20 October 1993
37-year-old Liliane Sek disappears in Charleroi.
November 1993
Liliane Sek's head and right leg are found in the Yves-Gomezée wood, near the Charleroi-Couvin railway in Philippeville. She was also known as Marine and worked as a prostitute in Charleroi.
June 1994
In Anderlecht, Brussels, the body of an unidentified woman is found, cut to pieces.
Wednesday, 6 July 1994
In Retranchement, in a wildlife-park near the Belgian-Dutch border, the headless body of a woman is found cut to pieces. The parts are packed in a 'La Dernière Heure' newspaper and trash bags.
December 1994
In Liège children playing find a cut off foot and arm.
4 January 1996
46-year-old Carmelina Russo disappears in Mons.
Monday, 21 July 1996
33-year-old transsexual Martine Bohn disappears in Mons, she was living in hotel 'Le Lido', while she also was renting a flat in the same town. She arrived only a couple of months earlier from France. She worked as a prostitute.
Friday, 25 July 1996
In the river la Hayne (french for Hate), between Mons and Jemappe a trash bag is found containing the torso of a woman. It is presumed to be Martine Bohn, her breasts, on which she bore a distinctive tattoo, are removed. Her head and limbs are cut off, and no trace of them is found.
August 1996
In Piringen, near Tongeren, a mutilated torso of an unidentified woman of about 40 years old is found. She is probably murdered between 1 July and 10 August 1996.
Sunday, 22 December 1996
In the rue Malapert in Hyon, a suburb of Mons, 33-year-old Jacqueline Leclercq disappears. She was depressed because she had recently divorced and in need of affection. On her arm she bore a tattoo with the name of her ex-friend, Angelo.
Sunday, 12 January 1997
In Mont-sur-Marchienne near Charleroi 33-year-old Véronique Leclercq (no relation with Jacqueline) disappears while she went to a shop in her street to buy steaks.
Saturday, 22 March 1997
State policeman Olivier Motte discovers a trash bag with a protruding hand on an illegal trash-dump along the Brussels-Paris railroad in the Rue Emile Vandervelde in Cuesmes, near Mons. He calls in additional help, and soon 8 more trash bags containing human remains are found. All of the remains are female; torsos, arms and legs.
Monday, 24 March 1997
About 3kms apart from the first dump-site, in the Chemin de l'Inquiètude (Anxiety Road), a 10th bag containing a female torso is discovered. Also 2 more bags with 'personal belongings' and clothings are found.
At this moment none of the bodies have been identified, although there are strong indications that the following missing persons are among the victims; Martine Bohn, Jacqueline Leclercq and Véronique Leclercq. One of the arms found has a hole cut in it, possibly to remove a tattoo.
Thursday, 27 March 1997
Inquiries have been made into the find of the female torso, last summer in Piringen. The disappearance of Carmelina Russo is added to the inquiry. The district attorney releases 6 identikit-pictures of people who might have witnessed the dumping.
Wednesday, 2 April 1997
An autopsy has revealed that arms and legs found in some of the bags belong to Martine Bohn, whose torso was found in the river Hayne on 25 July 1996. From this corpse the head and a foot are still missing.
Saturday, 12 April 1997
In Havré, near Mons, a passer-by finds 2 trash bags, one containing a foot and part of a leg, another one containing a head. All the parts are in a state of putrefaction, and have been removed from the bodies in the same precise manner as with the previous finds, that is with a hacksaw. The bags are found in the rue du Dépôt (Dump Street), a street in the immediate vicinity of the river la Hayne. The bags have been deposited earlier that day. The total of feet found now rises to seven, so they are obviously at least 4 victims involved.
Sunday, 13 April 1997
During a press-conference, the Mons prosecutor announces that these bags contain no new victims, the body parts were partly decomposed and none have been identified. He also said that most of the victims are to be located in the Mons prostitution-scene.
Tuesday, 15 April 1997
An identikit picture of the head found in the rue du Dépôt is released. It is a woman between 30 and 40 years old with dark hair.
