Monique Olivier, the ex-wife of a serial murderer, was found guilty of participating in crimes
The ex-wife of a serial killer, Monique Olivier, has been sentenced to life in prison for her involvement in two murders and a kidnapping. The trial in France focused on her complicity in the rape and murder of 20-year-old Joanna Parrish from Gloucestershire in 1990, the killing of 18-year-old Marie-Angèle Domèce in 1988, and her alleged role in the kidnapping of nine-year-old Estelle Mouzin in 2003, whose body has never been found.
Michel Fourniret, the serial killer and Olivier's former husband passed away before facing trial for these crimes. Olivier is already serving a life sentence for her involvement in Fourniret's previous crimes, and now she has been handed a second life sentence with a minimum term of 20 years.
Joanna Parrish's father, Roger Parrish, observed a moment of silence for all of Fourniret's victims, expressing the family's long-awaited relief. He remarked on Olivier's role in the crimes, stating that her mere presence would have gained the trust of the victims, as they would not have expected a woman to be involved in such heinous acts. The Parrish family lawyer, Didier Seban, described the verdict as a victory, emphasizing its significance for the affected families.
The three-week trial focused on Olivier's involvement in Miss Parrish's kidnapping, Miss Domèce's rape and death, and Miss Mouzin's abduction. Olivier's part in the killings was explained to the court as being to comfort the victims into getting inside Fourniret's vehicle. Olivier acknowledged having been at Auxerre when Miss Parrish was abducted, held captive, sexually assaulted, and killed. She stated that rather than in the vehicle, the rape and murder could have occurred in the St. Cyr les Colons home.
Dubbed the "Ogre of the Ardennes," Fourniret was found guilty in 2008 of killing seven girls and young women, earning him a life sentence in prison. He was sentenced to a second life in prison in 2018 for an eighth murder. Before he passed away, he admitted to 11 killings in all, including Miss Parrish's. The majority of Fourniret's victims, who ranged in age from nine to thirty, were raped. They were killed via stabbing, shooting, or strangling.
Olivier begged the relatives of her victims' forgiveness shortly before the jury in Paris retired to deliberate her part in the atrocities. She stated in court: "I regret everything I did and I ask for forgiveness from the families of the victims while knowing that it is unforgivable." Estelle Mouzin was supposed to return home from school at six o'clock on Tuesday, but the court was informed that she never did. Her remains are still missing. After hundreds of hours of interrogation in 2019, Olivier admitted that Fourniret had fled to France in search of a young girl to rape.
She was informed by the court that he had "gone hunting". "This is about the extreme gravity of the facts that contributed to the death of two young women, and a nine-year-old girl, in inhumane circumstances," President of the court Didier Safar stated before the sentence.
"Monique Olivier had no empathy for her victims, who she dehumanized." The majority of Fourniret's casualties were slain in Belgium and the northern French area of the Ardennes. For a portion of her university studies in 1990, Miss Parrish, a language student from Newnham-on-Severn in Gloucestershire, relocated to Auxerre, France. However, Fourniret killed her when she posted an advertisement offering English lessons.
On May 17, her corpse was discovered in the Yonne River. She'd been assaulted, choked, and raped. Mr. Seban stated, "It has been difficult for the Parrish family," and expressed his hope that this trial will usher in a new era in French justice. "They have been anticipating this trial for almost 30 years. They took the lead, demonstrating their will to see this through by traveling to Auxerre each year. "Their honor all the way through... Not a word of anger, not a cry of frustration, nor a want for retribution. There has been a need for justice." Mr. Parrish continued: "After this last obstacle in our struggle to gain an element of justice for Joanna, we can remember our daughter and sister with a smile on our faces." According to Eric Moulin, Estelle's father, "the suffering of all the victims must have a purpose against the evil we've seen."
