The appeal hearing on the granting of parole to the ex-wife and accomplice of Belgian paedophile serial killer Marc Dutroux is taking place in Brussels today.

Even after all these years, the mere mention of the name “Marc Dutroux” can wipe the smile off the face of almost any Belgian.

The wife of notorious Belgian paedophile Marc Dutroux who helped her husband attacks on children has been released from prison 22 years early, outraging her victims' families.

A convicted child rapist was found guilty today of abducting, raping and murdering two schoolgirls.

A convicted child rapist murdered two little sisters within months of being released from a Belgian prison, a court heard today.

MICHEL FOURNIRET, 65, dubbed “the Ogre of the Ardennes”, has shown no remorse for his alleged crimes, prosecutors say, and one girl who managed to escape from him said he boasted that he was “far better” than Marc Dutroux, the Belgian paedophile and serial killer.

Serial killer Michel Fourniret went on trial for seven murders today and immediately tried to manipulate the court proceedings being held in France.

Serial killer Michel Fourniret went on trial for seven murders today and immediately tried to manipulate the court proceedings.

A self-confessed serial killer whose wife helped him select young girl victims goes on trial in France today for the rape and murder of seven of them.

A self-confessed serial killer whose wife helped him select young girl victims goes on trial tomorrow for the rape and murder of seven of them.

Mourners laid flowers and placed candles, cards and teddy bears today near the spot in Liege where the bodies of two Belgian schoolgirls were found after a three-week search.

A Belgian court today ruled that a suspect in the killing of two schoolgirls whose bodies were found hidden in a storm drain will remain in custody, despite protests from his lawyers who argued there was no evidence to link him to the crimes.

Belgian police today discovered the bodies of two schoolgirls who disappeared almost three weeks ago from a late night street party.

Belgian authorities confirmed the discovery today of a second body in their search for two missing schoolgirls.

Belgian police today found the body of a young girl believed to be seven-year-old Stacy Lemmens who disappeared with her stepsister more than two weeks ago.

The body of a young girl, believed to be one of two missing girls who disappeared in Belgium more than two weeks ago, has been found by police.

TODAY marks International Missing Children’s day, during which people are urged to wear a forget-me-not flower in order to highlight the plights of missing children worldwide.

The Fourniret case has sparked calls to bring down the police and legal barriers between EU countries, says Ann Cahill.

French police began digging for clues today in the garden of a former home of a confessed serial killer who claimed last week to have murdered nine people and buried several of the bodies.

A confessed serial killer is willing to cooperate with Belgian and French investigators to find more bodies of his victims.

A FRENCH avowed serial killer has led police to the bodies of a 12-year-old girl and 22-year-old woman he admitted having killed and buried on the grounds of his former home 15 years earlier, prosecutors said.

Confessed child killer Michel Fourniret has admitted killing two more teenage girls, bringing to nine the number of murders acknowledged by the former forest ranger, prosecutors said.

HOT on the heels of a paedophile murder trial that revived ugly memories for Belgium, a French forestry worker has confessed to the murder of six girls over a 14-year period and has been accused of killing several other people.

The Beast of Belgium Marc Dutroux was jailed for life without parole today for a spate of child kidnappings, rapes and murders that horrified the nation and drew international notoriety.

The Beast of Belgium, Marc Dutroux, was jailed for life today for a spate of child kidnappings, rapes and murders that horrified the nation and drew international notoriety.

The beast of Belgium, Marc Dutroux, was jailed for life for rape and murder.

Defence lawyers entered final pleas today ahead of the sentencing of Marc Dutroux as Belgium awaited closure of a child rape and murder trial that horrified the nation.

Prosecutors today called for paedophile Marc Dutroux to spend the rest of his life behind bars for multiple counts of child rape and murder that made him the most reviled man in Belgium.

SABINE Dardenne was 12 when her 80-day rape ordeal in the house of Belgian paedophile and murderer Marc Dutroux began.

PSYCHIATRISTS say Marc Dutroux — dubbed the “Monster of Charleroi” by the Belgian press — is less a paedophile than an icy-hearted predator with a murderous desire to control his victims.

THE case that has kept Belgium on tenterhooks since 1996 finally came to a close yesterday after years of delays and blunders.

THE list of languages translated in the Justus Lipsius Building in Brussels, where the EU Summit is taking place, has one vacancy at the bottom.

The Beast of Belgium, paedophile Marc Dutroux, faces life in prison after being convicted today of a series of child rapes and murders in a case that has horrified the country for nearly a decade.

The most hated man in Belgium, paedophile Marc Dutroux, was today convicted of the murder of girls he kidnapped and tortured.

The jury deliberating the fate of Marc Dutroux and three co-defendants in a horrific Belgian child rape and murder case involving six girls reached a verdict today.

The jury in the trial of Marc Dutroux for the rape and murder of young girls retired to consider their verdicts today.

MARC DUTROUX, chief defendant in a horrific child rape and murder trial that has transfixed Belgium for more than three months, rejected the most serious charges against him yesterday in a final courtroom appeal before a jury decides his fate.

Marc Dutroux, chief defendant in a horrific child rape and murder trial that has transfixed Belgium for over three months, rejected the most serious charges against him today in a final courtroom appeal before a jury decides his fate.

Marc Dutroux, chief defendant in a horrific child rape and murder trial that has transfixed Belgium for three months, went into the witness box today to make his final arguments before a jury decides his fate.

Marc Dutroux acted on behalf of a criminal network to kidnap and sell children into the sex trade, his lawyer claimed today during closing arguments in the child sex and murder trial.

Psychiatrists testified today that Marc Dutroux, who is standing trail for kidnapping, abuse and murder involving six young girls, was a psychopath who knew exactly what he was doing.

THE surviving victims of child-rapist Marc Dutroux yesterday returned to the dungeon where he incarcerated and abused them in 1996.

Two victims in the kidnap, rape and murder trial that has shocked Belgium today returned to Marc Dutroux’s home where he held them and two other girls in a dank secret dungeon.

MARC DUTROUX, a paedophile on trial for rape and murder in a case that has horrified Belgium, apologised yesterday to the two victims rescued alive from his basement cell eight years ago.