Assize trial: Nicolas Ullens tried for murder of baroness in Lasne
Nicolas Ullens de Schooten appeared in court as a free man before the Nivelles assize court for the killing of his mother-in-law, Myriam Lechien, shot dead six times in March 2023.
The baroness Ullens' son-in-law before the Nivelles assize court
According to rtl.be, Nicolas Ullens de Schooten appeared on Monday before the Nivelles assize court for the killing of Myriam Lechien, his mother-in-law, who was killed on 29 March 2023 in Ohain. He faces a life sentence.
That morning, shortly after 10am, Nicolas Ullens presented himself without warning at the home of his father, Baron Guy Ullens, in Ohain. The two men exchanged words for about twenty minutes. The son requested financial assistance; the father refused. At 10:20, Nicolas Ullens left the property in a white van, after kissing his father and his stepmother on the forehead.
A few minutes later, he turned back. He would tell investigators that he had been in the grip of "deep emotional distress". At 10:35, he parked his vehicle at the corner of a street, at the exit of the family property.
At 10:43, Myriam Lechien and her husband crossed the gate in a black Golf. Nicolas Ullens struck their car with his van, got out of his vehicle with a handgun, and fired six times at his mother-in-law. She died immediately. His father was slightly wounded.
At 10:51, Nicolas Ullens went to Lasne police station, his hands trembling and visibly panicked, to ask to be interviewed by officers. Approximately 500 metres away, Baron Guy Ullens was still holding the body of his wife in his arms, at the wheel of their car.
The accused explained that he acted out of despair, convinced that Myriam Lechien was squandering the family fortune. Guy Ullens died two years after the events, at the age of 90.
Nearly three and a half years after the murder, Nicolas Ullens de Schooten appeared before the assize court as a free man. The proceedings are expected to last two weeks.
Source: Google News BE FR