Marc Van Beers, Aurore Martin: Diabolical Belgian Honeymoon Killers In Life Insurance Money Scam Subject Of ‘The Perfect Murder’ On Investigation Discovery
Marc Van Beers, the Belgium husband who was killed at the request of his wife, Aurore Martin, and her lover, Peter Schmitt, more than 20 years ago, will be the inspiration for Wednesday’s The Perfect Murder on Investigation Discovery (ID). The episode titled, “The Honeymoon Killers,” will detail how a pair of diabolical lovers looking for the good life conspired to kill the woman’s spouse to fund their lavish lifestyle in Miami. However, the sinister plan is uncovered after a tipster reveals that this deadly duo may be responsible for not only one death, but two.
They Wanted Their Spouses Dead
Belgian lovers, Peter Schmitt, 27, and Aurore Martin, 28, were arrested in Miami in 1997 after detectives learned that the couple concocted an evil plot to kill Marc Van Beers, who was found dead in Corsica, France, in 1995 after his car plunged off a cliff. Marc Van Beers had just married his wife, Aurore Martin, and the couple was on their honeymoon at the time of his death, according to a report from UPI.
Investigators say that Aurore Martin and her German lover, Peter Schmitt, met in 1991 and began a torrid affair. Peter Schmitt’s wife, Ursula Deschamps, died at the age of 22 in 1992, after her car plunged into a canal in Corsica. The cause of death was ruled a drowning. However, Ursula’s family told police that they knew it was no accident since she had just confided in them that her newlywed husband was involved in an insurance fraud scam. Ursula Deschamps also indicated that she was going to blow the whistle, then file for divorce.
However, in Ursula Deschamps’ death, there was not enough evidence at the time to convict Peter Schmitt of murder. The investigators who worked the Deschamps case were shocked to hear that an almost identical accident happened again years later with the death of Marc Van Beers, whose wife was having an illicit sexual affair with Peter Schmitt.
Police Investigation Makes A Connection In The Two Deaths
The investigation revealed that both spouses were killed for insurance money and greed since Aurore Martin and Peter Schmitt desired to live a lavish lifestyle.
At the time of their arrests in Miami by the FBI, they were both carrying almost $50,000 in cash. The cash was just the tip of the iceberg. A look into their lifestyle indicated that the attractive pair loved hard and lived fast with a lifestyle peppered with fancy cars and expensive yacht parties, where caviar was often served.
In the end, Peter Schmitt admitted that he was only in it for the money, while Aurore Martin was hoping to marry and start a family with Schmitt.
Prosecutors say that in 1992, Peter Schmitt drowned his wife, Ursula Deschamps, in a bathtub and made it look as if she had drowned in a canal after her car plunged into it. Peter told investigators that he was able to swim from the car to safety. But police immediately suspected that Ursula Deschamps’ death was no accident after Peter Schmitt’s clothes appeared dry, and he showed absolutely no emotion just after losing his wife in a tragic accident.
Just minutes before Marc Van Beers died in 1995 while on his honeymoon with Aurore Martin, he had stopped the car on the side of the road after Aurore indicated that she was not feeling well. When he stopped, three to four men came out of nowhere and bludgeoned him to death, possibly with a baseball bat. Then they allowed Aurore Martin to jump out of the vehicle before pushing Marc Van Beers’ car over the cliff.
Aurore Martin originally told detectives that she was thrown from the car before the plunge. Marc Van Beers’ death looked like a terrible accident before a tipster came forward. Had it not been for the tipster and the police’s suspicion about Van Beers hasty burial, the killer couple would have gotten away with the perfect murder.
Important Points In The “Diabolical Lovers, Honeymoon Killers” Case
- Peter Schmitt earned nearly $500,000 in the death of Ursula Deschamps. Aurore Martin earned around $1.3 million in the death of Marc Van Beers.
- Some reports say that Ursula died at the scene, while other accounts say that authorities believed that she was drowned in her bathtub before the fake accident was staged.
- Peter allegedly told his best friend that he killed his wife, Ursula.
- Aurore allegedly admitted to killing her husband while she was in the hospital, according to Ocala Star-Banner.
- Aurore Martin and Peter Schmitt’s good looks made them a striking and sexy couple.
- Detectives found forged documents.
- After Marc Van Beers’ death, Aurore Martin spent the next several days frantically trying to have him cremated and buried, according to the book The Mammoth Book of Crimes by Robin Odell.
For the murder of Marc Van Beers, Aurore Martin was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Peter Schmitt was sentenced to 20 years. You can see the drama unfold Wednesday at 9/8 p.m. Central on ID. Last week, The Perfect Murder aired the case of Dana Satterfield, a beauty shop owner who was brutally killed.
*Note some article images were made using Recite.com, Jaguarpaw, and YouTube.
Below, you can see pictures of the real people in the following clip.
[Photo by Jake Coyle/AP]
