Former mayor of Aalst killed, partner in custody

Aalst city councillor Ilse Uyttersprot (CD&V), who served a term as the city’s mayor, has been killed, the public prosecutor of East Flanders has announced. Police found her body at her boyfriend’s home after he had turned himself in.

“This morning a man presented himself to police in Aalst,” said Annelies Verstraete of the public prosecutor’s office. “He said that he had killed Ilse Uyttersprot. Police then found her body in a residence. It appears to be a domestic violence situation.”

The man, who has not been identified, had apparently been in a relationship with Uyttersprot (pictured) for a relatively short period. He is now being held pending a full investigation.

Uyttersprot put a law degree to work briefly before turning to politics in the late 1980s. She was a city councillor before serving as mayor of Aalst from 2007 to 2012. She had followed in the footsteps of her father, Raymond Uyttersprot, who was mayor of the city from 1983 until his death in 1987.

Uyttersprot was 53 and the mother of two children. She had been a member of CD&V’s youth section and had also served in the federal parliament.

“This is deeply shocking to our party,” said CD&V chair Joachim Coens. “We have received many reactions today regarding her death and of course the manner in which it happened. She was very well known in Aalst but also across the region. I have known Ilse for many years and saw her only recently.”

Her murder, he continued, “leaves this city feeling empty. We have to discuss how to best to collectively express our grief”.

Photo courtesy CD&V