A dead serial killer’s widow faces a second life prison sentence for “aiding” him in the murder of British student, Joanna Parrish, in France 33 years ago.
Joanna Parrish was 20-years-old when she was raped and killed in Moneteau, France in May 1990 by Michel Fourniret.
Monique Olivier, 75, was on trial in France for her part in the rape and murder of Joanna Parrish and 18-year-old Marie-Angèle Domèce in 1988.
She was also accused of helping kidnap nine-year-old Estelle Mouzin, whose body has never been found, in 2003.
After her sentencing, the father of the British woman said that “there has never been any doubt in our minds at all” that Monique Olivier was “equally responsible for the murder of Joanna and the other completely innocent victims”.
At a press conference in Nanterre, Roger Parrish, said: “From the very first moment that a victim was identified, she knew exactly, exactly, what would happen to them. Not only did she do nothing to help them, but she actively encouraged and participated in both their capture and subsequent murder.
“Her presence alone would have gained the confidence of all the victims, who would never have believed a woman could be a part of such an appalling and depraved act. Her participation in these acts has now been proved beyond any doubt.”
He added: “Finally, we now hope after this last obstacle in our struggle to gain an element of justice for Joanna has been overcome, we can remember our daughter and sister with a smile on our faces, which is how, of course, all her many friends remember her.”
Ms Parrish’s father Roger Parrish held a moment of silence for all of Fourniret’s victims.
The Parrish family lawyer, Didier Seban, said: “This is first of all a victory, a victory for the families.”
Monique Olivier, 75, had admitted the accusations, but a panel of three judges and six jurors still took more than 10 hours to find her guilty after a three-week trial.
Dubbed the “Ogre of the Ardennes”, Fourniret was jailed for life in 2008 after being convicted of the murders of seven girls and young women and in 2018 he was given a second life sentence for an eighth murder.
In total, he confessed to 11 murders before he died and this included Joanna Parish.
