Stijn Saelens, owner of the Carpentier castle in Wingene, West Flanders, vanished three weeks ago from his home. Police found a trail of blood and a spent cartridge. The father and brother of his Saelens’ wife were detained and questioned but later released. Police also arrested Pierre Serry, a local criminal suspected of being the intermediary in a contract killing.

A search was carried out on a piece of property owned by Serry, lying alongside the E40 motorway near Aalter, East Flanders, where searchers found Saelens’ body. Preliminary autopsy results suggest he died of a bullet wound to the right lung. The investigation continues.