Monique Olivier: Accessory to Evil (2023) s01e05 Episode Script
The Secret Keeper
[siren blaring]
[Corinne Herrmann] Fourniret
and Olivier carried on for a long time.
That's not typical
for all serial killer couples.
Serial killers mean a series of victims.
It also means time.
With the Fourniret case,
Corinne Herrmann and ourselves
were convinced this wouldn't be the only
trial, there had to be a lot of cases.
ÉRIC MOUZIN'S ATTORNEY
Often, the families are forgotten
and left alone with their pain.
The investigations are abandoned.
So we specialize in unsolved cases,
because no one is dealing with them.
[Herrmann] In 2015, we were going through
a quiet patch in the criminal files.
There was no energy, no checks,
nothing was happening.
For ten years, Olivier and Fourniret
rarely left their prison cells.
Barely anything was heard from them.
They got divorced.
She was no longer under his control.
So we thought she might help us,
as she'd been the one to confess.
ÉRIC MOUZIN'S ATTORNEY
She is the key.
[telephone ringing]
In May of 2015,
the law firm receptionist called
to tell me that there was a witness
who wanted to talk about Monique Olivier.
A woman.
She said she was Monique's prison mate.
And she immediately told me that Monique
had confided in her about Estelle Mouzin.
ESTELLE MOUZIN - AGED 9
- The disappearance of Estelle Mouzin.
- Estelle Mouzin.
- Estelle Mouzin.
- Estelle Mouzin.
[woman] Has the investigation
into the disappearance
of Estelle Mouzin been reopened?
Michel Fourniret,
the French forest ranger,
had been charged in Belgium
for abducting minors and indecent assault.
His wife has accused him of murdering
nine children and young girls.
With at least ten murders,
usually involving rape,
experts say he is
the most prolific serial killer in France.
Whatever may have happened to Estelle,
you have to give her back to us.
[woman] The murders by the Ogre of
the Ardennes and his wife shocked Europe.
The remains of a teenage girl
who disappeared ten months ago
have been found in Belgium.
[man] The Fournirets are said
to have raped and killed young girls
in France and Belgium in an extremely
sadistic and meticulous manner.
[woman] Fourniret's wife
presents as a submissive wife
who is scared of her husband,
so has not spoken up until now.
[man] She's a housewife
who helps to rape, kill, and abduct.
But in the end, she is a housewife.
MONIQUE OLIVIER: ACCESSORY TO EVIL
EPISODE 5
THE SECRET KEEPER
[woman] I was involved in organized crime.
I spent many years in prison.
[camera shutter whirrs]
I was convicted several times,
for embezzlement and fraud.
When I arrived at Rennes prison,
I was in detention with Monique.
MONIQUE OLIVIER'S FORMER FELLOW INMATE
WOMEN'S PRISON
RENNES - FRANCE
I never spoke to her for 18 months.
I completely ignored her.
For me, she didn't exist.
And then
I became interested when I thought
they talked about her on the news.
[voices echoing]
[man] I don't know who you are
or where you are.
But I am certain that you can hear me.
And I know that you must feel flattered.
Estelle is not an object
that you can hold onto like this.
She is a child who should have her freedom
and be returned to her family.
[Milica] I saw Estelle's father on TV.
Whatever may have happened to Estelle,
you have to give her back to us.
You have committed a horrific act,
and you are not human.
I'm not a vigilante.
I'm just a father who wants
to find his daughter.
After that program, I was
disturbed by the
by that man's distress.
And I thought,
"She's two meters away from me."
"Maybe I can do something."
I said to her, "Listen, Monique."
"The story about Estelle,
do you know anything about it?"
"Do you think Michel did it or not?"
She replied,
"She's his type of child."
[creaking sound effect]
JANUARY 9, 2003
GUERMANTES
[man] January 9th 2003 was a Thursday.
It was snowing and was very cold.
I think the children were having dinner.
Around 8:30 or 8:45,
I got a phone call from Estelle's mother
ESTELLE MOUZIN'S FATHER
telling me that Estelle wasn't there.
She asked me if I knew anything.
She told me she'd gone around to all the
neighbors. Nobody knew where Estelle was.
