A Belgian woman admits to killing 4-year-old Dean, who was left lifeless in Zeeland

Dave De K. from Belgium admitted to beating a four-year-old boy to death in his car two years ago, reports the newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws. De K. then left the body at the island of Neeltje Jans in Zeeland.

Dave de K. was friends with the boy’s mother, Dean, the 4-year-old Belgian toddler. They met when Dean’s mother voluntarily received treatment in the psychiatric department of the hospital in Sint-Niklaas, near Antwerp. De K.’s girlfriend was treated there for alcohol addiction. This is how the couple became friends with the mother.

The Flemish newspaper writes that De K. and his girlfriend got into a fight in 2022 when they were caring for Dean. The mother had agreed with the couple that her son could stay with them while she was in the psychiatric institution. It is said that De K. became angry with his girlfriend because she had drunk too much again. He then allegedly drove away from the house with Dean.

The boy’s mother then informed the police that her son had disappeared. De K. was later arrested in Meerkerk, near Utrecht. According to Belgian authorities, the body of the child Dean was later found in Zeeland.

For a long time it was not clear what exactly happened to the boy. De K. previously said that Dean had died accidentally after falling down a flight of stairs at his home.

HLN writes that De K. has now admitted that he killed the child in the car. He would have “exploded”, he said he doesn’t remember why.

While the child was already dead, the man reportedly went to his drug dealer in Koudekerke to buy drugs. Research by the Dutch police shows that De K. regularly stopped on the way there. That may have been the time the man did something to the child, HLN writes.

De K.’s girlfriend was also arrested because of the child’s disappearance. De K. must still appear before a majority court, civil jury.