Former spouse of serial killer found guilty for involvement in multiple homicides

Monique Olivier, the ex-wife of a serial killer, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for her involvement in two murders and a kidnapping. The 75-year-old was on trial in France for her complicity in the rape and murder of two young women, Joanna Parrish and Marie-Angèle Domèce. She was also accused of assisting in the abduction of nine-year-old Estelle Mouzin, whose body has never been found. However, Michel Fourniret, the main perpetrator, died before facing trial for these crimes. Just before the jury deliberated her role in the offenses, Olivier expressed remorse and begged for forgiveness from the families of the victims. 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." Olivier is already serving a life sentence for her involvement in her former husband's previous crimes, and now she has been given another life sentence with a minimum of 20 years. The trial, which lasted three weeks, focused on Olivier's participation in the abduction, rape, and murder of Joanna Parrish in 1990, Marie-Angèle Domèce in 1988, and the kidnapping of Estelle Mouzin in 2003, resulting in her death. It was revealed in court that Olivier played a role in gaining the trust of the victims so that they would enter Fourniret's car. Michel Fourniret, also known as the "Ogre of the Ardennes," was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2008 for the murders of seven girls and young women. In 2018, he received a second life sentence for an eighth murder. Before his death, he confessed to a total of 11 murders, including that of Joanna Parrish. Fourniret's victims, who were predominantly raped, ranged in age from nine to 30 and were killed by gunshot, strangulation, or stabbing.