by SWNS
“Bring back the guillotine” say parents of British woman murdered in France 30 years ago
The parents of a British woman murdered in France more than 30 years ago have said they want the guillotine returned to the ‘evil’ couple responsible. Joanna Parrish, 20, was working as a teaching assistant at a school in France when she placed an ad offering English lessons in a local newspaper. Michel Fourniret, known as the ‘Ogre of the Ardennes’ and considered one of the worst serial killers in France, answered the ad in May 1990 and the two met. Joanna, from Newnham-on-Severn, Glos., was never seen alive again and her body was found in the River Yonne, near Auxerre, France the following day. Fourniret admitted to murdering 11 females – including Joanna – but died in 2021 before he could stand trial. At the time he was serving a life sentence for the murders of seven girls and young women – and died in 2021. But after his ex-wife Monique Olivier, now 75, was given a second life term this week for role in the murders. , Joanna’s parents said they felt some ‘relief’ at the verdict – but only hated their killers. Her mother Pauline Murrell said: “It wasn’t necessary for all the other girls to die. I wish they were still hanging, really… I thought a guillotine would be great.” looking at her (Olivier) and thinking. I would guillotine you and sit there with my knitting and watch.” Olivier was accused of complicity in Joanna’s murder, as well as being involved in the murder of 18-year-old Marie-Angèle Domèce in 1988. She was also accused in the abduction of nine-year-old Estelle Mouzin, whose body was never found. The couple said that while Fourniret was not alive to be held accountable for their daughter’s murder – they were relieved that he could no longer hurt anyone. Pauline said: “I think mainly, thank God, he’s not going to kill anyone else. “She won’t be around, but I can’t help but think that if the police had done their job properly at the beginning, the gens d’armes, many other girls would still be alive. – because he would be caught.” But, I don’t know why they weren’t, they were completely inadequate. That is my main feeling; it wasn’t necessary.” Dad Roger Parrish said: “I think I wish I would have tried to face him in court, but honestly, I don’t really think it would have made any difference to him anyway, you know I have the type of person. that he was a psychopath… a completely narcissistic psychopath, who only thought of himself. “I would have been there when he was still alive. But he is dead now and the world is a better place for him.” Before the jury retired to consider their verdict, Olivier said: “I regret everything I have done and I ask for forgiveness from the families of the victims, knowing that it is not good.” The defendant, who is already serving a life sentence for her involvement in her husband’s other murders, was found guilty and sentenced to life, with a minimum of 20 years. The couple said they had been fighting for years for justice and would continue for as long as it took. Mr Parrish added: “We were determined from the start that it would take as long as it did. “Of course, we didn’t really think it would take 33 years and there were periods, perhaps during the 1990s, before Fourniret . recognized, we thought, we may have to do this for the rest of our lives. “But once he and Monique Olivier were identified in the early 2000s, I was absolutely convinced that they were responsible, with or without the evidence.” “I think probably the strongest feeling we have right now is relief, relief at the verdict and that Monique Olivier’s key role in our daughter’s murder has been recognized by the jurors and the court.” The couple said the biggest obstacles they faced over the years were a lack of help and information from the French authorities. Mr Parrish added: “The hardest part was convincing the French authorities that we were never going to leave, that we were never going to leave. “It didn’t make a difference. We would still fight, you know, we would still struggle. “We have tried to get on with our lives and I think we both have. We both have certain interests and pleasures and, of course, we have our grandchildren now, a big part of our lives. “If we had to spend some of our time yet to do this struggle, we would have done.” In an official statement released after the verdict, Mr. Parrish said they were “pleased that the court recognized Monique Olivier’s part in the verdict. The murder of our daughter and our sister.” He said: “There was never any doubt in our minds that her presence had a lot to do with gaining Jo’s trust and her active participation in her murder has been proven beyond doubt. “We now hope, after this last hurdle, that we can remember our daughter and sister with a smile on our face, and that is how all her friends remember her. “After Christmas, we will be going on holiday like this. It is a very personal moment for our family and we ask that our privacy be respected at this time.” And they said they wanted to remember their daughter for her kind and bright personality. Mr Parrish said: “I want her to be remembered for the person she was. We’ve had so many letters and recently emails and comments from friends, people who were neighbors at her primary school, at her grammar school, on the university. People who knew her, all say very similar things to each other. That she was kind, helpful, hardworking and very conscientious. “We never had to force her to go down to work, she did it and that’s how we’ll remember her.” Pauline added: “And her smile. I look at the sun and the sun reminds me of Jo, really. I always think of her. And others in the village have said the same thing: smile and look at the sun and Jo is there. .”
