Brussels Airport Tragedy: Man Kills Wife, Jumps From Parking Garage

On a quiet November evening in 2006, Philippe Van Loo returned home to the family house on Grimbergsesteenweg in Vilvoorde, a town in Flemish Brabant, Belgium. What followed would become one of the most chilling domestic violence cases in Belgian legal history. Van Loo, then 44, brutally murdered his 51-year-old wife Vera Willems in their home, then drove to Brussels Airport and attempted suicide by plunging his car from the seventh floor of a parking garage. Miraculously, he survived the 20-meter fall, only to face trial nearly six and a half years later.

The Night of the Murder

According to Het Laatste Nieuws, the drama unfolded on November 10, 2006, when Van Loo returned from work in the evening. He called a friend and confessed he was about to do “something stupid.” The friend immediately alerted emergency services, begging them to go to the couple’s home.

Shortly afterward, police broke down the door of the modest terraced house. Inside, they found Vera Willems’ lifeless body on the living room floor, bearing severe signs of violence. Forensic examinations later revealed that Van Loo had struck his wife multiple times, sat on her chest, and strangled her both with his hands and with a scarf.

Chilling Details Emerge

During the subsequent trial at the Brussels Assize Court in March 2013, Knack reported that the court heard how Van Loo could describe in graphic detail how he had carried out the attack. Most disturbingly, he took multiple breaks during the assault, pausing before resuming the beating and strangulation of his wife.

“He could describe in detail how he had proceeded. He also took multiple breaks during his gruesome act, to continue later with beating and strangling his wife,” the court stated, as reported by HLN.

Van Loo did not call emergency services after the murder. Instead, he fled in his car and drove aimlessly for hours while police launched a massive manhunt. Later that evening, officers called his mobile phone. Van Loo told them he would commit suicide but refused to reveal his location.

The Suicide Attempt

In the early hours of November 11, 2006, Van Loo drove his car off the seventh floor of a parking garage at Brussels Airport, crashing through the concrete balustrade and falling 20 meters onto a tree that pierced the vehicle. Firefighters had to extract him from the wreckage. Against all odds, he survived with severe injuries and was rushed to hospital.

The Trial and Verdict

The case took nearly six and a half years to reach trial. When it finally did, in March 2013, the defense—led by prominent lawyer Sven Mary—argued that Van Loo had acted under an “irresistible impulse” (onweerstaanbare dwang), citing Article 71 of the Belgian Criminal Code and psychiatric reports.

However, as De Morgen reported, the jury rejected this defense. They based their decision on several key factors: Van Loo’s detailed memory of the events, the pauses he took during the attack indicating deliberate action, his coherent phone calls after the crime, and the fact that his heavy alcohol consumption was self-inflicted.

The jury found Van Loo guilty of manslaughter (doodslag) in the early hours of March 13, 2013. He was immediately taken into custody and later sentenced to 12 years in prison. The prosecution had requested 17 years.

A Seemingly Happy Marriage

Perhaps the most haunting aspect of the case is that friends and family described the couple’s marriage as seemingly happy, with no visible problems. Vera Willems was a successful graphic designer at an advertising agency, while Philippe worked for the Belgian National Railway Company (NMBS).

“I have known them for many years, but I have never known of any troubles,” a friend testified after the facts, as reported by HLN.

The couple’s daughter was not home at the time of the murder and learned of her mother’s death from a nurse. She later distanced herself from her father.

No Remorse, No Answers

During the trial, Van Loo showed no remorse. “I have been trying to explain everything for a long time, but I do not succeed,” he told the court. The judgment noted that “he still refuses to engage in introspection about his act and to face his own emotions and actions of that day.”

Domestic Violence in Belgium

The case of Vera Willems is a tragic example of intimate partner femicide. According to the European Institute for Gender Equality, Belgium recorded 39,397 offences of intimate partner violence in 2022 alone. Between 2021 and 2024, approximately 180 women were reportedly murdered by their husbands or partners in Belgium.

The case predates Belgium’s 2023 law specifically targeting violence against women, which was passed after a decade in government. It underscores a broader, systemic problem that continues to claim lives.

Legacy

The HLN article published on July 23, 2026, is part of a True Crime series called “Met de blote hand” (With Bare Hands), focusing on murders committed through strangulation or brute force without weapons. Nearly two decades after the crime, the case continues to haunt the Vilvoorde community and raises enduring questions about domestic violence awareness, the role of alcohol abuse in intimate partner violence, and the Belgian justice system’s handling of femicide cases.

What exactly motivated Van Loo to kill his wife remains unclear. The court noted he refused to engage in introspection. Whether there were prior signs of domestic violence that were missed is a question that lingers, as it does in so many similar cases across Belgium and beyond.

If you or someone you know is affected by domestic violence, help is available. In Belgium, contact the domestic violence helpline at 1712 or visit www.1712.be.