Jonny Van Den Broek (28), accused of murdering Shashia Moreau (20) in what Flemish media dubbed the "Pokemon murder", was sentenced to life imprisonment on Monday.
Van Den Broeck killed his victim with a special collar, which he used during S&M sex.
He had lured Moreau to his apartment with a promise of trading Pokemon figures. "His goal was to experience his ultimate sexual fantasy: extreme sex, until death followed," ruled the Antwerp court on Friday, reports De Standaard.
The trial, which kicked off on 18 October, saw Van Den Broeck break with a claim he had upheld for years according to which he did not remember how Moreau died, admitting he had strangled her during sex, in an encounter he says was consensual.
“We had sex, first normal, then rougher,” Van Den Broeck told the court. “I grabbed her throat with both hands for a light strangle, but I pushed harder than I realised.”
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However, the jury called that story "completely unbelievable" after a week of trial. "Based on Shashia's personality profile and the many testimonies, it is impossible that she would agree to have sex with Van Den Broeck," the jury said.
Earlier in the trial, psychiatrists appointed by the court called Van Den Broeck "a ticking timebomb", showing characteristics of a psychopath.
On Monday afternoon he received a life sentence and an additional penalty of fifteen years of judicial surveillance after the expiry of the effective prison sentence, reports De Morgen.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
