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earthtimes
Posted : Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:05:56 GMT
Author : DPA
Category : Europe (World)
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Brussels – The parents of the Belgian man accused of killing two toddlers and a carer in a knife attack on Friday wanted to put him in psychiatric care two years ago, local media reported Tuesday. The parents of Kim De Gelder, 20, wanted to place him in an institution because of “strange behaviour,” including the claim that he was hearing voices in his head, the Belga news agency wrote, quoting De Gelder’s lawyer, Jaak Haentjes.
But the request was denied because De Gelder was already undergoing treatment for depression, and therefore had no need of residential care, Haentjes said.
On Monday evening Haentjes told the media that his client had “no memory” of Friday’s attack, in which he is accused of talking his way into a day-care centre in the Eastern Flemish town of Dendermonde and attacking the toddlers and staff with a knife.
He also said that De Gelder “understands that he has done something inhuman” and “says that he feels regrets,” and that his client would cooperate with investigators.
But he said that the young man denied any involvement in the killing of a 73-year-old woman in the Flemish town of Beveren on January 16, as media had speculated on Monday.
The creche attack, which left 12 people injured and three dead, shocked Belgian public opinion. On Sunday, an estimated 7,000 people marched through Dendermonde in memory of the victims. The country’s top politicians attended a vigil at the creche on Monday.
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Man accused of Belgian daycare killings charged in death of elderly woman — (CBC)
A Belgian man accused of stabbing two babies and a nursing attendant at a daycare in January has been charged in the slashing death of an elderly woman.
Lawyer Jaak Haentjes said his client, Kim De Gelder, was charged Thursday with killing a 73-year-old woman in her home near Antwerp, Belgium, the week before the daycare attack.
De Gelder, 20, had previously been charged with killing a six-month-old boy, a nine-month-old girl and a 54-year-old caregiver at a nursery in the western town of Dendermonde on Jan. 23.
Police allege De Gelder entered two rooms in the daycare where babies were sleeping and stabbed them with a 20-centimetre knife as staff members tried to stop him.
During the attack, 10 other children and two adults were also injured. De Gelder is also charged with 12 counts of attempted murder.
Haentjes has stated that his client has admitted to the stabbing deaths at the nursery, but De Gelder previously denied any involvement in the death of the grandmother.
Haentjes told the Associated Press that his client is mentally ill and hears voices. He added that De Gelder has continued to be unco-operative during questioning.
With files from the Associated Press