Friday, 18 April 1997
In Havré, near Mons, community workmen find 3 trash bags in the Chemin de Saint-Symphorien, a site called 'La Poudriè' (The Powdery), containing more body parts. The bags are tied and the tips cut off, trademark of all the recent finds in this area. 2 bags contain an upper leg each, and the third a hand and attached forearm, all in a state of decomposition.
Judge Pillet of Mons has been contacted by the French police, who discovered a female torso on 21 January 1996 in the river L'Escaut in Château l'Abbaye, France. The last guess about the number of victims ranges between 4 and 6.
An inventory of limbs is now also available: four feet, three legs, two shoulders, three arms and hands, two upper legs, one torso and one head.
Monday, 21 April 1997
The parts found last Friday haven't helped the police yet in further identification of possible victims. They also have been unable to determine when exactly the bags were left at the scene.
Wednesday, 23 April 1997
Last night the Mons police have questioned several suspects and witnesses, they will decide later today if any of them will be charged. The arrests follow the identification of the woman whose head was found in the rue du Dépôt in Havré, 11 days ago.
As a crude coincidence, fishermen sitting near the Haine river have found the cover of a coffin floating by, the polyester cover had never been used to close any coffin.
Thursday, 24 April 1997
One person has been arrested in what's now called 'the case of the Trash Bag Murders'. There are rumours that it was a transsexual, but nothing has been confirmed by authorities. Other sources have been saying that this arrest was only remotely connected with the supposed Serial Killer. There is though a definite lead towards certain surroundings of the Mons marginal community, the last identified victim had been depressed lately and hadn't even been reported missing by relatives, her name hasn't been released. The police are also holding back more details, to guard the safety of some witnesses who have come forward after the release of the identikit-picture, which led to the identification.
Later today the victim has been named as 21-year-old Nathalie Godart, a dropout who frequented the Mons station area just as did Martine Bohn. Investigations have been focused on these surroundings and the person(s) arrested also belong to this small community.
The person mentioned earlier as a suspect was arrested on charges of possessing child-pornography and is not related to the Trash Bag Murder case.
Friday, 25 April 1997
The Mons prosecutor has acknowledged the arrest of a suspect, a 33-year-old gypsy named Leopold. This person frequented the station area and is known for his violent behavior towards women, he often carried knives. He used to live in a caravan in the nomad-camp Nimy, outside Mons, until his mother died, about a year ago, since then he had no fixed place to stay. He was acquainted with Nathalie Godart, and supposedly also with Martine Bohn.
Today 2 Belgian newspapers have reprinted excerpts from our profile, one of them featured it next to an FBI-profile and Canadian criminologist Elliot Leyton's ideas towards the identity of the Trash Bag Murderer.
Saturday, 26 April 1997
Forensic experts have been able to piece together the complete body of Nathalie Godart, only one foot is still missing. Sperm traces found on the body will be examined and compared with DNA-material from Leopold the Gypsy. In the area of the Mons station, where victims and suspect were known very well, there are great doubts among the marginal population about Leopold being the murderer.
Monday, 28 April 1997
Leopold Bogaert aka 'The Gypsy' has appeared before the investigating magistrate who will decide upon his further arrest or release. Bogaert was represented by two lawyers, who said they have presented an extensive file which will clear their client of any involvement in the crimes he's been charged with. Bogaert was braught in the Hall of Justice through a back door and every window and door in the building was guarded by police officers to avoid the all-around press getting a picture of the suspect. The final decision is expected later today.
In the meantime no new trash bags have been found during the weekend, when all streets with symbolic names and locations had been under surveillance.
Friday, 9 May 1997
Leopold Bogaert is released from prison, and cleared of any connection with the Trash Bag Murders. He had been arrested mainly because of his erratic behavior, his change of appearance and his connection to one of the victims. It turned out he had been in a fight in the Mons station-area, which explains his change of appearance, and the fact that he went in hiding. Bloodstained clothing found in his caravan was also connected to the fight, and the burning of the victim's clothing was merely due to a lack of space in his tiny housing facility.
