The Murder of Suzanne Thibeau

On January 3, 2015, Suzanne Thibeau was found dead at her home in Libramont, in Belgium's Luxembourg province. Investigators focused on Clara Maes, a longtime friend who regularly helped Thibeau and had visited that morning. Maes denied killing her, but an assize jury in Arlon found her guilty of murder in October 2020.

The discovery in Libramont

Thibeau, a 93-year-old widow, was found at home by friends in the early afternoon. The death was soon treated as a homicide. Reporting based on the investigation said there was no sign of forced entry, making the victim's recent contacts and the morning timeline central to the inquiry.

Maes had visited Thibeau that morning, something she regularly did while helping with routine household tasks. Investigators said inconsistencies emerged in her account, including questions about a change of clothes later that day.

Forensic evidence and the investigation

According to AFP and Belga-based reporting, traces of Thibeau's DNA were found in Maes's vehicle. The prosecution relied on that evidence together with the absence of a break-in and the timeline placing Maes with Thibeau shortly before the body was found.

Maes was charged in 2015 but was not held in pretrial detention because of her age and health. She continued to deny responsibility throughout the investigation and trial.

The financial relationship

Thibeau had named Maes as beneficiary of 70 percent of her estate, with the remaining 30 percent designated for a relative. Reporting from the trial also described an earlier donation of nearly €300,000 from Thibeau to Maes.

Prosecutors and civil-party lawyers presented the financial relationship and evidence that the friendship had deteriorated as a possible motive. That motive theory should not be overstated: the legally decisive fact for this archive is that the jury found Maes guilty of murder, not that every proposed explanation for why the crime occurred was independently proved.

The 2020 assize trial

The case went before the Court of Assizes in Arlon in October 2020. Maes was 89, making the proceeding unusual because of the advanced ages of both defendant and victim. She maintained that she had not killed Thibeau.

On October 9, 2020, the jury returned a guilty verdict. The court sentenced Maes to 10 years in prison. Her lawyer said her medical condition did not permit immediate incarceration, and she returned to the care home where she had been living.

Cassation appeal rejected

Maes challenged the conviction before Belgium's Court of Cassation. On February 25, 2021, reporting from Brussels recorded that the appeal had been rejected, leaving the murder verdict and 10-year sentence in place.

The Court of Cassation reviews legal and procedural issues rather than retrying facts before a new jury. The refusal of the appeal therefore made the assize judgment final in the ordinary sense used by this archive.

Timeline

1. January 3, 2015
   Suzanne Thibeau is found dead

   Friends discover the 93-year-old at her home in Libramont. The death becomes a murder investigation.

2. 2015
   Clara Maes is charged

   Investigators focus on Thibeau's longtime friend after reconstructing the morning timeline and forensic evidence.

3. October 9, 2020
   Guilty verdict and sentence

   An Arlon assize jury convicts Maes of murder and the court imposes a 10-year prison sentence.

4. February 25, 2021
   Cassation challenge fails

   Belgium's Court of Cassation rejects the appeal, leaving the conviction in force.