Three arrested in connection with death of Belgian woman in Tenerife

Three suspects have been arrested - two in Belgium and one in Spain - as part of an investigation into the death of a Belgian woman and the disappearance of her husband in Tenerife. 

The arrests were first reported by Het Laatste Nieuws and confirmed on Thursday by the federal prosecutor's office. The three suspects are all said to be Belgian nationals. Their possible role in the case has not yet been disclosed.

Laura Trappeniers, 66, and Marc Olbrechts, 71, who had been living in Tenerife for several years, were last seen on 22 April. An all-points bulletin was issued two days later.

The Halle-Vilvoorde public prosecutor's office immediately launched an investigation, at the request of the Spanish authorities, who asked for a neighbourhood inquiry to be carried out. On 27 April, the woman’s mutilated body was found in the Atlantic Ocean, which led to the facts being reclassified as a violent death, enabling the case to be brought to the federal level.

Spain has already requested the extradition of the two people arrested in Belgium.

^{File image of Spanish police officer © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK}