Karina (right) hopes to find out the whole truth — © rr
The news of her ex-husband’s arrest hit the family like a bomb. After thirty years, her sister and godson still hope for justice, and “that we may restore and commemorate her in honor and dignity.”
The 78-year-old ex-partner of Annie De Poortere, who disappeared thirty years ago in Sint-Martens-Latem, has been arrested by the investigating judge in Ghent. Hans D. has been placed under electronic surveillance for acts that are provisionally qualified as murder, says the East Flanders public prosecutor’s office.
READ ALSO. Former man makes partial confessions after Annie De Poortere’s body is found: “Yes, I buried her in the garden”
Karina De Poortere, Annie’s sister, reacts with surprise to the arrest. Last Sunday she already had mixed feelings when the news broke that her sister might have been found. She knew sadness, because she now has confirmation that her older sister has died. But above all, she asked herself a lot of questions about the research. “I am happy because things are finally moving forward,” she now responds to the news of her former brother-in-law’s arrest. She has not yet been contacted by the police or justice.
“I’m happy because things are finally moving forward”
Karina De Poortere
Sister of Annie
“I am excited that answers will finally come. Why was this not possible 30 years ago,” she wonders. “But now I want to know what exact role my ex-brother-in-law played in the disappearance and death of my sister.”
“Cowardly act”
Christophe De Poortere, Annie’s godson, wrote a response on social media. “Since there is an unrelenting stream of questions surrounding the case of my dear godmother Annie De Poortere, we have decided to maintain serenity for the time being. We place our trust in the police and judicial services that are now fully engaged in the case and can only hope for a quick breakthrough on the countless questions that now plague us,” he says.
“We can only hope for a quick breakthrough on the countless questions that now plague us”
Christophe De Poortere
Goddaughter of Annie
“After the cold shower we received last Sunday morning with the news that hit like a bomb, we can only hope for justice. That a perpetrator still becomes known and that we can still restore and commemorate Annie, who we were not allowed to keep with us for long due to a probably cowardly act by an individual, in honor and dignity,” says godson Christophe.
The son of suspect Hans D. does not want to make any statements for the time being.