I didn't really understand much
at the start, to be honest.
I understood Estelle wasn't there,
and if she wasn't there,
something very serious had happened.
[woman] She left school at six p.m.
It was one kilometer, a 20-minute walk,
for her to get home.
She knew not to get in a car with anyone.
And I don't think she would
with a stranger.
As soon as I heard about this,
I believed that
Estelle was taken by someone.
[birdsong]
[Jean Espitalier] I dreaded this case.
There was no evidence
and no clues in the investigation
FORMER DIRECTOR OF
THE VERSAILLES CRIMINAL POLICE
to help us determine
where Estelle disappeared.
And there were no witnesses
to help us understand what had happened.
We searched a 25-kilometer
radius around Guermantes.
We looked in fields, in forests, in woods.
Three to four meters, guys.
Three to four meters.
[Espitalier] We probed wells
and all the waterways.
But we didn't find anything.
MISSING
ESTELLE MOUZIN, AGED 9
[Mouzin] A month in, we have no leads
or new pieces of information.
So we're looking at a total vacuum.
It's absolute torture.
[helicopter engine whirring]
[Espitalier] I walked the streets
of Guermantes multiple times.
I walked them during the day and
I walked them several times at night.
[thunder rumbling]
I tried to put myself
in the shoes of a predator
who was trying to abduct a little girl.
But I found nothing.
So I had the idea of interviewing
everyone who was at home
along Estelle's route from school to home
on the evening she went missing.
That's how we identified
Estelle's classmate,
who had spent Sunday afternoon with her.
She told us that,
before the Christmas holidays,
she had been approached by a vehicle.
[crickets chirping]
She was on her way home from school,
and a man approached her.
He said, "Listen, you have a big bag,
it's heavy. I'll take you home."
[engine idling]
"No, thank you, no. No, I'm already home."
"Okay, goodbye."
When we got this statement,
we were able to create a sketch.
[man] An appeal for witnesses
has been launched by investigators.
This composite sketch is
of a man who is described by police
as being European, aged between 40 and 45.
From what we know, this man was seen
driving a vehicle like this.
His behavior is of great interest
to investigators.
Six months later, we learned about
Michel Fourniret's arrest.
JUNE 26, 2003
DINANT - BELGIUM
[man] The 60-year-old Frenchman
was charged with abuducting a minor,
attempted abduction and indecent assault.
[Espitalier] So obviously, Fourniret
immediately becomes a potential suspect,
because the way he operates
matches the possible circumstances
around Estelle's disappearance.
[siren blaring]
Immediately, we got in touch
with the Belgian police
to see if there was any evidence
that could link to our investigation.
Were there any clues we could use
to place Michel Fourniret
in Guermantes?
And most importantly,
Michel Fourniret had an alibi.
The team of investigators
were informed of a phone call
made from Michel Fourniret's landline
to his eldest son,
from his first marriage.
That day was his birthday.
Michel Fourniret couldn't have made
the call in Sart-Custinne at eight p.m.
and been in Guermantes
between five and six pm.
There's 250 kilometers between them.
250 kilometers at a time
when the traffic conditions are difficult.
[thunder rumbles]
It was impossible.
There is currently nothing
in Estelle Mouzin's file
that directly or indirectly
implicates Michel Fourniret.
HELP US FIND ESTELLE
[woman] Four years on
from her disappearance,
the investigators in charge
of Estelle Mouzin's case
reassured the family
they are not giving up their efforts
after ruling out
Michel Fourniret's involvement.
[man] Despite their best efforts,
there are still no solid leads.
[woman] Do you feel discouraged,
a year later?
No, never.
- [woman] Do you still hope to find her?
- Of course.
[man] Estelle Mouzin, who disappeared
five years ago today, was only nine.
[woman] It has been six years
since the little girl disappeared.
She'd be 16 now.
Estelle disappeared seven years ago on her
way home from school in Seine-et-Marne.
[Milica] I asked her
"How come you don't know about Estelle?"
Because there are no secrets between
husband and wife. Quite the opposite.
She said, "You know, I was his alibi."
