manslaughter and kidnapping on Friday, 16 October 2026, and acquitted his former partner Romy W. of kidnapping. The twelve lay jurors, chosen by lot, deliberated with three professional judges after retiring at 17:43 and had to answer nine questions. The jury found no proof that Romy W. knew De Kock had severely beaten the boy or that he was driving him toward the Netherlands. Romy W., 29, had been held in connection with the case since mid-January 2022.

What the jury had to decide

Dave De Kock, 39 according to AD, faced charges of murder, kidnapping resulting in death and possessing images of child sexual abuse. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and to the images, but rejected the kidnapping charge, according to De Morgen. The prosecution argued for a murder conviction and asked that Romy W. be found guilty of kidnapping for helping to hide the disappearance from the boy's mother. The civil party asked for the killing to be classed as assassination, meaning premeditated murder, but the court ruled that the trial had shown no premeditation. The jury therefore only had to rule on the homicide charge, and the maximum penalty De Kock faces is 30 years, as 7sur7 reports. Presiding judge Bart Meganck had clarified the questions put to the jury under the new penal code earlier in the day.

How the disappearance unfolded

The boy was due to stay overnight at the couple's home in Sint-Gillis-Waas on 12 January 2022, the last day he was seen, according to De Morgen. On 15 January Romy W. told police that De Kock had left the previous evening after an argument, saying he would take the boy to his grandparents in Antwerp. He never arrived and could no longer be reached, and the boy's mother also raised the alarm. De Kock was arrested in the Netherlands on 17 January 2022, and the boy's body was found in Zeeland that day.

De Kock's own account, recounted in court, was that after a row with Romy W. he took the boy in the car to cool down. He drove to a car park in Sint-Gillis-Waas, where he lost his temper and beat the boy so often and so hard that he suffered severe injuries. By his account the boy collapsed and died on a hard shoulder shortly after they had driven through the Westerschelde tunnel. He later left the body under bushes at Neeltje Jans, hours after the death.

Defense and Romy W.'s position

Defense lawyer Nick Heinen argued that the charge was manslaughter, not murder, and said his client would accept responsibility and a fitting punishment.

“Our client has done unforgivable things.”

Heinen described a toxic relationship fuelled by Romy W.'s heavy drinking and De Kock's growing drug use. Co-counsel Justine De Poorter argued there had been no kidnapping at all. Romy W. asked for a full acquittal and said she knew nothing. She told the court she had not noticed the two were in the apartment and did not know De Kock had left for Zeeland. NOS reported that when De Kock collected clean clothes for the boy, she was lying drunk in an armchair in the apartment.