Pierre Soupart -
Now the White House post in Knokke-Heist makes sense!
Original newspaper links below the translations.
English translation
Pierre Soupart (60) had been at odds for some time with his 82-year-old mother, Marguerite Petit. The last quarrel arose on June 15 last year in the courtyard of the Rallye pension on the Bayauxlaan in Knokke-Heist. Soupaert has been preying on his mother's property for a long time. But she suspected that he would sell it to developers and refused to leave it to him. An argument over a speck of paint peaked on June 15. Soupaert pushed his mother down a step at the back door of the guest house and then wanted to suffocate her with a wet towel. Passers-by came to the cry for help, who were able to free the woman.
In Bruges, the man was initially given a prison sentence of five years, of which 23 months were suspended. Both Soupaert and the public prosecutor's office of Bruges lodged an appeal against the verdict. Soupaert always claimed that he wanted to wipe the blood from his mother's face with that wet towel, but the court of appeal in Ghent did not believe this story and effectively increased the sentence to ten years.
Soupaert was also not ready for his test piece with the attempt. In 2004, the police had to intervene because he harassed his mother, and in 1997 he threatened to set the hotel on fire.
Knokke-Heist
Een man uit Knokke-Heist heeft in beroep tien jaar cel gekregen omdat hij zijn moeder probeerde te doden.
www.nieuwsblad.be
Pierre Soupart (59) has wanted to take over the pension of his 82-year-old mother Marguerite Petit in the Bayauxlaan in Knokke-Heist for many years. Because she does not want him to sell the property to developers, the elderly woman has never answered that question. This created ongoing tensions between mother and son and on June 15 last year the situation got completely out of hand. After a banal discussion about a paint spot, Soupart pushed his mother down a flight of steps at the back door of the guest house. He then tried to suffocate his fallen mother with a wet towel. The woman defended herself violently and when passers-by came to her cry for help, Soupart had to stop his assassination attempt. The police came to arrest Soupart and he has been in jail ever since.
wipe blood
"He didn't want to kill his mother," Soupart's lawyer tried during the pleadings. "He confesses to the push, but he certainly didn't want to choke her. He wanted to wipe the blood from his mother's face with that towel, but the witnesses misinterpreted it.' Soupart's lawyer wanted to have the facts reclassified as intentional assault and battery, but the judge refused to do so yesterday. Soupart was sentenced to five years in prison, of which 23 months were suspended. He has to pay his mother one euro in temporary compensation.
Alcohol problem
Pierre Soupart – from Tournai – is the eldest of four brothers and is a man of twelve crafts and thirteen accidents. At 59, he is still financially dependent on his mother. Until the day of the incident, he came to her for dinner every afternoon. He struggles with a heavy alcohol addiction and has built up a lot of debts. In March 2004, the police had to intervene when he was drunk and tried to extort money from his mother. A few years earlier, he threatened to burn down the boarding house if he didn't get more money.
"His mother strongly refrains from this situation," says lawyer Koen Van Zandweghe. “She struggles with a sense of failure as a mother. She won't see her son for the time being.' Soupart may appeal.
Een man uit Knokke-Heist heeft vijf jaar cel gekregen omdat hij zijn moeder probeerde te doden. Hij duwde haar van een trapje en probeerde haar te verstikken.
www.nieuwsblad.be