08/07/2025
The Butcher of Mons
Belgium’s Most Elusive Serial Killer
Between 1996 and 1997, in the quiet, industrial city of Mons, Belgium, garbage collectors began making gruesome discoveries.
Dismembered body parts, carefully wrapped in plastic bags, began showing up across the city—tucked behind supermarkets, at busy crossroads, even beneath a bridge ominously nicknamed “The Monster’s Bridge.” Each package was meticulously cleaned, sealed, and labeled with the name of the street where it was found.
There were no fingerprints. No DNA. No witnesses. No motive.
Only body parts.
The victims were all women—many of them from marginalised communities, including s*x workers. But the killer didn’t leave behind a signature in blood or violence. His true signature was his precision—like a butcher. The cuts were clean. Anatomical. Done by someone who clearly had training.
The media dubbed him “The Butcher of Mons.”
As more bags were discovered—each one more deliberately placed than the last—the pressure on police mounted. Sketches were drawn. Theories flew. A task force was formed. Suspects came and went. But the case grew cold. The Butcher vanished.
Until… whispers of a link.
A man named Smail Tulja, a Montenegrin national, was later arrested in the U.S. for murdering and dismembering his wife in the exact same way—years later. Investigators believe he may have committed similar crimes in Albania and possibly back in Mons.
But despite the chilling similarities, the Butcher of Mons was never officially caught. Tulja died in prison in 2018, and to this day, the Mons case remains open.
