Further information concerning the femicide of 53-year-old Eleonora in the municipality of Etterbeek on Tuesday was revealed by her lodger Oussama (full name withheld), who gave an interview to RTL Info on Thursday.
Oussama was the first person to discover Eleonora’s lifeless body on Tuesday, having heard her scream at around 13:00. “I asked her if she needed anything but she did not answer.” The lodger then forced the door open where she found her “under the sofa and only her feet were sticking out.”
He had been living with Eleonora at her apartment on Rue Philippe Baucq for two years, as the 53-year-old had opted to sublet one of her rooms. Oussama also saw first-hand the violent tendencies of his flatmate’s ex-partner, 26-year-old Hassan who is the primary suspect and is currently on the run.
Oussama explained that when the couple was together there were “fights every day” which often required police intervention. Hassan was jailed early in the year but released in March and tried to contact Eleonora who refused to take him back, the lodger stated.
Related News
- National feminist demonstration in Brussels against gender-based violence
- PS calls for the creation of an observatory on feminicides in Belgium
- Charleroi school faces backlash for 'honouring' teacher who killed ex-wife
Hassan later returned to her apartment on Tuesday and Oussama revealed that he had opened the door to the 26-year-old before Eleonara was murdered. Brussels’ Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that an investigation into the murder is ongoing. It refused to make any further comments.
In any case, Eleonora’s death is now one of the two femicides to occur every month in Belgium, according to a recent study. Moreover, the same findings showed that the majority of these crimes were perpetrated by the victim's current or former partner.
