A Belgian, convicted of manslaughter of his wife, was arrested Tuesday in Mayotte where he fled with his new partner without having served the end of his sentence, AFP learned Wednesday from a police source.
The 44-year-old man had strangled his wife after an argument over jealousy and alcohol.
He was sentenced in 2013 to eight years in prison for assault and battery leading to death without intention to kill.
He had not returned to his cell at the end of 2020 while he was on semi-liberty.
The Namur court then issued a European arrest warrant against him.
He worked as a house keeper
In France, the National Fugitive Search Brigade (BNRF) had been informed of the facts by the Belgian authorities.
The French police officers found his trace for the first time in December 2020 when he crossed the Franco-Spanish border with his new partner, also Belgian.
The latter, very active and not very discreet on social networks, thus unwittingly helped the investigators who located the couple in Mayotte.
The local police were seized and learned that the fugitive was working there as a house keeper.
The couple also wrote classified ads under their own names for guardian positions in castles and villas, facilitating investigations.
The man was eventually located and arrested in Sada, a town west of the main island of Grande-Terre.
The fugitive was presented to the Mamoudzou prosecutor's office and placed in detention with a view to his extradition within 40 days to Belgium, the deadline provided for by the European arrest warrant.
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