The son of a nightclub owner , Haemers was tall with striking looks , and became known for his hedonistic lifestyle . He became addicted to cocaine and was convicted of rape . After serving a few years he was released , and was involved in a money laundering scheme . His offending escalated until he was participating in armed robberies of security vans that occurred so frequently that they led to greatly increased security . He left the country for a time , but on 14 January 1989 he was one of those who kidnapped former Belgian prime minister Paul Vanden Boeynants , releasing Boeynants on 13 February 1989 for a reportedly huge ransom . Other members of the Haemers Gang were Basjri Basjramj , Marc Van Dam , Philippe Lacroix and Denise Tyack . Wanted in Belgium on several criminal counts , and by this time having an infant son , he fled to Brazil with his girlfriend , but they were tracked down . He was extradited back to Belgium . Suffering severe withdrawal symptoms in prison , and after a transfer prevented him joining an escape with his accomplices , the by then 40-year-old was apparently unable to cope with the prospect of serving a long sentence . He supposedly hanged himself on a 130-centimetre-high radiator in a Belgian jail cell in 1993 . He was at one time considered a likely suspect as the so-called ' giant ' of the Brabant killers , but unlike the relatively small-time robberies of the Brabant gang , Haemers 's crimes were always aimed at high-value rewards
Brabant killers
Brabant killers
Patrick Haemers