French serial killer's widow, Monique Olivier, convicted for her part in murders
Monique Olivier, the widow of a French serial killer known as the "Ogre of the Ardennes," was found guilty Tuesday for her part in the rape and murder of two young women and the disappearance of a 9-year-old girl, the BBC reported.
Earlier this month, Olivier admitted she was was "bait" in the 1990 rape and murder of British student Joanna Parrish by Olivier's former husband. She was also convicted in connection with the killing of 18-year-old Marie-Angele Domece in 1988 and the disappearance of 9-year-old Estelle Mouzin in 2003.
The 75-year-old woman, who's already serving a life sentence issued in 2008, is now facing a second life sentence, with a minimum term of 20 years, according to the BBC. She'd previously been convicted for her role in four murders and a rape committed by her husband.
Olivier was married to Michel Fourniret, who was charged with abduction, rape and murder in the cases but died in 2021, at 79, before he could be brought to trial.
Before his death, Fourniret said of Domece and Parrish in 2018: "I am the only one responsible for their fates... If those people had not crossed my path, they would still be alive."
Olivier, when confronted during trial with images of Parrish's swollen face after her body was pulled from the river Yonne, said: "It's because of me she's gone, it's unforgivable."
She described herself as a dog during cross-examination.
"I was never anything but the dog that must obey" its master," Olivier said.
She asked for forgiveness before the jury began its deliberations, according to the BBC.
"I regret everything I did and I ask for forgiveness from the families of the victims, while knowing that it is unforgivable," she said.
For 16 years, the couple worked together to abduct and murder at least eight girls and young women, the BBC reported. They were finally stopped in 2003, when a 13-year-old girl Fourniret was trying to kidnap managed to escape, leading to his and Olivier's arrest.
The BBC reported that Fourniret's known victims —beyond Parrish, Domece and Mouzin— were Isabelle Laville, Fabienne Leroy, Jeanne-Marie Desramault, Elisabeth Brichet, Natacha Danais, Celine Saison, Mananya Thumphong and Farida Hammiche. All of Fourniret's victims —most of whom were raped— were shot, strangled or stabbed to death, the BBC reported. Most were killed in the Ardennes region of northern France and in Belgium.
Both Fourniret and Olivier were extradited to France for trial; six of the victims were French citizens.