Murder of Jeanne Van Calck

 

In 1906 9-year-old Jeanne Van Calk was living with her grandparents in Brussels, Belgium. Though she was living with her grandparents she would frequently visit her mother, but would never get to know her father as he had abandoned them.

On Feb. 7, 1906, Jeanne would leave her home to go to her mother's, This was not unusual, but it was the first time she would go alone as her grandfather was working. She would never make it to her mother's home on the corner of Baudouin Boulevard it was supposed to be a short distance.

Around a quarter till midnight that same night a machinist from the Théâtre de l'Alhambra, Joseph Eylenbosch, and his son found a suspicious package outside the door of 22 Rue des Hirondelles in Brussels. They would contact police officers about it. When police arrived they felt inside the package that was thick paper tied with a hemp cord. Inside the package, they could feel hair and skin. They would then bring it to the station before inspecting it. 

Inside they first saw Jeanne's blue peacoat and checkered dress. Inside was Jeanne's body with her legs missing and amputated at the groin. A search was done for the girl's legs. Which wouldn't be found till the 16th by a gardener in the park of the royal Stuyvenbergh farm.

Two men would arrive at the police station and report Jeanne missing. It would be found that Jeanne and her clothes matched the description of the dead girl. Upon hearing about her daughter's death Jeanne's mother fainted. 

Though Jeanne was dismembered her cause of death was still found. She had suffocated to death on her own vomit after consuming a large quantity of alcohol. There were also other signs of violence against the young girl. It was believed that whoever had dismembered Jeanne was familiar with cutting into meat like a butcher, or doctor. It's believed her death happened between 8 to 9 in the evening. The papers used to wrap the girl's body were from the newspaper "Le Soir" from the dates Jan. 12th and 27th 1906. Other papers came from an edition of "Journal De Paris". 

A friend of Jeanne's would later state that around 7 p.m. they saw Jeanne with an unknown man around 7 p.m. near her grandparent's home. They stated that the man and Jeanne were not going towards where her mother lived, but the opposite way. 

There were many suspects in this case. It was found3 years later that the spotting of Jeanne by her friend was not investigated further because she was a child. It was believed that the police had messed up the investigation. 

Émile Rossel, the owner of Le Soir would open a subscription service to help fund a marble monument to pay homage to Jeanne. She would be known as "Little Angel of Rue des Hirondelles". Jeanne would also be seen as a symbol of childhood innocence. 

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Find a Grave

DH