The Stijn Saelens Castle Murder

The killing became known in Belgium as the Kasteelmoord, or “castle murder,” because Saelens lived with his family in a castle-like property in Wingene. The nickname should not obscure the core fact: a 34-year-old man was deliberately killed in a murder-for-hire plot.

Disappearance from Wingene

On January 31, 2012, Stijn Saelens was shot at his home in Wingene, West Flanders. Investigators found evidence of violence at the property, but Saelens himself was missing. His body was discovered roughly two weeks later near a chalet connected to Pierre Serry in Maria-Aalter.

The inquiry quickly examined tensions between Saelens and his father-in-law, former doctor André Gyselbrecht. For years Gyselbrecht disputed that he had ordered a killing, but during the eventual trial he admitted that he had sought someone to have his son-in-law killed.

The murder-for-hire chain

Prosecutors reconstructed a chain of intermediaries. Pierre Serry acted as a go-between. Evert de Clercq helped locate the men who would carry out the plan. Dutchman Antonius van Bommel was identified as the gunman, but he died of cancer before he could stand trial. His nephew Franciscus “Roy” Larmit was prosecuted for his own role in the operation.

The case therefore required the courts to distinguish between the person who ordered the murder, intermediaries who arranged it, and the man identified as the shooter but never tried because he died before proceedings against him could begin.

2018 convictions

In April 2018, a Bruges criminal court convicted four men for their roles in Saelens's murder. André Gyselbrecht received 27 years in prison. Evert de Clercq also received 27 years, Pierre Serry received 21 years, and Roy Larmit received 15 years.

The prosecution and several defendants appealed, meaning those first-instance sentences were not the final legal outcome.

The 2019 appeal

The Ghent Court of Appeal retried the case and issued new sentences on May 6, 2019. André Gyselbrecht's sentence was reduced to 21 years. Contemporary Belgian reporting states that the other defendants received prison terms ranging from 15 to 20 years.

Later VRT reporting continued to describe Gyselbrecht as finally convicted in 2019 as the person who ordered the murder. His later detention arrangements, including limited detention and electronic monitoring, concerned sentence execution; they did not erase the conviction.

What is established and what is not

Gyselbrecht said he had profound concerns about Saelens and feared that his daughter and grandchildren would move to Australia. Reporting also records accusations he had made against his son-in-law. Those allegations are not presented here as proven justification or as established criminal conduct by Saelens.

The legally established issue in this case is the organized killing of Saelens and the convictions of the men who arranged and facilitated it.

Timeline

1. January 31, 2012
   Stijn Saelens is shot at his home

   He disappears from the Wingene property after the attack.

2. February 2012
   Saelens's body is recovered

   Investigators find the body near a chalet connected to Pierre Serry in Maria-Aalter.

3. 2013–2015
   The suspected murder-for-hire network is developed

   Investigators identify the alleged shooter and build cases against intermediaries and other participants.

4. 2017
   Gyselbrecht admits ordering a killing

   At trial he acknowledges seeking someone to kill his son-in-law after years of denial.

5. April 18, 2018
   Four defendants are convicted

   Prison sentences range from 15 to 27 years.

6. May 6, 2019
   Ghent Court of Appeal issues new sentences

   Gyselbrecht receives 21 years; the other defendants receive prison terms between 15 and 20 years.

7. 2022
   Sentence-execution measures are granted

   Belgian courts allow Gyselbrecht increasingly limited forms of release and later electronic monitoring while his sentence continues.