Aflevering 2 | Mijn beste vriend

Key Points

• The podcast episode details the criminal evolution of Philippe Lacroix and his accomplice Terry Smars, beginning with their first armed robbery of a small post office in the early 1980s.
• Their criminal activities escalate from simple hold-ups to more dangerous armored van robberies using explosives, culminating in a botched heist in Verviers that results in the deaths of two postal workers, including a pregnant woman.
• Internal dynamics within the gang deteriorate, particularly between Terry Smars and another member, Patrick Hamers, leading to threats of murder. Smars is later found dead under officially ruled suicide, but with strong evidence suggesting he was murdered.

Summary

This podcast episode narrates the criminal trajectory of Philippe Lacroix, beginning in the early 1980s with a seemingly amateurish first robbery of a village post office in Waals-Brabant, committed with his friend Terry Smars while wearing masks of French politicians. Motivated by financial need, the success of this heist, netting 700,000 francs, leads them into a cycle of increasingly frequent post office robberies, which they treat as a routine job.

Their methods evolve as security tightens, and they eventually join forces with a flashy, wealthy criminal named Patrick Hamers. The gang shifts to targeting armored postal vans using explosives. This strategy turns catastrophically fatal during a robbery in Verviers in 1985, where an excessively powerful charge kills two postal employees, one of whom was pregnant. This event deeply traumatizes Lacroix and shatters the gang's cohesion, especially affecting Terry Smars, who spirals into depression and alcoholism.

The relationship between the core members fractures irreparably. Smars becomes involved with a dubious Italian figure claiming to be a secret agent, causing distrust. Simultaneously, a bitter personal feud erupts between Terry Smars and Patrick Hamers. Each man separately approaches Lacroix with the intent to have the other murdered. Lacroix tries to dissuade both, believing Hamers has already paid for a hit on Smars. Shortly thereafter, Terry Smars is found dead with a gunshot wound to the head, officially ruled a suicide.

However, the summary reveals compelling evidence contradicting the suicide verdict, provided by an investigative journalist. The body's position, the absence of gunpowder residue on Smars's hands, and the improper placement of the weapon all point towards homicide. An unofficial coroner's report noting a lack of defense wounds on Smars's fingers was allegedly suppressed, further deepening the mystery and suggesting he was likely murdered, marking a dark and unresolved conclusion to his partnership with Lacroix.