4 june 1997
Investigations have proved that all the bags, found between 22 march and 18 april 1997 have been deposited at the same time. Investigators have analysed the locations and especially the condition of the soil underneath the bags to come to this conclusion.
Tuesday, 19 June 1997
Jacqueline Leclercq has been positively identified as second victim of the Trash Bag Murderer. Officially only two victims are accounted for, since their bodies have been identified from findings within the range of connected dumpings. The connection of Martine Bohn being the third victim has not been acknowledged officially due to lack of scientific evidence.
There are no indications towards a suspect yet.
18 July 1997
French police have identified the remains found in Chateau l'Abbaye as belonging to 47-year-old Carmelino Russo, who disappeared from Mons on 4 january 1996. At first sight the wounds resemble those found on the remains from Mons. If proven right, this would make Carmelino Russo the first victim of the Trash Bag Murderer. She was part of the society around the central station of Mons, which adds to her eventual connection with the other victims.
30 July 1997
In a wood in Sivry-Rance (Namur), a worker has found the body of 32-year-old Véronique Leclercq. She has been the victim of a homicide, but the crime is definitely not related to the Trash Bag Murders. The body was found completely intact and not packed in trash bags.
8 August 1997
A 44-year-old gang leader, currently in jail for rape is suspected of murdering Véronique Leclercq. He was arrested after a victim, who escaped, identified him. Several victims have been kidnapped and murdered by the gang, including Laurence Wojtzick, disappeared on 16 march 1996 and found dead on 3 june 1996, and a teenager who was raped in Obaix, a crime of which Marc Dutroux has been suspected for some time, until DNA-test proved his innocence in this case.
Wednesday, 20 August 1997
Patrick Moriau, a member of the parliamentary commission in the Dutroux-case, has revealed that he received 3 anonymous postcards with eventual coded messages by the Trash Bag Murderer. They have been posted on or around 26 may 1997 in Leuze-en-Hainaut. The 'La Nouvelle Gazette' newspaper also received similar messages. Moriau has created a bit of a stir in the Dutroux-case by publishing a book featuring testimony of people involved in this case and who made their declarations behind closed doors.
Thursday, 21 August 1997
A possible new victim is added to the list, it is 38-year-old Begonia Valencia, who disappeared in Frameries some time halfway July. She was in a depressed state, and supposedly frequented the Mons station area. Another definite link to previous victims is that she has been a patient in a psychiatric institution in Chêne-aux-Haies, where also Martine Bohn was treated. Investigations have proved she hasn't collected her 2 last unemployment-checks and hasn't withdrawn any money from her bank-account since 20 June.
Wednesday, 27 August 1997
Patrick Moriau receives a new package in the mail, it contains a book by André Frossard: "36 preuves de l'existence du diable" (36 proofs for the existence of the devil), the book is also dedicated to him: "I love Patrick Moriau".
At the same time a new disappearance is reported. 16-year-old Jennifer Deceuninck left home for a walk on Tuesday, 26 august and never returned. Again there seems to be a link to other victims of the Trash Bag Murderer due to the fact that Jennifer has spent some time in the psychiatric institution of Chêne-aux-Haies.
Friday, 29 August 1997
A Brussels psychiatrist, Marc Reisinger, has undertaken a private investigation into the Trash Bag Murders and comes to the conclusion that it is very unlikely we're dealing with only one person. He is quite certain the murders are committed by a number of people and that they would fit into a conspiracy towards destabilisation of the country in view of scheduled reorganization of police-forces in Belgium.
