Dutroux suspected in murder of Slovak woman .
Peter Laca
BRATISLAVA 1996-08-28
Marc Dutroux , the chief accused in a Belgian child murder and sex abuse scandal , is suspected of murdering a young Slovak woman , the Slovak office of Interpol said on Wednesday .
Rudolf Gajdos , head of Slovak Interpol , told a news conference Dutroux was also believed to have planned the kidnapping of at least one Slovak woman .
" One of the police versions in the case of the murder of young gypsy woman in Topolcany , western Slovakia , this July , is a suspicion that Mark Dutroux could have been involved in the murder , " Gajdos said without elaborating on the age of the victim and on the other versions .
Slovak police , Interpol , and Belgian police have been following leads on Dutroux 's activities in Slovakia and the neighbouring Czech Republic where he is known to have made frequent visits .
Gajdos said the police sketch of the suspected murderer was " 60 percent identical with Dutroux 's portrait " , and that Dutroux was known to have been in Topolcany around the time of the woman 's murder .
" Topolcany and the area around this town were reported to have been the most visited places by Dutroux and his accomplices in Slovakia , " Gajdos said .
Dutroux , a convicted child rapist and unemployed father-of-three , led police 11 days ago to the bodies of eight-year-olds Julie Lejeune and Melissa Russo in the garden of another of the six houses he owns around the southern Belgian city of Charleroi .
" The Belgian police also informed us that Dutroux , together with one other man , had ( also ) planned the kidnapping of at least one Slovak woman , " Gajdos said .
" The plan apparently failed due to difficulties in crossing the border , " he added , but did not elaborate .
The Slovak police are also investigating visits by about 10 Slovak women , aged 17 to 22 , to Belgium , at the invitation of Dutroux .
The women said they went to Belgium voluntarily and police suspect they were used to act in pornographic films , Gajdos said earlier this week .
But he added they had difficulty remembering what happened during their visits to Belgium , perhaps because of drugs , and were unsure whether they were filmed for pornography .
Dutroux , 39 , who was charged last week with the abduction and illegal imprisonment of two girls aged 14 and 12 , is also suspected in the disappearance of Belgians An Marchal , 19 , and Eefje Lambrecks , 17 , who went missing a year ago .