Ex-partner charged in Schaerbeek café owner's killing freed over procedural defect

Release after a procedural dispute

Prosecutors in Brussels and the parquet général confirmed on Friday, 6 November 2026, that the ex-partner charged in the case had been released. The Brussels chamber of indictment (chambre des mises en accusation) ordered the release that day after a technical debate over a procedural point. The release came as the investigation into the suspected femicide had just been closed.

“A technical discussion concerned a procedural question, and the chamber of indictment considered it had to decide in favour of the suspect, which led to his release.”

The defect in the appeal procedure

La Libre reported that the flaw lay in the communication between the prosecutor's office, the prison and the suspect during an appeal procedure. The release comes nearly two years after the killing. The suspect had been placed under an arrest warrant shortly after the events, and his pre-trial detention ends with this decision.

The killing in December 2024

Police were called around 20:40 on 3 December 2024 to intervene in the entrance hall of a building on the avenue du Diamant in Schaerbeek. Officers found the 36-year-old woman, an entrepreneur originally from Romania, stabbed. La Libre reported that the attack took place in a corridor next to her café, a well-liked business in the Diamant district. Officers gave her first aid while waiting for rescue services, but she died of her injuries.

Family informed

The parquet général said it informed the victim's family of the decision immediately after it was taken. Its press magistrate, An Schoonjans, described the court's ruling as a decision in favour of the suspect on a procedural question rather than on the merits of the case.

“The parquet général immediately informed the victim's family of this decision.”