Michel Fourniret
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Michel Fourniret (born 1941 or 1942) is a French serial killer who confessed, in June and July 2004, to the kidnapping, raping and murdering of 9 girls in the span of 14 years during the 1980s and the 1990s. He is also suspected of 10 murders, 9 of which in France and one in Belgium.
His wife, Monique Olivier denounced him just after Marc Dutroux's ex-wife Michelle Martin was convicted to 30 years in prison during Dutroux's trial. Michel Fourniret has been charged with the abduction of minors and sexual misconduct, and has been in detention since June 2003 for the attempted kidnapping of a 14-year-old girl in 2000.
Michel Fourniret buried at least two of his victims at his Sautou chateau in the late 1980s. On 3 July2004, a team of French and Belgian police recovered the bodies of two of Fourniret's victims near the castle.
He might have had some links with the once famous French Action Directe gang.
It seems clear that he is a serial killer (for sexual reasons), but is not clear yet whether he is a pedophile in the pathological sense of the term.
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Confessed murders
Michel Fourniret has confessed nine murders:
- Isabelle Laville, a 17-year old French girl. She disappeared in Auxerre, France, on her way from school to home.
- Fabienne Leroy, a 20-year old girl. She disappeared in 1988 in Mourmelon, and her body was later found in the nearby woods.
- Jeanne-Marie Desramault, a 22-year old French student. She disappeared in 1989 from the railway station of Charleville-Méziere, and her body was recovered from the estate of Fourniret with his assistance.
- Elisabeth Brichet, a 12-year old Belgian girl. She disappeared from Namur in 1989 after playing with a friend. This case has been long thought to be linked to the Marc Dutroux case. Fourniret led police to her burial site on his estate in France.
- Natacha Danais, a 13-year old French girl, disappeared in 1990.
- Farida Hellegouarch. The girlfriend of one of the leaders of the extreme-left organization Action Directe. Fourniret was a cell-mate of his. Fourniret killed Farida in 1990, to get to the funds of Action Directe. With his loot, he bought his castle in France.
- Céline Saison (18-year old). She disappeared in 2000 in Sedan, and her body was found in Belgium.
- Manyana Thumpong (18-year old). She disappeared in 2001 from Charleville-Méziere. Her body was also later found in Belgium.
- An unidentified man. Fourniret killed this man in a robbery for some quick cash.
Fourniret's wife has also said that Fourniret killed a 16-year old girl that had worked as a au pair at their house. Supposedly killed in 1993, but Fourniret has not confessed this murder. Her identity has not been made public.
Other crimes?
Fourniret himself says he did not commit any crimes between 1990 and 2000. Police in several countries however find this hard to believe. That is why police in at least five countries (France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark) have taken a fresh look at old rapes, disappearances and killings. In Denmark, police noticed that a police sketch of a rape-suspect looked a lot like Fourniret. In the Netherlands investigators in the Tanja Groen disappearance and the Nicky Verstappen investigated Fourniret.
See also
External links
- Reuters' report (http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=539864§ion=news)de:Michel Fourniret