Belgian serial killer may be questioned for death in Cabo de Gata

A MAN serving a life sentence in Belgium for a double murder may be brought to Almeria for questioning over the violent death of an elderly man in Cabo de Gata.

Tomas ML was found dead among rocks at Cala Raja in the natural park of Nijar on November 16, 2011, and initially his death was believed to have been an accident. The 76-year-old man had gone out early that morning and mentioned in a bar where he stopped for breakfast that he was going fishing.

However, a post mortem examination revealed that he had died from a violent blow to the back of his head with a rock, which fractured his skull. His car was found a month later in La Junquera, Girona, and DNA lifted from the steering wheel was matched to that of Etienne Dedroog, a 44-year-old convicted Belgian murderer.

Now, the victim’s family is campaigning for the prime suspect to be brought to Almeria for questioning. Their lawyer, Jose Ramon Cantalejo, has stressed that Dedroog was in Almeria around the time of the elderly man’s death as proved by the use of a credit card and messages sent from the area.

Dedroog was jailed after being found guilty of the murder of an elderly couple who owned rural accommodation in Belgium. However, the authorities believe they were not his first crimes and that in fact he walked a murderous path through western Europe that autumn. The French police believe he killed an elderly woman, also a rural accommodation owner, in October 2011. He is then suspected of having stolen her credit card and car and driven to Spain, where he allegedly killed Tomas ML in November before fleeing to Belgium and continuing his killing spree before turning himself in to the police.