Marc Dutroux - Second Arrest and Failure of The System

Second Arrest and Failure of The System

In late 1995, Dutroux was arrested by police for involvement in a stolen luxury car racket. He was held in custody for three months between 6 December 1995 and 20 March 1996. During this period, Lejeune and Russo starved to death in the dungeon. Michelle Martin allegedly fed her husband's German shepherd dogs but not the girls, who were later buried in bin bags in the back garden.

There are documented reports that police searched Dutroux's house on 13 December 1995 and again six days later in relation to his car theft charge. During this time, Julie Lejeune and Mélissa Russo were still alive in the basement dungeon, but the police failed to discover them. Since the search was unrelated to kidnapping charges, police searching the house had no dogs or specialised equipment that might have discovered the girls' presence, and they failed to notice the significance of the freshly plastered and painted wall that concealed the dungeon, in an otherwise decrepit and dirty basement. While in the basement, officers heard children's cries, which they decided had come from the street outside.

Two months after his release, Dutroux, with help from Lelièvre, kidnapped 12-year-old Sabine Dardenne who was on her way to school on 28 May 1996. She was imprisoned by him, once again, in the dungeon where he had kept his previous victims.