- By Steve Knibbs, Dickon Hooper & Dawn Limbu
- BBC News, Paris
Monique Olivier had previously said her role was to “reassure” victims
The ex-wife of a serial killer has apologised for the death of a British student who was kidnapped and murdered.
Joanna Parrish from Gloucestershire was 20 when she was kidnapped from Auxerre in 1990.
Monique Olivier, who is already serving a life sentence, is in court over her death, alongside another murder and kidnap.
Olivier added that she regretted not intervening in Ms Parrish’s death saying she “deserved to live”.
Her ex-husband Michel Fourniret died in prison in 2021.
Ms Parrish’s parents, Roger Parrish and Pauline Murrell, were not in court to hear Olivier’s apology.
“It is horrible. She was beautiful. I regret it,” she said at the Cour d’Assise in Paris on Tuesday.
“She didn’t deserve that. I am sorry.”
Joanna Parrish’s body was found in the Yonne River in France in 1990
Olivier had previously told the court her role was to reassure the victims.
The crimes date back to 1988 in the case of Marie-Angele Domece, who disappeared aged 18 from Auxerre, and 1990 for Miss Parrish.
The third charge is for complicity in the 2003 disappearance of nine-year-old Estelle Mouzin, whose body has never been found.
When shown a photo of Ms Domece at the court hearing, she said: “She should never have disappeared.”
Michel Fourniret and Monique Olivier’s house at St Cyr Les Colons
She said that Fourniret had met Ms Parrish through newspaper advert offering English lessons and had “stalked” her outside the school that she had been working in as part of her university degree course.
She said that Fourniret had planned to imprison her for several days before killing her.
Olivier said Ms Parrish may have been taken to Olivier and Fourniret’s house close by in St Cyr Les Colons.
Olivier will continue to be questioned by lawyers throughout Tuesday.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
