117:, Belgium, according to reports, 39-year-old Steve Bakelmans, wanting to rape a random person, saw 23-year-old Julie Van Espen riding her bicycle. He pulled her off the bicycle and tried to rape her. When she fought back, he beat her until she stopped moving and strangled her. Leaving her body on the side of the road, he took her bicycle basket with him and walked to the training center of the
181:" and "#JulieVanEspen" being used to command attention to the case, to raise awareness on sexual violence, and to address that Bakelmans had been walking free while being convicted of rape twice before. Over 15,000 people walked in a silent march in Antwerp for Van Espen on 12 May. The "Partij voor de Poëzie" (
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On 18 May, over 2000 people attended Van Espen's funeral: seven hundred relatives, friends and acquaintances inside the church, and around 1600 people following the service outside. During the church ceremony, relatives of Van Espen made a public request to change the name of the bridge near which
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after the CCTV images were published in a public appeal as part of the investigation into Van Espen's death. In custody, he confessed to having killed her. He had previously served four-and-a-half years in prison for a series of offences, including rape, and, in 2016, he had been remanded again on
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suspicion of theft and rape, later being sentenced to four years' imprisonment. He had appealed and the case had been indefinitely postponed in
November 2018. After he was arrested on suspicion of having killed Van Espen, police and prosecutors announced that they intended to use Bakelmans's
125:; this footage was later used to trace him. Bakelmans dumped Van Espen's travel pass in one of the bins of the complex. Because her bicycle basket did not fit into the bin, he hid it in an alley. Later that night, he dumped her body in the
105:. That same day, police arrested 39-year-old Steve Bakelmans on suspicion of her murder; in custody, he confessed that he had killed her after attempting to rape her. The case has led to political protests against sexual violence.
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On 21 December 2021, the jury of the Assize Court of
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along with her bicycle and her mobile phone. The body was found in the canal on 6 May. Some of Van Espen's clothing was found in the grass.
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240:"Meer dan 2.000 mensen op uitvaart Julie Van Espen: "Alles wat je deed, was voor iemand anders. Deze wereld is haar mooiste schat kwijt""
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165:"out of respect and compassion for the parents, family and social network of Julie" on 8 May. Social media users, including singer
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682:"DISCUSSIE. Nabestaanden van Julie roepen op om nieuwe Gabriël Theunisbrug Zonnebrug te noemen: wat vindt u?"
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495:"Goedele Liekens na de moord op Julie Van Espen: "Wanneer nemen we seksueel geweld eindelijk ernstig?""
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556:"Verontwaardiging, woede en onveiligheidsgevoel: de moord op Julie maakt veel los op sociale media"
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account was deleted due to hundreds of people sending him hateful messages. Minister of
Justice
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309:"Julie Van Espen's murderer confessed to killing her, but said he 'did not mean to'"
433:"Minister Geens annuleert Midzomerfeest "uit respect voor familie Julie Van Espen""
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618:""Dit is voor mijn lichaam": overal gedichten in de strijd tegen seksueel geweld"
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372:"Gerecht is van plan om DNA van Steve Bakelmans te matchen aan andere misdaden"
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97:(27 February 1996 – 4 May 2019), a 23-year-old Belgian woman, was found in the
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588:"Antwerpen rouwt en protesteert met stille tocht voor vermoorde Julie (23)"
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On the day Van Espen's body was found, Bakelmans was arrested by police in
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525:"Gebruikers Instagram zoeken troost in gedichten na moord Julie Van Espen"
403:"Facebook verwijdert profiel Steve Bakelmans na stortvloed aan reacties"
342:"Suspect in murder of Julie Van Espen had been twice convicted for rape"
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463:"Belle PĂ©rez veroordeelt moord op Julie Van Espen met pakkend gedicht"
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Van Hee, Lente; Dorjbayar, Amra; Boffé, Aurélie (7 May 2019).
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276:"Vlaamse Julie vocht terug. Dat bekocht ze met haar leven"
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561:Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie
238:Stevens, Guy; Geusens, Sofie (18 May 2019).
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143:cold cases
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65:Strangling
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74:In this
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115:Antwerp
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179:#MeToo
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