Lawyer General demands 30 years in prison for Kathleen Hoeckx: « As long as she keeps drinking, there is an immense risk » (Antwerp)
After Kathleen Hoeckx had already been guilty of manslaughter on Didier van den Nieuwenhuysen in her beauty salon in Borgerhout on Friday, the jury will determine today what punishment she will receive. Advocate General Wim Smets saw no mitigating circumstances and progressed 30 years of imprisonment, the maximum sentence for manslaughter. « Society must be protected against it. »
On 3 May 2021, Kathleen Hoeckx Didier van den Nieuwenhuysen strangled after she had received a lift in his gray BMW Cabrio to her beauty salon in Borgerhout. Why did not become clear last week, but the jury did not believe that the woman would not remember anything of the facts and explicitly wrote in the judgment that Didier had given no reason to the facts.
« Dormal is one of the toughest crimes we know, Kathleen Hoeckx has taken life away from someone. That requires an appropriate punishment, which is also a signal for society that we do not tolerate this, » said Wim Smets. « Didier was strangled and Kathleen Hoeckx did not call the emergency services, so I see no mitigating circumstances in the way he was killed. She afterwards pretended to have memory loss. She kept the rules in prison and when she was under electronic supervision, but she continues to drink. » 7
Self -pity
“She simply orders drink via Deliveroo. This way Kathleen Hoeckx remains an immense risk for society. She still doesn’t see the need for the aid, despite everything that happened. Then there is also a problem. She had only one focus and that was the focus on herself. Her surroundings also waved her problems. That was also aa. She was in jail she complained about everything, the white products there, the fact that she had too few herbs, that she could not drink wine on a terrace … I didn’t see empathy to the victim’s family. «
The Advocate General also addressed the Van Didier van den Nieuwenhuysen family. « Your world stood still on September 3, 2021. It will never be the same again. Your serenity adorns you and your intervals testified in strength and courage. All respect for that. The questions you were with, unfortunately, have not been answered. »
Wim Smets said she might have given herself a gift by not remembering the facts. « As a result, we could not prove that she might be guilty of murder, she was able to avoid that. »
At present, lawyers Jesse van den Broeck and Alexander van Heeschvelde argue on behalf of Kathleen Hoeckx. Soon she will get the last word herself and the jury will go into consideration.
