Michel Fourniret: The Monster of the Ardennes

Michel Fourniret had a penchant for driving around in a van with his wife and their young son. What set this family apart from others was that their road trips ended with the rape, mutilation, and murder of young virgins. The media dubbed Fourniret the "Monster of the Ardennes."

MICHEL FOURNIRET

Michel Fourniret was born in 1942 in Sedan, France, near the Belgian border. His father was a locksmith, and his mother was the daughter of a farmer. Michel was a quiet child with a slightly above-average IQ who enjoyed chess and classical music. However, as an adult, Fourniret struggled to hold down a job. He failed as a lumberjack and a school principal, among many other occupations.

His first arrest came in 1966 for child abuse, which led to the end of his first marriage. With his second wife, he fathered three children, but that marriage also failed after he was arrested again for rape and indecent assault on minors. While awaiting trial in custody, he placed an advertisement in a Catholic magazine seeking a pen pal. Monique Olivier, a nurse and mother of three, responded. As a child, she struggled with a stutter, and as an adult, she repeatedly entered into relationships with men who abused her. Olivier promised to assist Fourniret in "hunting virgins" if he would help her in return by killing her ex-husband. Only part of this bargain would be fulfilled.

It is known that one of Olivier's duties was to physically inspect the victims before Fourniret raped them to ensure they met his criteria. Olivier, his "bloody muse," waited outside the prison gates for Fourniret when he was released in 1987. He had been released early for being an "exemplary prisoner." Two months later, the killing spree began.

THE CRIMES

The murderous duo sought their first victim in December 1987. They approached 17-year-old Isabelle Laville in a van as she was returning home from school. They claimed to be lost and convinced her to get into the van to help them with directions. Fourniret then raped and killed her.

A year later, they abducted 20-year-old Fabienne Leroy from a supermarket. Her body was found the next day; she had been shot in the chest.

The couple married, had a son, and bought a castle in the wooded border region between France and Belgium. Evidence suggests that Fourniret financed the purchase with money he had stolen from a cellmate serving time for a bank robbery. He located his cellmate's wife, discovered where the money was hidden, and then murdered her (her body has not been found to this day). In 1989, the couple claimed their youngest victim to date. Elisabeth Brichet was only 12 years old when she was abducted from the Belgian city of Namur. Her body was found 14 years later on the couple's castle grounds.

With their son in tow, the killers presented the perfect image of a trustworthy family. Fourniret and Olivier sometimes pretended that their son was ill and that they needed their victim's help to take the child to a hospital. Another trick involved Olivier being alone and picking up a girl, with Fourniret then appearing on the road with an empty gas can, ostensibly seeking help. Olivier would then stop to give him a ride.

Fourniret strangled or shot his victims. Sometimes he injected air into their veins to cause a heart attack. After stabbing a girl with a screwdriver, he would violate her again. Olivier always watched as he raped and murdered his victims

. They later reenacted the scenes as fantasies in their sex life.

Fourniret would dispose of the bodies either on his property or in the surrounding area.

INVESTIGATION

The killing spree went on for years, but the police never connected the individual crimes. There was little information exchange between the French and Belgian police, and no one considered the possibility that the Ardennes region had an unusually high murder rate because a serial killer was using it as a hunting ground.

If not for one of their victims escaping, the couple would likely have gone unpunished. In 2003, Fourniret attempted to abduct a 13-year-old girl. He boasted to her that Marc Dutroux, the recently arrested Belgian pedophile and serial killer, was no match for him. However, she managed to escape by biting through the restraints on her hands and jumping out of the van at a traffic light. Before fleeing, she took note of the license plate. She also provided investigators with a detailed description of Fourniret.

Subsequently, the police questioned both Fourniret and Olivier. However, the officers were unaware that they were interviewing the French equivalent of Fred and Rose West. It was only Olivier's misconception that the police knew more than she did that prompted her to confess in the hope of reducing her own sentence.

TRIAL

During the 2008 trial, Fourniret mostly remained silent. He showed no remorse. However, he briefly reacted with anger when it was mentioned that his submissive wife had a higher IQ than him, according to IQ tests.

The prosecution referred to him as a "necrophilic monster." Olivier expressed remorse, but she was found guilty of being her husband's accomplice in at least five of the murders. She was sentenced to a minimum of 28 years in prison. Fourniret was found guilty of the murders of seven girls and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

One year before Fourniret's death on May 10, 2021, in a hospital, Olivier confessed to the murder of 9-year-old Estelle Mouzin, who had been missing since 2003.