‘Ogre of the Ardennes’ widow admits she was ‘bait’ to lure British student to her death

Monique Olivier says she accompanied her late husband Michel Fourniret in his search for victims – MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images

The widow of a French serial killer known as the “Ogre of the Ardennes” has confessed to playing an “unforgivable” role as “bait” in the 1990 rape and murder of British student Joanna Parrish by her husband.

Monique Olivier has admitted to accompanying her late husband Michel Fourniret in his search for victims and to using their son, born in 1987, to lure victims.

Pauline Harris, 77, Ms Parrish’s aunt, told the court that Olivier and her three-year-old son must have been present to win her confidence. “She never would have gone with a lone male stranger but a man, a wife and a baby were able to trick her with their lies.”

On Tuesday, Olivier admitted she partook in “hunts” with her husband. “I was the dog, I was never anything but the dog that must obey” its master, she said during cross-examination.

Shown photos of Ms Parrish’s bloated face after her body was recovered from the river Yonne, near Auxerre, Burgundy, Olivier said: “It’s because of me she’s gone, it’s unforgivable”.

The 75-year-old remained silent in the glass-screened dock in Nanterre criminal court outside Paris as she looked at the pictures, before pushing them away with a shaking hand.

Olivier is on trial for her role in three kidnappings and murders by her late husband, who died in 2021, and her role in the rape and attempted rape in two of the cases.

Fourniret is believed to have answered a classified ad Ms Parrish placed in a local paper offering English lessons – hoping to earn money to visit her boyfriend in Czechoslovakia.

Joanna Parrish’s body was recovered from the river Yonne in Burgundy – Christopher Jones

On Monday Ms Parrish’s family, her then-boyfriend and their lawyer had pressed the idea that the young woman would never have climbed into a car alone with a strange man to highlight Olivier’s vital role.

Her father, Roger Parrish, insisted that Olivier was “an active participant in all his crimes”.

Olivier recounted how she remained in the front seat of the couple’s car when Fourniret climbed into the back to kill and rape Ms Parrish in May 1990.

“Like a coward, I do nothing, I hear her scream a little but I don’t intervene. It’s fear, panic, (I am) unable to do anything at all,” she said.

On Monday, the court was told that Fourniret and Olivier had used “lies” to trick the 20-year-old Leeds University student into getting into their car.

Olivier has admitted she participated in ‘hunts’ with her husband Michel Fourniret – BENOIT DOPPAGNE/BELGA/AFP via Getty Images

“I stayed at the wheel. I heard everything but I didn’t dare to turn around to look. I didn’t get out [of the vehicle]. Michel had not asked me to do so,” the court heard.

She said Fourniret had asked Ms Parrish “if she was a virgin and if she had a boyfriend”. He then asked her “to get undressed. When she refused he hit her until she was no longer speaking. Then he tied her up. When she was unconscious, he raped her. I don’t know how long all that took”.

“After raping the girl, he strangled her. Afterwards he took the young girl in his arms and threw her into a river.”

The court was told that forensic evidence tended to confirm Olivier’s account.

The Parrish family had left the courtroom on Tuesday when her murder was discussed, staying away during Olivier’s questioning.

Olivier is also charged with complicity in the 2003 disappearance of nine-year-old Estelle Mouzin, whose body has never been found – CBA/AFP via Getty Images

“I can’t manage to remember all of the details. I mix them up with other” killings, Olivier told Judge Didier Safar.

Serving a life sentence issued in 2008, Olivier’s case deals with the abduction, rape and murder of Ms Parrish and 18-year-old Marie-Angele Domece in 1988.

She is also charged with complicity in the disappearance of nine-year-old Estelle Mouzin in 2003, whose body has never been found two decades on despite intensive searches.

Ms Domece’s remains have also never been found.

The trial continues.

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