Brutal Deurne Murder Shocks Belgium: 30-Year Sentence for Domestic Violence

The verdict was handed down last Thursday. Redouan Achergui, a 39-year-old man from Deurne, was sentenced to 30 years in prison, compared to a sentence of 29 years in prison requested by the public prosecutor’s office, for the murder of his partner Yentl Heylen (36 years old), the theft of her bank card and computer fraud. He strangled the victim on March 18, 2023 in her apartment in Lier, in the province of Antwerp. According to the forensic report, the victim had, among other things, fractures to the laryngeal skeleton and characteristic "petechiae" in the eyes.

For the jury and the court, the defendant killed his partner in an extremely violent manner without giving her any chance to defend herself. No mitigating circumstances were taken into account. The defendant was sentenced to the maximum penalty. A satisfaction for Yentl Heylen’s friends. They welcomed the verdict with applause. A relief for the victim’s mother. With his head bowed, Achergui himself resigns.

"You have had a fair trial. The verdict may not satisfy you, but I can assure you that the jury has thoroughly examined your case and has sincerely done its best to pronounce an appropriate sentence," Assize Court President Kristof Swennen told Achergui. He adds: "You now have ample time in prison to reflect. You have everything in hand to emerge from prison as a better man."

The nearly forty-year-old will only be able to consider early release after serving half of his sentence, it is specified.