Meurtre d'une Belge à Thiès : A. Sarr condamné à 20 ans de réclusion criminelle, son épouse acquittée
The criminal chamber of the Thiès High Court has delivered its verdict in the case of murder, violation of burial laws, concealment of corpse and failure to assist a person in danger, involving the father of the family A. Sarr and his wife R. Sène.
This case was heard on Monday, March 23, 2026. The defendants were prosecuted for the murder of Belgian national José Christiane Tielmans, known as Aminata, which occurred on October 4, 2020, in the Thiès-None district. After deliberation, the court found A. Sarr guilty of murder, violation of burial laws, and concealment of corpses, and sentenced him to 20 years' imprisonment.
His wife, R. Sène, who was prosecuted for failing to assist a person in danger, was acquitted.
The facts
According to the indictment, José Christiane, approximately 70 years old, left Belgium after her retirement to settle in Senegal. After a stay in Thiès, she met A. Sarr, a building contractor, with whom she began a romantic relationship that led to marriage. Subsequently, she decided to build a house in Thiès-None and released funds which she gave to A. Sarr for the project.
Subsequently, the man moved his first wife, R. Sène, and their children into the Belgian woman's home, which she refused to accept. From then on, the couple argued frequently. They lived in a tense atmosphere until the day José asked A. Sarr to evict his family. That Sunday, another argument erupted. It was in these circumstances that José lost his life and disappeared without a trace, leaving his friends and family untraceable.
After José's death, her husband concealed the body in a bag and transported it in his vehicle to bury it in the bush near the village of Dakhar Mbaye, not far from Thiès. He then went about his business as if nothing had happened, while José's relatives worried about her absence. A. Sarr claimed she had simply gone out.
Worried, Ms. Y. Ndione went to the central police station in Thiès to report her friend missing. The investigation was then handed over to the Dakar research section. The gendarmes' investigation led to the arrest of A. Sarr a few weeks later. During the preliminary investigation, the accused, A. Sarr, reportedly admitted to headbutting José. The location where the victim's body was buried was subsequently discovered.
The autopsy results
The body was exhumed by firefighters in the presence of judicial authorities and then taken to the Anatomy and Cytology Laboratory at Le Dantec Hospital for an autopsy. The medical certificate issued by Doctors Ibou Thiam and Abdou Magib Gaye concluded that death was secondary to head and chest trauma with multiple fractures. The autopsy also revealed that the body was in a very advanced state of decomposition: frontal hematoma of the scalp and subdural space, fractures of the anterior arches of the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th left ribs with the presence of coagulated blood in the pleural cavity.
The suspect, A. Sarr, was charged with murder, violation of burial laws, and concealment of corpses, and then remanded in custody. His first wife, R. Sène, was also arrested and charged with failure to assist a person in danger, before being released on bail.
The defendants' statements before the criminal chamber
In court, 53-year-old A. Sarr denied the charges. He stated that he had never had any disagreements with his Belgian wife and claimed that the victim had suffered an asthma attack after an argument. According to him, the victim had collapsed in the kitchen. Panicked after her death, he asserted that he had transported and buried the body himself in the bush near Dakhar Mbaye.
Regarding the fractures found during the autopsy, he maintained that they were caused when he dragged the body along the ground. He also admitted to throwing away the victim's phone, which was later found far from the home and the burial site.
His first wife, R. Sène, for her part, claimed to know nothing about the events. She explained that her husband had told her about an asthma attack and asked her to go to his parents' house in Mbour, giving her 15,000 CFA francs.
Witness statements
Several witnesses were interviewed. Ms. Y. Ndione, a close friend of the victim, spoke of tensions within the couple and previous violence. She stated that José had called her on the day of the incident, urgently requesting her presence, saying that her husband had emptied his safe. Upon arrival, she was unable to gain access to the home.
“When I arrived at her house, I found her husband’s vehicle parked in front. I rang the doorbell to get in, but no one would. I tried everything to get inside, but I couldn’t. I then went back home to call José, but there was no answer. I returned on Monday to check on the situation, and R. Sarr, A. Sarr’s daughter, told me that José had gone out. I waited for her for a while, but she still hadn’t come back, and her phone wasn’t ringing either. That’s when I went to file a report at the central police station in Thiès,” she explained.
Y. Ndione stated that one day, as they were leaving for the market, José told her that since her husband had brought his family to their home, they no longer got along and they no longer slept together. She also told him that A. Sarr was forcing her to have sex. Ms. Y. Ndione further reported that she had noticed marks of violence on her arms.
A. Sarr denied the witness's statements. He maintained that the testimony was unfounded and fabricated. "Y. Ndione's daughter worked for José, and it was at my request that she was dismissed. That's why she testified against me," A. Sarr countered.
Other witnesses confirmed that the victim was anxious and living in a tense atmosphere. R. Sarr, the defendant's daughter, also testified that on that day, José had asked to see his father, who had gone to work. When his father arrived, he found his aunt in the living room. She also stated that she had heard the two of them arguing, but that she couldn't understand what they were saying. She recounted seeing her father then lead José to his room before telling him that she was asleep. R. Sarr added that the next day, her father had led her to believe that José had gone out.
prosecution's indictments
During his closing arguments, the public prosecutor argued that the motive for the crime was linked to the victim's property, specifically her house and money. According to him, the defendant's aim was to deceive the victim in order to steal her belongings. And when he realized his plan was going to fail, he beat her to death and hid her body in a bag before burying her in the Dakhar Mbaye forest. The prosecution believed that the testimonies, especially that of Y. Ndione, showed that the defendant intended to kill. They concluded that A. Sarr was guilty of the charges and requested a life sentence.
Regarding the defendant R. Sène, the prosecutor also believed she was guilty because she had neither acted nor reacted to her husband's actions. He requested a five-year prison sentence for her.
Defense arguments
R. Sène's lawyers, Maitres Ndione and Sonko, had pleaded for acquittal, arguing that she had played no role in this case and that she knew nothing about the facts.
Regarding A. Sarr, lawyers Ayi and Sène had suggested an accidental death linked to an asthma attack and had requested that the charges be reduced to manslaughter. This defense implied that the defendant had concealed the Belgian woman's death because he panicked.
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