I love true crime. This past summer, I did something I have always wanted to do: I visited Charleroi to view and photograph the addresses of Marc Dutroux's former residences. (Descriptions in comments.)

A little background: I'm a dual Belgian-US citizen living in the US, and my mother (a native Fleming) lives in Limburg. One of my biggest vices (don't know what this says about me) is a passion for certain true crime cases, one of which is the horrifying case of Marc Dutroux. I took a day trip to Charleroi while staying with her this past August, so I could go on a "morbid tourism" tour of the properties associated with him.

I had actually never been to Charleroi before. I have to say, it was a nicer city than I thought it would be (I had been told horror stories about it).

The image descriptions feature for Reddit doesn't work well for me, so here's a summary of my catalog:

  • Photo #1: Site of what was Dutroux’s primary residence in Marcinelle. This was where he built the infamous dungeon where he chained his victims. Demolition on the house began in June. This photo shows the site from Rue de Damzelles.
  • Photo #2: The Marcinelle demolition/construction site, viewed from Avenue de Philippeville. Based on historical street views from Google Maps, the demolition also included another house next door as well as a garage which stood between them.
  • Photo #3: Memorial opposite the former Marcinelle home on Avenue de Philippeville.
  • Photo #4: House owned by Dutroux in central Charleroi. Further details unknown. The house number has been blacked out to protect potential owners/occupants.
  • Photo #5: Memorial placed on the site of Dutroux’s former house on Rue Daubresse in Jumet.
  • Photo #6: Gate leading to a plot of grass behind the memorial. It should be noted that Dutroux buried An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks in the back garden of the Jumet house – meaning, they were buried and then exhumed in this plot of grass. As to the question of who has access to this gate, that is unknown to me (I assume it’s controlled by the Charleroi municipal government).
  • Photo #7: Marchienne-au-Pont. The black house on the left was owned by Dutroux. Wikipedia claims that Julie Lejeune and Melissa Russo were held here, although I’ve not been able to satisfactorily verify this. According to (of all entities) The New York Times, police searched this house in November 1993 (less than two years prior to Julie and Melissa’s kidnapping) and took note of the modifications made to the cellar. This house was probably the most intimidating one to see, since its elevation made it appear to tower over the street below. The house number has been blacked out to protect potential owners/occupants.
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