Former wife of child killer Marc Dutroux to be a free woman without conditions

Michelle Martin was convicted to 30 years' imprisonment for her role in the abduction and the death of Marc Dutroux' victims in the nineties. She faced charges relating to the abduction of young girls, imprisonment, sexual abuse and murder. Two victims died of starvation; Martin said she had been too scared to go into the secret cellar to feed them while Dutroux was serving a four-month jail term for car theft.

While Martin got a 30-year sentence, she only served 16 years in gaol. She enjoyed an early release in August 2012, but under conditions: she had to accept psychological counselling, could not make any statements in the media and was not allowed to seek contact with the victims' friends or family. Martin moved to a convent to prepare a new life. 

The conditions were imposed for 10 years and this term is coming to an end now. Martin will be a free woman next Friday. 

"This remains hard to accept" says Paul Marchal, the father of the murdered teenage girl An, in a Facebook post (see below). "Especially on a day like this. We heard that An was taken from us on a 23rd of August so many years ago, and on the same day you receive a letter from the judicial authorities to inform you that Michelle Martin is to be released." 

Michel Lelièvre, another Dutroux complice, was released in 2019. Dutroux himself will probably have to stay behind bars for the rest of his life. Dutroux abducted at least six girls, of which four did not survive the horror.