Date Published: 03/05/2024

Belgian woman murdered in Tenerife named as search continues for her husband

The expat’s dismembered body was found by fishermen in the sea off Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Last Saturday April 27, a badly decomposed body was found by fishermen off the coast of Adeje, a small town in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The victim has now been named as 66-year-old Belgian expat Laura Trappeniers.

Laura was last seen in her adopted home town on April 22. Her husband, 71-year-old Marc Olbrechts, is still missing, as is their blue Opel Mokka.

A post-mortem revealed that Laura suffered a horribly violent death; when she was found, her head had been covered with a plastic bag and both her legs and one hand had been cut off.

The small town where the expats lived has been rocked by this shocking murder, and friends and family are baffled by the couple’s disappearance.

One close friend told investigating authorities that the couple "seemed happy" and everything seemed to be "going well in their lives".

The Belgian authorities are now working closely with their Spanish counterparts to shed some light on the mystery.

A spokesperson said in a statement: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Brussels and the Belgian consulate in Tenerife are following this case closely and are in contact with the other competent Spanish and Belgian authorities on this matter."

Last month, Singaporean tourist Audrey Fang, 39, was found dead in a field near Abanilla in Murcia. Her body bore around thirty stab wounds, leading authorities to open a murder investigation.

By examining CCTV footage, investigators identified a suspect and he has since been arrested and held in custody. Ms Fang's alleged killer is also from Singapore and a resident of Alicante.

In other news: Drunk Irish passengers cause chaos on flight to Spain

Images: SOS Desaparecidos

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