Man accused of strangling his ex-girlfriend to death to steal £345,000 fortune
Police have arrested a brute who allegedly strangled his ex-girlfriend to death to get his hands on her cryptocurrency fortune.
Tamara Engels's colleagues became worried when she failed to show up for work at KBC Banking & Insurance on May 17.
That evening, they informed the local police in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium.
When officers arrived at her house in the city, no one answered the doorbell.
After forcing entry, they found her bludgeoned body inside.
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Crime scene investigators later discovered that several items had been stolen.
Following a tip-off by her dad, Dirk Engels, the police identified her ex-boyfriend, 33-year-old Aydin Farhoudi, as the prime suspect.
Dirk, 66, told local media: "He strangled her and stole her laptop and mobile phone with one goal in mind: to obtain 400,000 euros (£345,000) in cryptocurrency.
When officers arrived at her house in the city, no one answered the doorbell
She was strangled to death"It's not the first time he has run off with her money.
"I have given my daughter money several times, and we're talking about hundreds of thousands of euros. She told me that 'the accountant' had run off with it.
"But I knew better. That's why I knew right away that it was him, and I immediately told the investigators."
Farhoudi was arrested at the exit near the airport on the motorway towards Charleroi on May 25.
Heavily-armed agents from the Directorate of Special Units - the police tactical unit of the Belgian Federal Police - had surrounded the car he was travelling in.
They had then dragged him and the man behind the wheel - an Italian man living in Charleroi - out of the car.
On May 28, they were hauled before the investigating judge in Dendermonde, who detained them on suspicion of robbery and murder.
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Ex-boyfriend Aydin Farhoudi has been arrestedDirk, who lives in Thailand, told local media: "Aydin Farhoudi was always after her money, a real psychopath.
"He always had to dress in the most expensive brands like Gucci and drove around here in a Porsche.
"Tamara had invested in cryptocurrencies, in bitcoin, while abroad. And she had already lost 400,000 euros once.
"She managed to block the second transaction of another 400,000 euros from reaching him through the bank.
"The fact that he couldn't get hold of the money was the final straw that broke the camel's back."
The Public Prosecutor's Office of East Flanders has confirmed the financial motive of the alleged crime.
Dirk continued: "That's why her laptop and phone were also stolen from the house because the suspects hoped to recover that enormous sum of money."
A silent gathering in tribute to Tamara in Belgium (REX/Shutterstock)He told how the crooks also tore off "the ring of her deceased mother" from Tamara's ring finger, in addition to stealing everything else that was "gold and valuable".
He called Farhoudi the "thorn in my side", telling how he had tried but failed to lure Tamara, 33, before entering her house using the spare key he still had.
Dirk said: "On the day of the murder, he first informed her that he was in a Belgian hospital, I don't remember which one specifically. He also sent her a photo of the hospital room.
"She called the hospital, and they denied having seen him and didn't recognise that room either."
Dirk believes the alleged crime happened around midnight, when her neighbours would have been asleep.
He described the Italian man who allegedly entered Tamara's house along with Farhoudi as "someone he had recruited to help".
Dirk recounted: "They must have silenced her, and she received multiple blows to her head, at the back and near her ear.
"Then they put an electrical cord around her neck, attached a robe to it, and placed her on her stomach. Then they also tied her legs with it."
Tributes left outside the place where she was killed (REX/Shutterstock)He went on: "The doctor told me, 'Six seconds, and you're gone with such strangulation.' She was murdered in the living room.
"Afterwards, they dragged her to the bathroom. They left her near the toilet. To mislead the investigators. But I couldn't make sense of it or believe it.
"Tamara was always so cheerful, so helpful. She had so many plans.
"I was supposed to come to Belgium in August, and she had already taken time off so that we could spend time together.
Well-wishers laid down flowers, lit candles and released white balloons (REX/Shutterstock)"Then in October and November, she was supposed to come to Thailand so that we could go diving together."
Dirk said through tears: "I don't understand it. Such an innocent child.
"That you destroy each other in the criminal world, okay. But this? You must be really sick in the head. I hope to be able to look him in the eyes in court and ask him why."
He plans to take his daughter's ashes back with him to Thailand.
The suspects are due to appear before the chamber council, which will decide whether they will remain in custody, in the coming days.
Farhoudi's alleged accomplice, 36, was not named in reports.
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