BELGIAN police have detained a man in their search for a serial killer who has left a trail of his victims' body parts in the area around Mons, southern Belgium, judicial officials confirmed yesterday.
"A suspect has been arrested in the Mons case, and he will go before a committal court on Monday," officials said. The court will decide whether there are grounds to extend the detention.
Mr Didier Vanreusel, spokesman for the Mons public prosecutor, said that in the interests of the investigation the arrest had been kept secret until now.
The suspect, a Belgian male who lived on the fringe of society, knew the only victim who has so far been identified, Mr Vanreusel said.
The suspect's identity has not been revealed. "This is required to protect the man's private life. By Monday, the investigating magistrate could always decide to release him," the Mons prosecutor's office said.
The killer has taunted the police for the past month by leaving a string of female body parts in bizarrely named locations after the identity of a second victim was established.
The severed head of Nathalie Godart (21) of Mons was found on April 12th, and identified after police circulated a photo fit picture. She was homeless and was often seen hanging around the Mons railway station.
Only one other had previously been identified, by a tattoo. She is believed to be Martine Bohn (43), a French prostitute living locally, whose torso was fished out of a river in July last year.
Fifteen garbage bags have been found in the Mons area since March 22nd. All contained neatly severed female body parts, except for one stuffed with clothing.
They were left in the Rue du Depot (dump), near the River Haine (hate), on the Chemin de l'Inquietude (the Path of Worry) and the banks of the River Trouille (jitters).
. Seven human skulls and the mummified corpse of a baby have been found at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport in a container of Peruvian handicrafts being sent to Belgium.