---
category: Belgium Scandals
created: 2026-05-14
died: 1995
location: Belgium
summary: An Marchal was a 17-year-old Belgian girl abducted by Marc Dutroux and Michel
  Lelievre in August 1995 while camping at Ostend; she was murdered in captivity and
  her body discovered in September 1996.
tags:
- Person
- Belgium
- Dutroux
updated: 2026-05-14
---

An Marchal, aged 17, was abducted on the night of August 22-23, 1995, while camping at Ostend, Belgium, with her friend [Eefje Lambrecks](/people/eefje-lambrecks/), who was 19. The two were taken by [Marc Dutroux](/people/marc-dutroux/) and his accomplice [Michel Lelievre](/people/michel-lelievre/), a heroin addict whom Dutroux paid in drugs for his participation.[^1]

Dutroux held An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks captive for approximately two weeks, subjecting them to abuse. [Bernard Weinstein](/people/bernard-weinstein/), another Dutroux accomplice, witnessed the abuse of the two girls; Dutroux later buried Weinstein alive in November 1995 after deciding he was no longer trustworthy.[^2] According to Dutroux's own account, he murdered the two girls because they had seen his face and could identify him.[^1]

Their bodies were located on September 3, 1996, in Jumet (Hainaut province), buried beneath a shack adjacent to a property owned by Dutroux. Dutroux directed police to the location after his arrest following the rescue of [Sabine Dardenne](/people/sabine-dardenne/) and [Laetitia Delhez](/people/laetitia-delhez/) from his Marcinelle dungeon in August 1996.[^1]

At his 2004 trial, Dutroux was convicted of the murders of An Marchal, Eefje Lambrecks, [Julie Lejeune](/people/julie-lejeune/), and [Melissa Russo](/people/melissa-russo/) and received a life sentence. Co-defendant [Jean-Michel Nihoul](/people/jean-michel-nihoul/) was acquitted of the murders but convicted on other charges.[^1]

The investigation's handling of An Marchal's disappearance became central to the Belgian parliamentary inquiry into the Dutroux affair. [Rene Michaux](/people/rene-michaux/), the gendarme heading surveillance operation Othello, searched Dutroux's house in December 1995 and failed to locate the hidden dungeon despite hearing what may have been children's voices - a failure later described as emblematic of systemic breakdown in the gendarmerie's response.[^3]

[^1]: "Marc Dutroux," Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Dutroux
[^2]: Thomas, Mark. "Belgian Serial Killer and Child Molester Marc Dutroux Didn't Act Alone," *Oxygen,* November 2021. https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/who-are-belgian-serial-killer-marc-dutrouxs-accomplices
[^3]: "Belgian policeman haunted by Dutroux error," *Irish Examiner,* 2004. https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-30140605.html