Sixteen months after the events that led to the comparison of hundreds of DNA samples with traces of blood left by the killer, Günther Owents eventually turned himself in to a friend who reported it to the police.
The suspect knew that a former student of Maria Verlinden, nicknamed “Mike”, found dead in a pool of blood on November 10, 2020 at her home in Herenthals (North), he would also have to give his DNA. which should have confused him.
After his arrest last Sunday, the Antwerp resident gave the police “detailed explanations” about his gesture, which, according to the Antwerp prosecutor’s office, was “very cruel”. The media mentioned 101 stab wounds to the victim.
On Tuesday, Günter Owents appeared before an investigating magistrate in Turnhout, who charged him with “murder” and took him into custody. Meanwhile, DNA testing confirmed his presence at the crime scene.
Unsuccessful second year of elementary school
According to a judicial source joined by AFP, his explanations are confessions. The suspect, described in the press as someone steeped in Christian values helping the homeless in Antwerp, said he had a very bad second year primary school experience (CE1 equivalent) in 1991-92 because of the teacher’s behavior.
According to her first explanations, she was supposed to make comments about her that were considered derogatory. “We’ll see if the investigation backs up what he’s saying,” a court source said.
The murder of Ms. Verlinden, 59, nicknamed yuf Micke (yuf is the word used for a schoolteacher in Dutch-speaking Belgium), led to a strong mobilization of the federal judicial police in Antwerp.
The villainous motive was quickly ruled out because the money wallet was found intact after the murder on the victim’s dinner table.
During the first year of the investigation, initially targeting known justice profiles, 435 DNA samples turned up nothing.
Up to the point that at the end of October 2021, the police opened a special telephone line to collect the slightest evidence from the population. The victim’s husband also called for testimony through the Flemish media.