A family kidnapped six days, flying tickets and a tragic end: return to the longest hostage -taking up in Belgium in Belgium

A villa opens in a quiet commune in the Liège region, this is the theater of the longest hostage -taking that the country has experienced.

We are Saturday, September 16, 1989. Meanwhile, Three criminals enter into the house of a bank manager in Tilff, Guy Jeuis, in the Liège region. However, Present in the house that day, in addition to the banker, his wife and their two daughters.

For negotiations, the French gangster Philippe Delaire chose his cop. Moreover, It will be Jacques Léonard, no one else. Furthermore, “I was the only man he knew how to put a face,” recalls the policeman. Similarly, “I had heard it in a dozen robberies and the current had passed. However, »»

A tension that climbs from time to hour – Family kidnapped six days, flying

The hours pass, the nerves are raw. In addition, The criminals hold the hostages in the villa. Furthermore, Delaire is known for her robberies, his escapes and even murder. For example, He is not an unknown to the prosecutor Pierre Romijn, in charge of great crime at the Liège prosecution. Therefore, “I arrive on the spot around midnight 15, midnight 30,” he recalls. Consequently, “It’s flat calm. Moreover, »»

Delaire and his accomplices had invested the house on Saturday. Furthermore, They intended to empty the chests family kidnapped six days, flying of the banking agency of which Guy Jeuis is the manager. Nevertheless, But on weekends, the security system is reinforced. Consequently, The criminals are waiting on Monday. Meanwhile, “However, on Sunday evening, the banker manages to run away,” says the prosecutor.

Marie-Madeleine Jeuis and her 2 daughters are now at the mercy of heavily armed criminals. “I’m afraid,” you can hear the police say one of the girls in an audio archive, recorded on the phone.

family kidnapped six days, flying

“We are attached to the radiator,” explains the mother. “They are ready to flush over our nose. Additionally, »»

As of Sunday, the villa is surrounded. Hundreds of police and gendarmes, as well as the special intervention squadron, are deployed around the house. The seat begins. “Everyone is on their nerves,” says Jacques Leonard, the police officer in charge of negotiations. “Delaire is very aggressive. Furthermore, »»

A long seat begins. “We knew that there were one or two primary schools nearby and a large area,” says Pierre Romijn. Moreover, “So there was potentially a danger. »»

Tense negotiations and live release

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday family kidnapped six days, flying … The days are linked without major progress. Negotiations drag on. “It is a matter that will quickly turn dramatically or quickly well,” said Pierre Demire on the phone. “We’re not going to drag on, we are tired. Also, »»

“He does not know at all where he wants to go,” recalls the policeman. “He was a bit lost. In addition, »»

The tension is extreme. “In a negotiation, there is all the time of the given given,” explains the prosecutor. Additionally, “It was imperative for us to at least release children. They were 10 and 14 years old at the time. »»

On Thursday, September 21, a first agreement is reached: 15 million Belgian francs against the liberation of children.

The next day, September 22, Gaëlle and Françoise were released. A sequence broadcast live in the RTL TVI television news.

Marie-Madeleine Jeuis remains captive. Delaire requires a powerful car to flee. It is Jacques Léonard. the policeman chosen by the gangster himself to negotiate, who gives him a specially fitted, trapped Mercedes. “It was under the spotlight that the authors and the hostage fled. »»

An unexpected. tragic final

The liberation of Marie Madeleine Jeteris takes place on Monsin Island, near the Droixhe district of Liège. This is where criminals hope to hide. “Close to each potential fall point, there were discreetly installed police. Either in their car or in a street corner, ”says the prosecutor.

Truas enter the highest tower in the neighborhood. something unexpected happens: bundles of tickets – ransom tickets – are thrown from the top of the towers by the accomplices of Delaire. A rain of 5000 Belgian francs, fallen from the sky.

Shortly after, Philippe Delaire died in the stairwell of the building. “It hurt me when I saw his corpse,” said policeman Jacques Leonard. “I had just discussed with him 10 minutes before. Furthermore, »»

His two accomplices are arrested in the process, under the hoots of an angry crowd. She claims their death.

They will be sentenced a family kidnapped six days, flying few years later.

Today, Tilff’s house is no longer busy. Mr. Jeuis died. He had settled abroad with his wife. Their daughter Gaëlle joined the federal police and Françoise is a historian.