A killer dad who suffocated his two daughters during a custody battle with his ex told his former wife in a chilling call: “It’s too late. They’re dead. You’re not going to see them again.”
Police in Belgium later seized the father after finding the bodies of the girls aged five and eight at his home in Waardamme, Oostkamp, West Flanders.
Suspect Chris Vanhaverbeke is accused of carrying out the horrifying double murder on 16th November.
He and the girls’ mother, Astrid, had broken up three months ago (August) after a 15-year relationship.
Astrid had left Vanhaverbeke because he could be “aggressive and she had already given him many chances”, a person close to her told local media.
Following the break-up, Vanhaverbeke had reportedly stalked Astrid and threatened to take their children – eight-year-old Maud and Ona, five – from her.
The estranged couple had met on 14th November to discuss their ongoing divorce, but the conversation was not constructive, said sources close to the family.
One of the points of contention was reportedly custody over their two daughters.
Vanhaverbeke saw the girls twice a week but wanted joint custody. However, Astrid is said to have wanted to keep the existing arrangement.
Vanhaverbeke, 44, was supposed to pick the girls up from school and drop them off with Astrid on Wednesday.
But when he never showed up, Astrid began to worry. She called him, but he failed to answer her calls.
Eventually, he answered one of her calls to tell her: “It’s too late. They’re dead. You’re not going to see them again.” He then hung up.
Sickeningly, he also posted a photo of himself with his daughters along with a message announcing his act on Facebook. The message ended with: “I’m sorry.”
Astrid immediately called police, who rushed to the couple’s former home, where they found the dead body of one of the girls.
They found the second girl’s dead body in the next-door guesthouse owned by the former couple.
Vanhaverbeke and his car were nowhere to be seen, but following a search, he was found driving on the motorway from Ostend towards Bruges.
When police turned on their lights, Vanhaverbeke accelerated, swerved off the road, and crashed, suffering minor injuries. He was arrested.
Police believe the crime was premeditated, as on Tuesday (15th November), he had told his colleagues at the steel company where he worked as a forklift operator that it was his last day.
A colleague told local media: “On Tuesday, Chris told us casually that it was his last day. Nobody questioned it. We thought he had just taken leave, that happens quite often here.
“But now it seems as if Chris already knew on Tuesday what havoc he would wreak. That he knew we would never see him here at work again.”
Vanhaverbeke was questioned by the investigating judge on Friday. His lawyer, Frederiek Wauters, said: “My client is very sorry.
“He realises what he has done and is a broken man. He is cooperating well with the investigation and has answered every question from the investigating judge. He went over the facts in minute detail.”
Vanhaverbeke will appear before the council chamber, which will decide if he will remain in pre-trial detention, on Tuesday, 22nd November.
He is formally accused of double infanticide.
The mayor of Oostkamp, Jan de Keyser, described the events as “one of my heaviest nights ever”.
He added: “We have to get through this together as a community.”
