The ex-wife of a French serial killer has been handed a second life sentence for her part in the murder of two young women and the kidnap of a young girl.
Monique Olivier, 75, appeared before court in France where she was on Tuesday convicted of aiding and abetting gruesome attacks by the late Michel Fourniret.
She appeared in connection with the rape and murder of 20-year-old Leeds University student Joanna Parrish, from Gloucestershire, and 18-year-old Marie-Angèle Domèce.
She was also accused of helping kidnap Estelle Mouzin, aged nine, in 2003. Estelle's body has never been recovered.
Before his death in 2021, Fourniret - nicknamed the Ogre of Ardennes - was accused of murdering eight girls and young women between 1987 and 2001.
Olivier is already serving a life sentence for complicity in four of the killings and a gang rape committed by Fourniret.
After details of the deaths were described during her trial, Olivier said: "I regret everything that happened, listening to all that."
The naked body of 20-year-old Ms Parrish was found in the Yonne River, near the eastern city of Auxerre, in May 1990.
Her parents, Roger Parrish and his ex-wife Pauline Murrell, have been battling for justice ever since.
Following Olivier's sentencing, Ms Parrish's father, Roger Parrish, said at a press conference in Nanterre on Tuesday “there has never been any doubt in our minds at all” that Olivier was “equally responsible for the murder of Joanna and the other completely innocent victims”.
Mr Parrish asked for a moment to remember all the victims, then said: “We’re satisfied that the court has recognised Monique Olivier’s part in the murder of our daughter and sister.
"She has been found guilty on all counts and a verdict and sentence passed accordingly.
“There’s never been any doubt in our minds at all that she was equally responsible for the murder of Joanna and the other completely innocent victims.
“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.
“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.”
Fourniret was charged with abduction, rape and murder in the cases but died aged 79, before he could be brought to trial.
His crimes date back to 1988 in the case of Marie-Angele Domece, 18, who, like Ms Parrish, was initially reported missing from Auxerre, but whose body has never been found.Olivier first became a pen pal of Fourniret while he was serving a jail sentence for rape.
The two later agreed a pact that involved her helping him find virgins to rape, in return for Fourniret killing her violent first husband.
The husband killing never happened, but Oliver and Fourniret married and had a son together.
Olivier was handed a life sentence in 2008 over her role in four murders and a rape committed by Fourniret.
In 2018, Olivier was given a further 20 years inside for her part in the killing of Farida Hammiche, the wife of one of Fourniret’s former cellmates.
