Belgian Court Finds Nicolas Ullens Guilty of Premeditated Murder in 2023 Shooting

The verdict and premeditation ruling

The 12 jurors of the Walloon Brabant Assize Court in Nivelles delivered a guilty verdict on Tuesday against 61-year-old Nicolas Ullens de Schooten for the assassination of his stepmother, Baroness Myriam Lechien. The central issue during the proceedings was whether the killing involved premeditation. The defense argued that Ullens had acted on impulse without prior planning, seeking a conviction for manslaughter, while the prosecution and civil parties maintained that the act was premeditated murder. The jury voted in favor of premeditation after deliberating on four specific legal questions regarding the intentional killing and the illegal possession and transport of the firearm. Ullens now faces a potential sentence of life imprisonment, with the court scheduled to reconvene on Wednesday to determine the penalty.

The shooting in Ohain

The fatal incident occurred on the morning of 29 March 2023 at the estate of Baron Guy Ullens de Schooten and Myriam Lechien in Ohain, Walloon Brabant. Nicolas Ullens, a former agent of the Belgian State Security service, had visited his father and stepmother to discuss family affairs and finances. After departing the villa in his Dacia, Ullens turned around and waited in the driveway for nine minutes. When the couple appeared in their Volkswagen, Ullens drove into their car to block their path. He then stepped out, walked behind the vehicle to the side of 70-year-old Lechien, and fired four rounds from a 9 mm Glock pistol. After a brief pause requested by his father, who sustained minor injuries from a bullet fragment, Ullens fired two additional shots into Lechien, who died at the scene. He subsequently drove to a nearby police station and surrendered.

Family disputes and financial tensions

The trial brought to light longstanding divisions within the Ullens de Schooten family, once recognized among the wealthiest dynasties in Belgium. The family fortune, built in part through leadership roles in companies such as the Tienen Sugar Refinery, was estimated at 3 billion euros at its peak. Ullens stated that he suffered from years of perceived alienation and humiliation by his father, blaming his stepmother for driving a wedge between them and squandering family assets. The defense noted that defense lawyer Jean-Philippe Mayence initially considered pleading irresistible compulsion for an outright acquittal, but Ullens instructed him to seek a manslaughter conviction instead to acknowledge his responsibility. Baron Guy Ullens, who witnessed the killing and asked his son to shoot him immediately afterward, was unable to testify at the trial, having died in April 2025 at the age of 90.

Final statements to the court

Before the jury retired to deliberate on Tuesday morning, court president Pierre Delcour invited Ullens to make his final remarks in the courtroom. Ullens expressed remorse directly to the relatives of Lechien, mentioning her sister, children, and grandchildren, as well as apologizing to his own wife, children, and grandchildren.

I want to let them know how much I am disgusted by the act I committed.

He also addressed the Belgian public, stating that he had sought to defend them during his intelligence career but had violated his principles, before concluding his address to the jury.

My fate is in your hands. I have nothing to add.