Dutch man arrested for murder of 43-year-old woman in Ostend
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A 21-year-old Dutch man was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of murdering a 43-year-old woman in Ostend last weekend.
The suspect was arrested in Maastricht, the Netherlands, during a joint operation by Belgian and Dutch police, according to the West Flanders public prosecutor's office.
The killing took place on Saturday in Brusselstraat, in the city centre of Ostend. According to witnesses, the victim, Theresa D., had an argument with several men. After allegedly shouting at bystanders to call the police, she was fatally shot in the heart.
Drug addiction
The victim suffered from a serious drug addiction, but it is not yet clear whether the murder is linked to this. Public broadcaster VRT reported that, according to local residents, the nearby Leopold Park is a well-known location for drug dealing.
The suspected shooter immediately took a taxi to Bruges station but had been untraceable since then. The prosecutor's office said that the local and federal police had "deployed all necessary resources and personnel to track down the suspect".
"It soon became clear that the investigators had to focus their investigation on the Netherlands," the office said. This led investigators to identify the suspect and locate and arrest him. An investigating judge in Bruges has started extradition proceedings for the suspect.
#FlandersNewsService | Illustrative image © BELGA PHOTO HATIM KAGHAT
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