Belgian Man Faces Trial for Wife’s Brutal Stabbing Death in Fleuron Apartment

During the trial, the defense lawyers, Philippe Zevenne and Alexandre Wilmotte, indicated that their client’s version differs from that presented by the public prosecutor’s office. "Our client is unable to express what he experienced. He is presented as a big teddy bear by several witnesses. The file will have to be enlightened by the testimonies on the personalities of the victim and the accused," said Philippe Zevenne.

The defense believes that Mokhtar Ammari, who stabbed Fatima Khayer 23 times in an apartment in Fleuron on February 10, 2019, did not premeditate this act, reports Belga. "This premeditation is totally contested. The interviews with the various experts will be important to know in what psychological configuration our client was at the time of the facts. There was a gradation in the difficulties experienced by the couple. The scene of the facts was the subject of verbal violence and degenerated," analyzed Alexandre Wilmotte.

The facts had occurred on February 10, 2019. Mokhtar Ammari had murdered his wife in an apartment in Fléron. A member of the victim’s family had discovered in the evening the lifeless body of Fatima Khayer bathed in a pool of blood. Alerted, the ambulance drivers had gone to the crime scene where they had apprehended Mokhtar Ammari. He had tried to commit suicide by ingesting ammonia and gasoline. The coroner, who autopsied Fatima Khayer’s body, found 23 knife wounds on the victim’s body, including 10 in the abdomen, five in the back and three in the neck. Mokhtar would have killed his wife late in the morning on February 10, 2019.

The couple had married in Morocco before settling in Belgium where Mokhtar had lived for more than 40 years. Their married life was not a long quiet river. They argued most often. The religious approach was not the same. After their divorce in 2012 for administrative and financial reasons, they still lived together. Fatima Khayer had wanted to separate from Mokhtar Ammari. Without success. She feared his reactions. Her partner is described as a jealous and suspicious man. He would have threatened to kill her several times.