A farmer has been sentenced to eight months in prison for harassing his ex-wife while awaiting trial in prison for suffocating his two daughters two years ago.
In November 2022, Chris Vanhaverbeke, a potato farmer from Waardamme, a town in West Flanders, suffocated his daughters, aged 5 and 8, following a divorce.
While in prison, he continued to harass his ex-wife, sending her two letters and making seven phone calls to her. He also gave her number to a fellow inmate, who called to ask if she was still single.
Initially, Vanhaverbeke was given a five-month suspended sentence for harassment. However, prosecutors appealed for a harsher penalty, seeking one year in prison.
In a separate case, Vanhaverbeke was sentenced in February 2024 to a four-month suspended sentence for domestic violence.
His lawyer argued that an appeal was unnecessary, saying: “Whether it’s five months or a year, it won’t lessen the suffering.” He also noted that the letters were about the couple’s divorce and the distribution of farming equipment.
The court decided that the original five-month sentence was insufficient and increased it to eight months.
The trial for the deaths of the two children is scheduled to take place soon at the West Flanders Assize Court.