Wednesday, 17 September 1997
The torso which has been found in Piringen in August 1996 is probably linked to the Trash Bag Murders case in Mons. The body has been cut up in the same manner as the other victims, and it was also packed in trash bags. The victim was around 40 years old, which also fits the Mons victim-type. Further detail is a brown Binici-Paris t-shirt she was wearing, which supposedly has only been distributed in the French-speaking part of Belgium. Last but not least the torso was found in the Doodmanstraat (Deadmanstreet), which could be a connection to the specific dumpsites the Trash Bag Murderer has chosen in and around Mons.
Saturday, 20 September 1997
The 'Corpus' taskforce of the Mons police has interviewed around 700 people and collected some 600 indications in the case, none of these has led them to a genuine trace. Officially recognized as victims are now: Martine Bohn, Jacqueline Leclerq and Nathalie Godart. Only the last victim could be pieced together completely. Carmelino Russo, found in France, is included under reservation.
The various mailings to Patrick Moriau, postcards and a book, have presumably been traced to someone else, although his identity or any other further details have not been released.
Tuesday, 23 September 1997
Members of the Civil Protection and inspectors from the Mons police have been digging on and around the premises of Begonia Valencia in a search for her body. Later this week the search will be continued with the aid of a helicopter. Judge Dutilleux, who is in charge of this case, said he didn't rule out the possibility that Begonia has been abducted and killed by the Trash Bag Murderer.
Saturday, 27 September 1997
An 'Occasional Paper in Facsimili' of our profile has been published on the occasion of the Alternative Bookfair in Antwerp. 'UN SUB' (D-1997-7040-1), edited and illustrated with mugshots by H. Obst. Order from -- 32.3/231.68.78.
Monday, 29 September 1997
Daily newspaper 'De Morgen' brings the story of a young man who claims his father is the Trash Bag Murderer. His account is not regarded worthwile by the Mons investigators, so he has contacted Patrick Moriau and the newspaper because the only way to get his story known and investigated would be to bring it to the public.
Tuesday, 30 September 1997
'Corpus', the Trash Bag Murders task force with the Mons police have admitted they lost the file about the young man who accused his father in their prime case. Patrick Moriau launches the idea of protection.
Friday, 10 October 1997
The 'Corpus' task force hasn't further investigated the new-suspect-trail. The man hasn't been questioned nor have any stories been verified.
A new trail has been targeted onto a French magician, Joseph Casamias, who has been declared dead in 1993, but nonetheless reported seen in the Mons area earlier this year. He would also have been involved in other disappearances and abductions in France.
Monday, 17 November 1997
The flemish commercial tv-station VTM has devoted an item to the Trash Bag Murder Case in their 'Call 2020'. Besides a brief description of th facts and a whimpy appearance by the 'Corpus' profiler, no new interesting details have surfaced.
Tuesday, 18 November 1997
The french-speaking tv-channel RTBf has devoted an item to the Trash Bag Murder Case in their 'Appel a temoins'. They did a good job in reconstructing each of the victims' surroundings and last days, which gave us an interesting insight in their lives. Again the 'Corpus' profiler made his appearance, this time giving us a more detailed story of what type of personality they are looking for, and also explaining the different stages in the complexity of the murderer's acts. Further noteworthy was a strange account by a young woman who was kind of abducted in Mons for a very brief period of time by a well-dressed, good looking man, who only drove her around to the post-office and back, without saying a word.
Friday, 21 November 1997
The flemish newspaper 'Gazet Van Antwerpen carries the story of a butcher, 'G.', who is being tracked down by the 'Corpus' task force. G. comes into the story via Leopold Bogaert aka 'The Gypsy'. They were involved in a fight at victim Nathalie Godart's house, 2 days before she disappeared. In the fight, G. had been beaten up, and left the house, swearing he'd be back for revenge. 2 days later Leopold Bogaert left the house to buy chips, and found Godart disappeared upon his return. G. has been questioned before, but has in the meantime fled the scene.
'Corpus' also announced a press conference, next monday, with the results of their tv-call-for-assistance.
Tuesday, 2 December 1997
Not directly related to the UnSub, a story has surfaced about the Mons police in another murdercase, where important evidence was not passed on to the investigating officers, and a murder could have been prevented. It concerns the so-called Honeymoon Killers, Peter-Uwe Schmidt and Aurore Martin.
