Over a month has passed since the death of Carmel Delaney, wife of a Goodyear President Chris Delaney, who was found murdered in her Woluwe-Saint-Pierre home on 17 March. So far, the investigation into the crime has posed just as many questions as it has answered.
While initial reports suggested a struggle following a robbery, emerging details have led investigators to consider the possibility of a premeditated act, and aroused suspicions of a potential crime of passion.
Police reports first probed the possibility of a burglary gone wrong at the Delaney's affluent residence. CCTV footage later captured a masked individual entering and exiting the property within minutes. An post-mortem examination revealed that Carmel Delaney suffered four stab wounds to the neck, inflicted with a sharp or pointed object.
Investigators now say the break-in appeared to be carefully timed and executed. Several valuable items, including jewellery and three luxury watches estimated to be worth tens of thousands of euros, were removed from the home in what now investigators believe could have been a staged robbery.
Murder and intrigue
On 5 April, the seemingly violent robbery became much more complicated, as a suspect, now named in the press as “Greet V”, a close relation of the family and husband Chris Delaney’s long-time personal secretary, was detained at her home on the outskirts of Brussels.
The secretary has been charged with murder and illegal possession of a “weapon by destination”, a term used when an everyday object is repurposed as a weapon. This description fits with the account of the wounds inflicted on the Goodyear executive’s wife. Her lawyer has not provided any public statements regarding the case.
Credit: Belga / Hatim Kaghat
Five days later, on 10 April, authorities confirmed that the remand of suspect Greet has been extended for at least another month pending a full investigation.
While Chris Delaney is not considered a suspect, speculation into the exact nature of his relationship with his personal secretary has circulated. According to several unconfirmed reports in Belgian media, the two are alleged to have had more than a strictly professional relationship.
It is reported that Chris Delaney contacted Greet V. immediately after discovering his wife’s body, and that she, rather than the Goodyear boss, called emergency services upon arriving at the scene.
Chris Delaney has now stepped down from his position as President of Goodyear’s Middle East, Africa and Europe office, according to a regulatory filing published on Thursday, effective from 14 April. He will not receive severance pay.
For Woulwe-Saint-Pierre, an affluent and low-crime neighbourhood in the east of Brussels, the murder came as a shock to many residents. In a comment to Belgian newspaper La Libre, local mayor Benoît Cerexhe sought to reassure local residents, stating that the incident was a “tragedy”, but “does not reflect the everyday safety” of the municipality. The mayor said that local CCTV cameras were likely being used by Federal Police as part of the investigation.
An impressive legacy
The murder has sent shockwaves not only through the sleepy Brussels suburb, but the wider international community in the city. Accompanying her husband across the globe, testimonies and obituaries have come to Brussels from all four continents.
Carmel Delaney, née O’Sullivan, was born on 23 July 1962 in Queens, New York, and held dual Irish-American citizenship. She spent much of her life between Ireland and the United States and graduated from Cornell University in 1985, going on to spend 15 years at Procter & Gamble, where she met her husband, Chris.
In 2004, she founded International Educational Resources (IER), an organisation that helps international students access education in the U.S. IER support for promising students from around the world to sit entrance exams for both elite American universities and boarding schools. Carmel took pride in her role as a facilitator of education, successfully guiding students into top universities including Yale, Columbia, and Oxford.
Related News
- Murder of Goodyear chief's wife: What we know so far
- Goodyear chief's personal secretary arrested in wife's murder investigation
- Wife of Goodyear Europe chief killed in Brussels burglary
In Brussels, Carmel became an important part of the community, regularly organising social occasions and forging strong relationships with the Belgian capital’s community of international retirees. Carmel was a familiar face at the Brussels Women’s Club, where she sat on the committee since 2022.
Carmel was known for her adventurous spirit and love for the outdoors, organising walking trips and other outdoors activities as part of the Brussels Women’s Club. She also enjoyed knitting, horse-riding, and international travel, forging friendships across the world.
Her funeral was held in Windham, New York on 2 April with a memorial Mass at the Church of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus. The family has requested donations to be made to the Cape Eleuthera Island School in the Bahamas.
