RTBF Creative : TV production and distribution company

Criminal Belgium

Unscripted

Run Time

8 x 26'

Year of Production

2020

Producer

RTBF

Genre

Unscripted, Crime & Investigation

Pitch

Do you know what characterises a criminal? They are men and women of their time. Reliving the great criminal cases that have marked Belgium means re-immersing ourselves in Belgian history and its evolution. Because there’s so much more to a crime than just a blood-soaked news item. It tells us of the despair of those living in its aftermath, like the way avid readers devour every last detail of a police investigation. Thanks to a look at crown court documents, we also see the history of the Belgian justice system and the changes it has undergone, as portrayed by the crime. Far more than just justice. Far more than just a crime. Far more than just a criminal.

Videos

Episode 1

"The Waddington-Balmaceda Affair," Brabant Assize Court, 1907. This high-profile case involved Carlos Waddington, the son of the Chilean ambassador in Brussels, who shot his sister's fiancé, Ernesto Balmaceda, twice with a revolver. The motive was Balmaceda's refusal to accept his responsibilities. The case raises the question: Could an ...

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Episode 2

"The de Mazières Affair", 1922, Ghent: a case of poisoning. The culprit, Vicomte de Mazière, is no stranger to crime. His past exploits include identity theft and document forgery. This case takes us back to the living conditions at the end of World War I. Who is this Vicomte de Mazière?

Episode 3

Antwerp Assize Court, 1878. An obviously difficult investigation. The accused, Mestag, denies the charges to the end. Yes, he cut her, but he insists he didn't kill her. Will he be sentenced to death?

Episode 4

1956, Brussels: A triple murder was committed on Rue Royale. The bodies of an old man, General Deisser, his sister-in-law, and her maid were found. A robbery had occurred, but did the murderer know the family?

Episode 5

The case of Moulbaix, a mysterious affair in the aristocratic milieu of Hainaut, 1889, begins with the murder of the Marquise du Chasteler. Who killed the Marquise?

Episode 6

The Coucke and Goethals case, 1860. Pierre Coucke and Pierre Goethals, two Flemish workers from the Borinage region, were accused of robbing and murdering the Widow Dubois in Couillet. They were sentenced to death and guillotined in Charleroi in 1860. But were they really guilty?

Episode 7

The crime of Place St Géry, 1847, Brussels: a triple murder and robbery in the home of a wealthy Brussels notary. Will the investigation methods of 1850 help find the culprit?

Episode 8

In 1945, in post-war Liège, the body of a skinned man is found. The Americans, who have settled on Belgian soil, conduct their own investigation, which proves to be challenging. The main suspect gives several versions of events and accuses a man of color.