The body of Alfred Gadenne, 71, Mayor of Mouscron, was discovered by his wife on Monday evening at Luingne Cemetery, where he was caretaker
An 18-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murder of a Belgian mayor who was found dead in a cemetery with his throat slit.
Nathan Duponcheel allegedly killed Alfred Gadenne, 71, the Mayor of Mouscron, near the French border, as an act of revenge, local media reports.
Duponcheel is reported to have blamed the Mayor of his hometown for his father losing his job and later committing suicide in 2015.
Police have confirmed that an 18-year-old man has been arrested but would not reveal his identity.
The body of Mr Gadenne was discovered by his wife on Monday evening at Luingne Cemetery, where he was caretaker.
He had been out to close the site for the night when he was murdered.
Local newspaper Sudpresse reports that Duponcheel handed himself over to police at the scene on Monday.
The teenager’s father Olivier had been fired from his job at Mouscron fire services, and is said to have become depressed.
He committed suicide on Valentine’s Day 2015, aged 50, according to an online obituary.
Sudpresse reports that Duponcheel blamed local authorities for his father’s death and attacked and allegedly killed the mayor to ‘avenge’ him.
Emergency services work at the Luingne Cemetery in Mouscron, on September 11, where the city’s mayor Alfred Gadenne was found dead
Mr Gadenne had been out to close the site for the night when he was murdered
Mr Gadenne was the conservative mayor of Mouscron, an industrial town of 57,000 just across the border from the northern French city of Lille
His death has shocked the country, with the prime minister expressing ‘horror’ at the death of the retired national lawmaker.
The case was handed to a local prosecutor rather than to national counter-terrorism investigators.
Mr Gadenne’s was the conservative mayor of Mouscron, an industrial town of 57,000 just across the border from the northern French city of Lille
Local news service SudInfo, citing unnamed sources, said a suspect had handed himself in to police and that the motive was unclear
The case was handed to a local prosecutor rather than to national counter-terrorism investigators. Pictured: The town square of Mouscron
‘I have learned with horror of the brutal death of Alfred Gadenne,’ Prime Minister Charles Michel, a liberal, said on Twitter. All my thoughts are with his family and friends.’
Among the many others offering condolences was Martine Aubry, the former French Socialist party leader and long-time mayor of metropolitan Lille.
Philippe Courard, president of the parliament for Belgium’s French-speaking south, tweeted: ‘Terrifying. What kind of world are we living in?’
Emergency services were at the scene on Monday evening.