Picture of savagery emerges at Belgian child murder trial

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2004

ARLON, Belgium (AFP) — The full sordid story of how four Belgian girls met their brutal ends eight years ago is beginning to emerge -- or at least Marc Dutroux's version of it. The details are stomach-wrenching.

One seasoned lawyer came out of the convicted child rapist's first session in the dock Wednesday saying he felt like crying. Only Dutroux, it seems, was left unaffected.

In a strong and level voice, the jobless electrician spent three hours giving the court his version of how six girls were stolen from their families and submitted to a terrifying ordeal from which only two escaped.

The horror story began on June 24, 1995, when two eight-year-old friends -- Julie Lejeune and Melissa Russo -- went missing while out for a walk in the southern town of...