Solved case · 1991
Also known as André Cools · Le maître de Flémalle
File:Andre Cools.jpgCredit: User Mario scolas on fr.wikipediaCC BY-SA 2.0SourceThe short answer
André Cools, a leading Belgian socialist politician and mayor of Flémalle, was shot dead in Liège on 18 July 1991. A 2003 trial in Liège led to the conviction of two men, who were sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment in January 2004.
No one's coverage is attached to this file yet.
Know great coverage of this case?
A documentary, a podcast episode, a careful long-form video. Suggest it and an editor will review it before it appears here.
Suggest coverage for Murder of André CoolsAndré Cools was a senior Belgian politician and one of the leading figures of the Walloon Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste, PS) in the Liège region. He was assassinated in 1991, and the investigation into his killing later uncovered widespread graft within Belgium's two socialist parties, French-speaking and Flemish-speaking alike.
Cools held a long series of national and regional offices. He served as Belgium's budget minister from 1968 to 1971 and as Deputy Prime Minister from 1969 to 1972. Within the PS, he led the Walloon section from 1973 to 1978 and chaired the national party from 1978 to 1981. He was later president of the Walloon Council from 1982 to 1985 and a minister in the government of the Walloon Region from 1988 to 1990, and in 1983 he was given the honorific title of Minister of State. In 1990, Cools retired from the national political scene after an internal power struggle within the PS, though he remained influential in the local party in Liège. At the municipal level, he was mayor of Flémalle-Haute from 1964 to 1977 and, after a merger of municipalities, of Flémalle itself from 1977 until his death; the position earned him the nickname 'Le maître de Flémalle' ('Master of Flémalle').
Cools was shot and killed in Liège on 18 July 1991, at the age of 63. The investigation into his assassination went on to expose a series of political scandals touching both the French-speaking and Flemish-speaking socialist parties, including the Agusta affair.
In 2003, a trial opened in Liège against several people accused of involvement in the killing. Among the defendants were Richard Taxquet, a former personal chauffeur and secretary to a Parti Socialiste minister, and Giuseppe "Pino" di Mauro; the source record does not identify the other defendants by name. In January 2004, Taxquet and di Mauro were convicted and sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment each.
André Cools is born.
Cools becomes mayor of Flémalle-Haute, a position he holds until 1977.
Following a merger of municipalities, Cools becomes mayor of the newly merged Flémalle, a position he holds until his death.
Cools becomes chairman of the national Parti Socialiste, a position he holds until 1981.
Cools retires from the national political scene after an internal power struggle within the Parti Socialiste, though he remains influential in the local party in Liège.
Cools is shot and killed in Liège at the age of 63.
A trial opens in Liège accusing Richard Taxquet, Giuseppe "Pino" di Mauro, and others of involvement in the killing.
Taxquet and di Mauro are convicted and sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment each.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Belgian politician and senior figure of the Walloon Socialist Party (PS); shot and killed in Liège on 18 July 1991.[3]
Convicted in January 2004 and sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment for involvement in the killing.[3]
Former personal chauffeur and secretary to a Parti Socialiste minister; convicted in January 2004 and sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment for involvement in the killing.[3]
From the record
Coverage is not a source: every fact in this file rests on the records below.
Are you family of someone named in this file? Corrections and removal requests from victims’ families are prioritized.
Place Saint-Lambert, Liège · 2010s
A grenade-and-gun attack on a public square in Liège, Belgium, on 13 December 2011 killed five people and injured more than 147, and the attacker also killed a woman earlier that day before dying by suicide.
SOLVEDListenLiège, Belgium · 2010s
A 32-year-old gay man was abducted from a bar in Liège, Belgium, beaten, and left to die in a field in April 2012, in what became the first homophobic murder case recognized under Belgian law. Four men were convicted in December 2014.
Credit: SaschaporscheCC BY-SA 3.0SourceSOLVEDListenBrunssummerheide, Landgraaf, Netherlands · 1990s
Nicky Verstappen, an 11-year-old boy, disappeared from a summer camp in Brunssum, Netherlands, on 10 August 1998 and was found dead the next evening in nearby Landgraaf. A nationwide DNA-screening program led to the 2018 arrest of Jos Brech, who was ultimately convicted of manslaughter, kidnapping, sexual abuse, and possession of child pornography, with the verdict upheld by the Supreme Court in 2023.
Credit: Woodlawn High SchoolEditorial useSourceSOLVEDListenLeakin Park, Baltimore, Maryland · 1999
Hae Min Lee, an 18-year-old Baltimore County high school student, was strangled and found buried in Leakin Park in February 1999. Her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed was convicted of first-degree murder in 2000; the case gained international attention after the 2014 podcast Serial, and Syed's conviction underwent multiple vacaturs, appeals, and reinstatements through 2025.
Image recordEditorial useSourceSOLVEDListenCalifornia Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), San Luis Obispo, California · 1996
Kristin Smart, a 19-year-old Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student, disappeared in the early hours of May 25, 1996, after leaving an off-campus party with fellow student Paul Flores, the last person known to have seen her. Flores was convicted of her murder in 2022 and his conviction was upheld on appeal; Smart's remains have never been recovered.
Credit: Via WikipediaEditorial useSourceUNSOLVEDListenFulham, London · 1990s
English television presenter Jill Dando was shot dead outside her London home in 1999, and the case remains unsolved.
