French killer is jailed over 1996 execution-style murder of British businessman after 20 years on the run during which time he launched a TV career
- Jean-Claude Lacote, 53, and Hilde Van Acker, 56, have been jailed in Belgium
- Pair, known as the ‘Devil’s Couple’, murdered Briton Marcus Mitchell in 1996
- Mitchell was shot in the head and neck after confronting Lacote over a scam
- Lacote and Acker evaded justice for more than 20 years using fake names, during which time he became a TV host in South Africa
A Frenchman and his ex-wife who murdered a British businessman in 1996 have been jailed in Belgium after more than two decades evading justice.
Jean-Claude Lacote, 53, and Hilde Van Acker, 56, two of Europe’s most wanted fugitives, were taken to separate jails on Wednesday after arriving on an overnight flight from the Ivory Coast, where they were arrested last year.
Lacote and Van Acker, nicknamed the ‘Devil’s Couple’, were convicted in absentia in 2011 for the execution style killing of Marcus John Mitchell, 44, who was shot twice in the head and neck in the coastal town of De Haan 24 years ago.
Jean-Claude Lacote, 53 (right), and his ex-wife Hilde Van Acker, 56 (left), have been jailed in Belgium for the 1996 murder of British businessman Marcus John Mitchell
Prosecutors in the city of Bruges said they expect the pair to ask for a retrial.
Mr Mitchell, a married father-of-three from Surrey, met Lacote after being duped into fronting money for what he thought was a deal to buy aviation parts.
After his money went missing he confronted Lacote to demand it back, and was shot twice – once in the head and once in the neck.
His body was hidden in nearby sand dunes and discovered by playing children.
It is believed Lacote and Van Acker, who were married at the time but have since divorced, fled to the UK on a ferry the day after the murder.
The pair were arrested in Belgium later that year but were released by police while the investigation was ongoing.
Despite being the subject of an Interpol red notice they were able to flee to Brazil and then went to South Africa.
While there Lacote got work in TV, helping to produce a ten-episode series called Duty Calls which ran between 2000 and 2003.
The show followed real police officers to show how they ‘dealt with violent criminals and dangerous crime scenes.’
In 2003, after the show had ended, Lacote allegedly masterminded another plot to con a wealthy Irish businessman – again using the ruse of buying aeroplanes.
Acker (left) and Lacote (right) evaded justice for more than 20 years using fake identities during which time he became host of a reality TV series in South Africa
The businessman was put in touch with Lacote – posing as money lender Roger Wilcox – who offered to lend him £1.5million but with a surety of £1million.
The businessman agreed and paid the money into a South African account, before it vanished.
Lacote was arrested in 2007 and taken to a a Johannesburg jail where he was awaiting trial when he managed to escape.
Van Acker and others posed as police officers, using fake paperwork to free Lacote on the pretense of interviewing him for an investigation.
It took a week for South African police to notice he was gone, by which time he was thought to have gone to Brazil.
In 2012 they were also convicted in absentia in France and Germany of making death threats and fraud.
Belgian police said they were aware of a Ferrari and house linked to Lacote being auctioned in 2013, but otherwise had seen no sign of the couple.
In 2016 they were placed on Europol’s most-wanted list, and last year Van Acker featured heavily in the agency’s ‘crime has now gender’ campaign.
The pair were arrested in the Ivory Coast in November 2019 under the pseudonyms Stephane Lacote and Marlene Lacote Vacker.
Van Acker is thought to have requested a transfer to Belgium herself after telling police that she was suffering from cancer, Belgian media reports.
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