Wednesday, 21 January 1998
The Corpus task force will soon be extended with five extra police-officers and seven extra state-police-officers. Five out of thirteen mayors from communities in the Mons district have agreed they will grant the Corpus task force as many people as needed towards solving the case of the Trash Bag Murders. There will be a meeting on 28 january where the final decisions will be made.
Wednesday, 18 March 1998
In Jurbise, a small town in the near vicinity of Mons, a man has found a plastic bag with bones while working in his garden. The 'Nopri' shopping-bag contained a large number of bones; ribs, part of a shoulder and tighbone. The bones were coloured brown, meaning they have been buried for quite a long time.
Thursday, 19 March 1998
On a press-conference, the corpus task-force has declared there is no connection between the murder of Liliane Sek and the Trash Bag Murder case. Sek's head and right leg have been found near the Charleroi-Couvin-railway in november 1993. Also the disappearance of Valencia Begonio is not related to this case. She disappeared in july 1997 in Frameries and has not been seen since then.
Members of the corpus task-force are soon flying to the United States to study some of the investigation-techniques used by the FBI.
Sunday, 21 March 1998
Hundreds of people have attended the funeral of 34-year-old Jacqueline Leclercq in the Saint-R@eacute;mi Church in Cuesmes. Amongst those present vice-prime-minister Elio Di Rupo and the Mons Mayor.
There are no further leads towards the identity of the Trash Bag Murderer.
27 to 30 April 1998
In the Chemin de Bethléem in the village of Hyon, south of Mons, a number of vertebrae and a skull are found. All the remains bear signs of clear hacksaw-work.
Wednesday, 13 May 1998
The corpus task-force, extended with ten extra police-officers only in january, is reduced back to its original 8 members. Not only reduced to these 8 members, but also these 8 will have to work on other cases and files as well.
700 tips have been collected and checked by the task-force, since the first appearance of trash bags containing human remains on Saturday 22 March 1997.
None of these tips have led to a clear identification of a suspect.
Friday, 22 May 1998
Teeth and the skull found in the village of Hyon a while ago are definitely belonging to Valencia Begonia, a woman who disappeared on 22 august 1997. It was assumed then already that she was fallen victim to the Trash Bag Murderer. The count rises to five identified victims now.
Monday, 15 June 1998
Two members of the corpus task-force are returning this week from a stay at the FBI's 'Behavioral Science' profiling unit at the bunker in Quantico, Virginia. They have met with leading profilers to discuss the UnSub case in depth. The corpus members have been strongly suggested to put up a database of all the gathered evidence, and give special attention to the specific locations to the dumping areas
Tuesday, 8 September 1998
A man known as 'J.P.D. is arrested and questioned as a suspect in the Trash Bag Murder case. He was on the run for a four year prison-term, and was known to visit the marginal surroundings of the Mons railway station. Eventually no further incriminating evidence could be linked to this suspect and he had to be released.
Tuesday, 15 September 1998
After the recent withdrawal of all external forces added to the corpus task-force, the 12 remaining investigators will all be redirected to their usual work and other investigations. Several officials have complained about this move, fearing that the Trash Bag Murders will be added onto the long list of unsolved Belgian criminal cases.
Up until today, certain investigators keep following the track of multiple perpetrators, and the belief in some sort of conspiracy theory.
Thursday, 23 October 1998
Today the corpus task-force has taken up new investigations in the Chemin de Bethléem in the village of Hyon, where the remains of Begonia Valencia were found almost a year ago. A skull and some more bones were found there in a plastic bag, it took several months before the remains were identified as belonging to Begonia Valencia.
Ten members of the task-force, and ten men from civil services and the State Police's Disaster Victim Identification team are thoroughly searching the surroundings of Chemin de Bethléem these days. It's not clear what exactly they hope to find, but a new approach was in the way, a spokesman said.