The discovery at Knokke-Heist
Sofie Muylle, a 27-year-old woman from Roeselare, was found dead on the beach at Knokke-Heist on January 22, 2017. The case prompted a long investigation involving forensic work, camera footage and efforts to identify a man seen in the area.
Investigators eventually identified Alexandru Caliniuc, who was arrested in Romania and extradited to Belgium. He admitted sexual violence but denied responsibility for Sofie's death.
A four-year investigation
The criminal case did not turn on a single piece of evidence. Prosecutors assembled forensic findings, DNA, image evidence and Caliniuc's changing accounts. The defense maintained that he should not be convicted of murder.
Because the precise mechanics of the death were disputed, the court's final findings are more important than competing pretrial reconstructions. This archive therefore describes only what the jury ultimately found proved.
The 2021 assize trial
The West Flanders Court of Assizes trial opened in Bruges in May 2021. On May 21, the jury found Caliniuc guilty of both murder and rape. The jury did not find the separate allegation of torture proved.
Four days later, on May 25, the court and jury imposed a sentence of 25 years' imprisonment. Prosecutors had requested life imprisonment, but the court applied mitigating considerations including the defendant's age and previous lack of a criminal record.
Later custody
Subsequent Belgian reporting continued to describe Caliniuc as serving the 25-year sentence for Sofie Muylle's murder and rape. He was later transferred to Romania to continue serving the sentence there.
This file does not assume a later appellate result that is not documented in the sources cited below, and no later published reversal of the murder conviction was identified in this review.
Timeline
January 22, 2017: Sofie Muylle is found dead on the beach at Knokke-Heist.
2017: investigators identify Alexandru Caliniuc, who is arrested in Romania and extradited to Belgium.
May 17, 2021: the assize trial opens in Bruges.
May 21, 2021: the jury finds Caliniuc guilty of murder and rape.
May 25, 2021: the court sentences him to 25 years' imprisonment.
Later custody: Caliniuc is transferred to Romania to continue serving his sentence.
Current status
Alexandru Caliniuc was convicted of the murder and rape of Sofie Muylle and sentenced to 25 years. The case is classified as solved / adjudicated. The archive deliberately omits graphic material and does not expand beyond the findings documented at trial.