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Killings of Julie Lejeune, Mélissa Russo, An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks

SOLVED1990sMarcinelle, Charleroi, Belgium3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence · sexual violence · crimes against children · torture · ongoing investigation — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

Marc Dutroux, born in 1956 in Ixelles, Belgium, was first convicted in 1989 for the abduction and rape of five young girls and women committed between 1985 and 1986 alongside accomplices Jean van Peteghem and his then-wife Michelle Martin. Dutroux received a 13.5-year sentence but was released on parole in 1992 after roughly three years, a decision made by Justice Minister Melchior Wathelet against the recommendations of the public prosecutor and an examining psychiatrist who considered him dangerous.

After his release, Dutroux resumed offending. Between June 1995 and August 1996 he and accomplices — his wife Michelle Martin, Michel Lelièvre, and Bernard Weinstein — abducted six girls and young women aged 8 to 19: Julie Lejeune, Mélissa Russo, An Marchal, Eefje Lambrecks, Sabine Dardenne, and Laëtitia Delhez. The victims were held in a concealed dungeon Dutroux had built in the basement of his house in Marcinelle, where they were sexually abused and, in several cases, filmed. Lejeune and Russo died of starvation in 1996 while Dutroux was briefly imprisoned for an unrelated vehicle-theft charge, after Martin failed to feed them as instructed. Marchal and Lambrecks were drugged and buried alive by Dutroux and Weinstein in September 1995. Weinstein himself was later tortured and buried alive by Dutroux after being suspected of betrayal. Dardenne and Delhez survived and were rescued when police, acting on witness identification of Dutroux's van, arrested Dutroux, Martin, and Lelièvre on 13 August 1996.

The investigation was marked by significant law-enforcement failures. Police had searched Dutroux's Marcinelle house twice in December 1995 — after a tip from Dutroux's own mother — and heard girls' voices in the basement but did not investigate further; construction materials for the dungeon were mistaken for drainage work; and videotapes documenting the dungeon's construction went unreviewed for years. Investigating judge Jean-Marc Connerotte, who had overseen the August 1996 rescues, was removed from the case in October 1996 after attending a fundraiser for victims' families, a decision that helped spark the "White March," in which some 300,000 Belgians protested the handling of the case. A parliamentary inquiry concluded in 1998 that Dutroux had not been protected by high-level accomplices but had benefited from corruption, carelessness, and incompetence within police and judicial institutions.

Dutroux's trial opened in Arlon in March 2004. He, Martin, and Lelièvre were convicted on all charges on 17 June 2004; Michel Nihoul, tried as an alleged accomplice in the kidnappings, was acquitted of those charges but convicted separately on drug-trafficking counts. On 22 June 2004, Dutroux received the maximum sentence of life imprisonment, Martin was sentenced to 30 years, and Lelièvre to 25 years. Martin was paroled in 2012 after serving 16 years. Dutroux remains imprisoned; his requests for early release and conditional psychiatric assessment have been the subject of subsequent legal proceedings.

Key facts

Victims
Mélissa Russo, Sabine Dardenne, Julie Lejeune, Eefje Lambrecks, Laëtitia Delhez, An Marchal
Date
1990s
Location
Marcinelle, Charleroi, Belgium
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1985-06-07

    First proven abduction: eleven-year-old Sylvie D. is abducted by Dutroux and an accomplice.

  2. 1989-04-26

    Dutroux, Jean van Peteghem, and Michelle Martin are convicted of a series of 1985-1986 abductions and rapes; Dutroux is sentenced to 13.5 years.

  3. 1992-04-08

    Dutroux is released on parole after roughly three years, on the order of Justice Minister Melchior Wathelet, against expert advice.

  4. 1995-06-24

    Eight-year-olds Julie Lejeune and Mélissa Russo are abducted in Grâce-Hollogne/Liège.

  5. 1995-08-23

    Teenagers An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks are kidnapped near Ostend.

  6. 1995-11-13

    Bernard Weinstein is imprisoned in Dutroux's dungeon and later tortured.

  7. 1995-12-13

    Police search Dutroux's Marcinelle house and hear children's voices in the basement but do not locate the victims.

  8. 1996-05-28

    Twelve-year-old Sabine Dardenne is abducted in Tournai.

  9. 1996-08-09

    Fourteen-year-old Laëtitia Delhez is abducted in Bertrix.

  10. 1996-08-13

    Dutroux, Michelle Martin, and Michel Lelièvre are arrested.

