Famous clown ‘killed ex-girlfriend in front of her children’
Former Belgium’s Got Talent contestant Kevin Lapeire arrested after live-streaming stand-off with armed police
A Belgian clown broadcast himself live on Facebook during a four-hour armed siege with police before being arrested over the murder of a mother-of-three in front of her children.
Kevin Lapeire entertained hundreds of sick children in the guise of his alter ego “Doctor Aspirin”, and was once voted the best clown in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.
But the 31-year-old was reportedly unable to get along with the three teenage children of his 47-year-old girlfriend, named as Caroline Dombrecht in Belgian press, “leading to their break-up a few days ago”, says The Daily Telegraph.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Angered by the break-up, Lapeire allegedly roped in his yodelling stage sidekick, Dietwin Haegeman, to help kill his ex.
Haegeman, 38, is a “lederhosen-clad performer, who, like Lapeire, appeared on the Belgium’s Got Talent contest”, the Telegraph reports.
The pair are alleged to have broken into Dombrecht’s family home in Oudenberg, close to the Belgian seaside town of Ostend, on Sunday night.
Dombrecht “is said to have fallen asleep after being given a drugged cocktail”, according to The Times.
Lapeire reportedly then filmed himself as he took her three children hostage, tied them up and stabbed their mother to death in front of them.
After locking the teenagers in the attic overnight, Lapeire then broadcast himself live on Facebook the following day on top of a 13-storey apartment building in the coastal town of Bredene, “waving a pistol and throwing a gas canister off the roof”, according to Belgian media reports.
Police snipers were sent in and Lapeire eventually surrendered.
The children’s father, named only as Geert DN, told Brussels-based newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws that he could not find the words to describe what had happened. “It is too horrible, especially for my children,” he said. “All my care and attention now goes to them.”
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Criminal trail?'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Grindr 'shared user HIV status' with ad firms, lawsuit claims
Speed Read LGBTQ dating app accused of breaching UK data protection laws in case filed at London's High Court
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
The best dog-friendly hotels around the UK
The Week Recommends Take a break with your four-legged friend in accommodation that offers you both a warm welcome
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Woman sues Disney over 'injurious wedgie'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Emotional support alligator turned away from baseball stadium
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Europe's oldest shoes found in Spanish caves
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Artworks stolen by Nazis returned to heirs of cabaret performer
It wasn't all bad Good news stories from the past seven days
By The Week Staff Published