Steve B
Steve Bakelmans is the prime suspect in the murder case of Julie Van Espen. He has yet to be convicted. The Belgian Minister of Justice Koen Geens said on May 7, 2019 in a statement released by his cabinet that Steve B, before murdering Julie, had served 4 and a half years in prison for a series of offences including the rape of a woman. Geens explained that in 2016 Steve B was again committed for theft and rape, for which he spent two and a half months in detention awaiting trial. Geens offered his sympathies to Julie Van Espen's family, and expressed regret over the matter. He explained that Antwerp's correctional courts sentenced Steve B. to 4 more years imprisonment, but that he was not immediately arrested because he appealed his case. [1] On the day Julie was found murdered (May 6, 2019), Steve B confessed he killed her. [2]
Julie's death and Steve's multiple convictions concerning rape prior to murdering Julie have led to protests against sexual violence. [3]
Arrest in Julie Van Espen's murder case
On May 6, 2019, Steve B was arrested by the police in Leuven and confessed to killing Julie Van Espen. The police were able to arrest him after they published CCTV images of him, asking the public for information and the whereabouts of an "important witness" in Julie's case. However, he had been the prime suspect since the beginning, since he was filmed carrying Van Espen's bicycle basket. The police removed the bicycle basket from the CCTV image when they released it. [4]
Victim fought back
The Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws reported that Steve B announced that he was waiting for a random victim, and that Julie Van Espen happened to pass by. According to HLN, Steve B. pulled Julie off her bicycle and tried to rape her. Julie fought back, and Steve B hit her until she stopped moving. He told police officers that he had left Julie on the roadside and left. He did take her bicycle basket with him and walked to the training center of the Antwerp Giants. He was filmed at this location, footage that was later used to find him. Steve B dumped Julie's travel pass in one of the bins of the complex. Because her bicycle basket did not fit into the garbage can, he took it back and hid it in an alley. Hours later, when it was already dark, Steve B claimed he returned to the alley to pull Julie into the Albert Canal. He pushed her body into the water and threw the bicycle and her mobile phone in it as well. Some items of clothing, such as Julie's coat and pants, were found in the grass. [5]
Protests
In May 2019 over 15,000 people walked a 'silent march' in Antwerp for Steve B.'s victim Julie Van Espen, who was found murdered on May 6, 2019. The hashtags '#enough', '#MeToo' and '#JulieVanEspen' were used by people on social media to ask attention for Julie's case, to raise awareness on sexual violence and to address that Steve B had been walking free while being convicted of rape twice before.[6]
See also
- MeToo, a movement that started in October 2017 to address and fight sexual violence
- Hashtag activism
References
- ↑ Suspect in murder of Julie Van Espen had been twice convicted for rape. The Brussels Times (7 May 2019). Retrieved on 13 May 2019.
- ↑ Julie Van Espen's murderer confessed to killing her, but said he 'did not mean to'. The Brussels Times (7 May 2019). Retrieved on 13 May 2019.
- ↑ Antwerpen rouwt en protesteert met stille tocht voor vermoorde Julie (23). AD (12 May 2019). Retrieved on 13 May 2019.
- ↑ Julie Van Espen's murderer confessed to killing her, but said he 'did not mean to'. The Brussels Times (7 May 2019). Retrieved on 13 May 2019.
- ↑ Vlaamse Julie vocht terug. Dat bekocht ze met haar leven. AD (8 May 2019). Retrieved on 13 May 2019.
- ↑ Antwerpen rouwt en protesteert met stille tocht voor vermoorde Julie (23). AD (12 May 2019). Retrieved on 13 May 2019.
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