  11. 1996-08-15

    Dardenne and Delhez are found alive and rescued from Dutroux's basement dungeon.

  12. 1996-08-17

    Bodies of Julie Lejeune, Mélissa Russo, and Bernard Weinstein are exhumed at Dutroux's Sars-la-Buissière property.

  13. 1996-09-03

    Bodies of An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks are located and exhumed in Jumet.

  14. 1996-10-20

    The 'White March' draws roughly 300,000 protesters in Brussels over the handling of the investigation.

  15. 1998-02-15

    Parliamentary commission's report finds no high-level protection of Dutroux but cites corruption, carelessness, and incompetence.

  16. 1998-04-23

    Dutroux briefly escapes police custody at the Neufchâteau courthouse before being recaptured.

  17. 2004-03-01

    Dutroux's trial begins in Arlon.

  18. 2004-06-17

    Dutroux, Martin, and Lelièvre are found guilty on all charges; jury cannot reach a verdict on Nihoul's kidnapping-related role.

  19. 2004-06-22

    Dutroux is sentenced to life imprisonment; Martin receives 30 years; Lelièvre receives 25 years; Nihoul is sentenced to 5 years on drug charges.

  20. 2012-08-01

    Michelle Martin is paroled after 16 years and released into the care of a religious community.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Mélissa Russo

    VICTIM

    Abducted at age 8 in June 1995; died of starvation in 1996 while imprisoned in Dutroux's dungeon.

    citation on file

  • Sabine Dardenne

    VICTIM

    Abducted at age 12 in May 1996; held captive and repeatedly raped; rescued alive in August 1996.

    citation on file

  • Julie Lejeune

    VICTIM

    Abducted at age 8 in June 1995; died of starvation in 1996 while imprisoned in Dutroux's dungeon.

    citation on file

  • Michel Lelièvre

    CONVICTED

    Accomplice in the 1995-1996 abductions; convicted in 2004 and sentenced to 25 years.

    citation on file

  • Marc Dutroux

    CONVICTED

    Convicted in 2004 of the abduction, imprisonment, torture, and sexual abuse of six girls and young women, and of murder; sentenced to life imprisonment. Also previously convicted in 1989 of abduction and rape.

    citation on file

  • Eefje Lambrecks

    VICTIM

    Abducted at age 19 in August 1995; killed by being buried alive in September 1995.

    citation on file

  • Michelle Martin

    CONVICTED

    Dutroux's wife; convicted in 2004 as an accomplice and sentenced to 30 years; paroled in 2012.

    citation on file

  • Bernard Weinstein

    CHARGED

    Alleged accomplice in the kidnapping and killing of An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks; never tried, as he was killed by Dutroux before being identified as an accomplice.

    citation on file

  • Laëtitia Delhez

    VICTIM

    Abducted at age 14 in August 1996; held captive and repeatedly raped; rescued alive shortly after abduction.

    citation on file

  • An Marchal

    VICTIM

    Abducted at age 17 in August 1995; killed by being buried alive in September 1995.

    citation on file

  • Michel Nihoul

    ACQUITTED

    Tried as an alleged accomplice to the kidnappings and acquitted of those charges owing to insufficient evidence, but separately convicted of drug-trafficking-related offences and sentenced to 5 years.

    citation on file

Places

Marcinelle, Charleroi, Belgium

50.4114, 4.4347

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Belgian serial killer and child abuser Marc Dutroux abducted, imprisoned, and sexually abused six girls between 1995 and 1996, four of whom died; his 2004 trial and the police failures that preceded it triggered a nationwide reckoning with Belgium's justice system.
Where did the killings happen?
Marcinelle, Charleroi, Belgium.
Who was convicted?
Michel Lelièvre (Accomplice in the 1995-1996 abductions; convicted in 2004 and sentenced to 25 years.), Marc Dutroux (Convicted in 2004 of the abduction, imprisonment, torture, and sexual abuse of six girls and young women, and of murder; sentenced to life imprisonment. Also previously convicted in 1989 of abduction and rape.), and Michelle Martin (Dutroux's wife; convicted in 2004 as an accomplice and sentenced to 30 years; paroled in 2012.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.

Sources

  1. Marc Dutrouxwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-05
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — BBC Newsnews · BBC News · 2026-07-05
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — The New York Timesnews · The New York Times · 2026-07-05

Last verified JUL 2026

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