Inside Monster of Belgium paedo serial killer’s house of horrors where he tortured & raped girls in soundproof cellar

THE house of horrors where a paedophile serial killer tortured, raped and murdered girls as young as eight is being demolished to make way for a memorial garden. Marc Dutroux, now 65, kept his kidnapped victims chained up in a suburban dungeon after authorities had let him go free in a case that shocked Europe. AFPBuilders have started demolishing Marc Dutroux’s house of horrors in Charleroi[/caption] AFPThe psychopath built a soundproof dungeon where he raped and tortured girls as young as eight[/caption] NewsflashCameras filmed the moment one victim was rescued by police in 1996[/caption] ReutersMarc Dutroux became known as the Monster of Belgium[/caption] Two of his six known victims starved to death after being locked up in Dutroux’s soundproof cellar in Charleroi, Belgium. The psychopath is also believed to have murdered at least two other girls and sold other children into slavery abroad in a four-year reign of terror – helped by his own wife and other accomplices. It only ended after cops rescued two kidnap victims aged 12 and 14 who had been held captive in the dungeon. Bungling cops had searched the same cellar the year before following a tip-off – but failed to find two eight-year-olds hidden behind a bookcase. read more on serial killers VICTIM'S NIGHTMARE I was kidnapped & abused for weeks aged 8 by 'night-vision' killer BORN TO KILL Cannibal killer 'Lil' Pedro' murdered 100 people & ate his dad's beating HEART They later starved to death when the paedo was briefly jailed for stealing a car, and after his release he buried them at another house. The case caused such revulsion in Belgium after his arrest in 1996 that at least a third of people called Dutroux changed their name. Now more than 25 years on, authorities have begun tearing down the terraced house where the worst of his crimes were committed. Since 2009, it had been boarded up and covered with a mural of a young girl on a sand dune flying a kite. Most read in News MOWED DOWN One dead & 12 injured as car 'mounts pavement and zig-zags into Berlin shoppers' VILE ABUSE Harry and Meghan's son Archie targeted by white supremacists in 'terror podcast' GOING NOWHERE Brits face summer travel hell with airport chaos, rail strikes & soaring fuel JAIL BEATING Caroline Crouch’s husband ATTACKED as he rots in jail for Brit's murder HORROR DEATH Worker dies after falling in 2,600F molten iron leaving half of body on floor BT 'SCAM' Urgent warnings as 'scammers posing as BT workers scoping out people's homes' But neighbours wanted it gone altogether to help erase painful memories. This week builders removed the colourful mural in the first stage of razing the building to the ground. In its place will be a memorial to victims, called “Garden between Earth and Heaven”, reports say. City mayor Paul Magnette, 50, said it should ensure “we do not forget, but make the memory bearable: for the families of the victims, but also for the people of Charleroi and across the country.” Dutroux, a juvenile delinquent with a long criminal record, was first jailed in 1989 for five sex attacks including the kidnap and rape of a young girl. He was sentenced to 13 years but unbelievably the justice minister released him after three for good behaviour. Over the next four years the jobless electrician made money from stealing cars and pimping prostitutes, and spent the cash buying up derelict houses. It was in one of these that he built the cell-like torture dungeon with iron bars and filthy yellow walls. Killing spree Meanwhile young girls began going missing across the country. But cops did not properly investigate known paedophile Dutroux, leaving him free to continue his spree. The monster’s own mother even warned police she thought he had kidnapped one of the girls, but he remained free. It is believed many more victims were targeted by Dutroux’s gang than the six who are known. One one day in August 1995, he drugged and kidnapped An Marchal, 17, and Eefje Lambrecks, 19, in Ostend. He took them back to his house in Charleroi where – because two little girls were in the dungeon – they were chained to a bed and raped upstairs. Then he buried the teenagers alive under a shed owned by his accomplice Barnard Weinstein – who he also later murdered. Two months earlier in June 1995, eight-year-olds Julie Lejeune and Mélissa Russo were abducted in Liège. Dutroux locked them in his basement and subjected them to at least six months of abuse. They were still alive when gendarmes searched the basement following a tip-off from an informant in December. Officers thought they heard children’s voices but Chief Guard René Michaux said it came from outside, and they failed to look behind the secret bookcase where the girls were chained up. Dutroux was in jail for car theft at the time, and his wife Michelle Martin visited the house to feed his dogs – but did not give any food to the imprisoned girls. Both youngsters starved to death days later. When the paedo was freed he buried them at another house he owned. ‘Chamber of agony’ Two months later in May 1996, Dutroux abducted 12-year-old Sabine Dardenne in Kain. He kept her locked up for 80 days of torture in the dungeon in Charleroi – which she called the “chamber of agony”. She later told his trial how he raped her “sweating like an animal” and let her watch TV as a reward. In August he snatched 14-year-old Laetitia Delhez from Bertrix, and threw her in the dungeon with Sabine. Days later police swooped to arrest Dutroux, Michelle and other members of the gang – but failed to find the girls when they searched the house. Finally the monster crumbled under questioning and gave them details of a a secret entrance that allowed them to rescue the victims. More than half a million Belgians marched in protest when it emerged corrupt an incompetent police had allowed the serial killer to remain free. The notorious case led to widespread reforms. But there was another twist when Dutroux escaped during a court hearing in 1998 – forcing the nation’s police chief and two ministers to quit. Finally in 2004 Dutroux – now known as the Monster of Belgium – was convicted of abduction, rape and murder and jailed for life. He has begged to be freed several times but was denied parole and remains in jail. Read More on The Sun HI, KY! Kylie shows off her REAL post-baby body in pink jeans in unedited snaps MELLOW THE YELLOW I’m a laundry expert - the quick way to remove sweat stains from clothes In 2013 his own mother pleaded with authorities to keep him locked up – warning he would start killing again. Estranged wife Michelle Martin, now aged 62, was released after half her 30-year jail term to live in a convent. AP:Associated PressDutroux kept victims locked in his torture dungeon[/caption] ReutersSabine Dardenne, who was chained up and raped for 80 days by Dutroux aged 12[/caption] NewsflashBuilders begin demolition work this week o the house in Charleroi[/caption] NewsflashNeighbours had wanted it razed to the ground[/caption] AFPJobless electrician Dutroux was finally locked up for good in August 1996[/caption] Dutroux is now 65 and pleaded to go freeNewsflash AFPHis wife Michelle Martin was sentenced to 30 years and now lives in a convent[/caption] We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun news desk? Email us at exclusive@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4104. You can WhatsApp us on 07423 720 250. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours Click here to get The Sun newspaper delivered for FREE for the next six weeks.