BRUSSELS - In a macabre sex murder case, a Hungarian-born pastor went on trial in Belgium on Monday charged with killing two of his wives and four of his children although none of their bodies has been found.
Andras Pandy, 74, -- nicknamed "the diabolical pastor" by Belgian media -- was arrested in Brussels in October 1997.
After being questioned about the mysterious disappearance of his relatives, he was charged killing first wife Ilona Sores and their two sons Daniel and Zoltan who went missing in 1988.
His lawyer, Hein Diependaele, said Pandy, a Belgian citizen, would plead not guilty to all charges once the prosecutor had completed his opening statement on Tuesday.
The Protestant minister was also charged with murdering second wife Edit Fintor and her daughter Andrea from a previous marriage -- both of whom disappeared in 1986 -- and a fourth child, Tunde, another step-daughter who vanished in 1989.
Pandy, who taught religion in Flemish schools in northern Belgium, is also charged with raping several of his daughters and his step-daughters.
Pandy's eldest daughter Agnes, 44, is on trial alongside him, accused of assisting in five of the six alleged murders.
Agnes confessed to the crimes in November 1997 and is hoping for a lenient sentence or possible acquittal, her lawyer Walter Muls said, adding that Pandy had left her no choice.
"Either she joined in or she would have become a victim herself," he said.
The jury trial is expected to last until March 6.
HIDDEN REMAINS
Police searched Pandy's three houses in Brussels after his arrest and stumbled across an arsenal of firearms in a hidden room. After extensive digging they found the remains of at least 16 people.
But DNA tests have since showed no link with the missing family members.
Agnes Pandy, who is not charged with Tunde's killing, told investigators she carried out the other murders with her father.
According to her testimony, Pandy's family were either shot or beaten to death with a hammer. Their remains were cut up and dissolved in caustic soda.
Her father rejected the accusations, saying the missing family members were still alive, but had been brainwashed by a sect.
Agnes wept in court as Prosecutor-General Alain Winants detailed how she and her father dismembered the bodies.
Prosecutors said the murders were sparked by a growing hostility between Pandy and his second wife, who discovered he had impregnated her eldest daughter Timea in an incestuous relationship.
According to the charge sheet, Pandy spoke of sons Daniel and Zoltan as "rotten fruit." He attacked Daniel for being an ungrateful son, who lacked respect for his father.
Prosecutors said a psychiatric report on Pandy revealed he was suffering from "a narcissistic personality disorder with paranoid and anti-social traits."
The report also said Pandy completely controlled his family, which he cut off from the outside world. It added that Agnes was completely under her father's spell.