Man accused of Belgian daycare killings charged in death of elderly woman

A Belgian man accused of stabbing two babies and a nursing attendant at a daycare in January has been charged in the slashing death of an elderly woman.

Lawyer Jaak Haentjes said his client, Kim De Gelder, was charged Thursday with killing a 73-year-old woman in her home near Antwerp, Belgium, the week before the daycare attack.

De Gelder, 20, had previously been charged with killing a six-month-old boy, a nine-month-old girl and a 54-year-old caregiver at a nursery in the western town of Dendermonde on Jan. 23.

Police allege De Gelder entered two rooms in the daycare where babies were sleeping and stabbed them with a 20-centimetre knife as staff members tried to stop him.

During the attack, 10 other children and two adults were also injured. De Gelder is also charged with 12 counts of attempted murder.

Haentjes has stated that his client has admitted to the stabbing deaths at the nursery, but De Gelder previously denied any involvement in the death of the grandmother.

Haentjes told the Associated Press that his client is mentally ill and hears voices. He added that De Gelder has continued to be unco-operative during questioning.