[muffled, echoing voices]
She drank a cup of coffee
while telling me everything.
With no emotion at all.
That day, it was in the winter
after lunch, Michel told her, "I'm going
out to hunt for little virgins."
"I've already checked out the town
and two little girls."
But he told her, "I prefer one of them
because the street is quite dark."
"It's easier for me."
[thunder rumbling]
Michel told her, "If I'm not home
at such-and-such time,
dial my son's phone number."
[ringing tone]
"Let it ring twice, hang up
and don't answer it."
"You never know,
it could be my alibi later."
[muffled, echoing crying]
[Herrmann] Right then, Milica brought me
a tangible piece of evidence on a plate.
Monique told her that she'd made the call.
So the case that had been built
by the police and the justice system
completely crumbled.
There was no alibi.
Without an alibi, action could be taken.
Suddenly, a specific event happens
that contradicts
everything that was said before.
So I started getting my hopes up again.
[siren blaring]
[man] Was Michel Fourniret involved
in the disappearance of Estelle Mouzin
in Guermantes in Seine-et-Marne?
These questions are central
to a hearing being held this afternoon
and being asked of Monique Olivier,
the serial killer's former partner,
which could call Fourniret's alibi
into question.
[man] Hello. How was the hearing?
It was quite long, but it went well.
Monique Oliver told
the examining magistrate
MONIQUE OLIVIER'S ATTORNEY
that she made a call
to Michel Fourniret's son
on January 9th, 2003
at the request of Michel Fourniret,
which means that he wasn't
in Sart-Custinne in Belgium
on the day
that Estelle Mouzin disappeared.
[Delgenes] Monique Olivier confessed.
That was huge.
People don't realize, but she confessed
to a case that had been cold for years.
Without her, the case wouldn't have
been solved, so yes, she confessed.
What's in it for her?
She's serving a life sentence.
If she really were a criminal, she'd
keep it to herself like Fourniret did.
[Chloé Triomphe] She had been
in prison for years,
distanced from Fourniret,
with no contact with him.
She asked for a divorce years earlier.
Every day, she becomes
less held by his control.
She was no longer afraid of him.
No longer afraid to talk.
So why not give justice a helping hand?
[Espitalier] I'm not convinced that
Michel Fourniret kidnapped Estelle Mouzin,
because everything is based
on Monique Olivier's accusations.
Michel Fourniret's possible guilt
cannot be discounted
until Estelle Mouzin's body,
her remains, are found.
[birdsong]
[woman] Seventeen years later, no one has
forgotten the face of Estelle Mouzin.
The noose is tightening around the neck
of serial killer Michel Fourniret.
The investigation never seemed
so close to a conclusion.
All that remains is the girl's body,
which has never been found.
[Herrmann] So, at the end of 2020,
there was what we call a reconstruction.
We went with him and Monique Olivier,
so they could explain things.
We took them to the scene
because that helps trigger memories.
It helps bring things into focus
and allows us to verify things.
[camera shutter whirrs]
For me, the couple is reunited.
She spoke to him, remembered places.
He gave specific information,
he remembered what he'd done.
He didn't really remember whether
he had gone right or left, exactly,
when or how he killed her
or in which room.
But the picture became clearer
while discussing things with the judge,
and also while talking to Monique Olivier.
[shutter whirrs]
She spoke to him gently.
She practically embraced him.
In that moment, I thought,
"They're still a couple,
and she is still there for him,
even after all these years,
like she always was."
She practically put her hand
on his shoulder and said,
"Yes, remember?
You know where you put her. You know."
Olivier challenged him,
along the lines of,
"Go on, tell them what happened
to help justice move forward."
[Herrmann] I hoped then that he would
say something.
[Seban] We thought we were close
to breaking through.
[Herrmann] We're there.
He didn't say, but we're really close
to him telling us something.
Unfortunately, these searches
didn't lead to finding Estelle's body.
[thunder rumbling]
[wind whistling]
MAY 10, 2021
We have just heard that French
serial killer Michel Fourniret
has died at the age of 79.
- [thunder rumbles]
- [soft rainfall]
[man] Suffering from Alzheimer's
and heart problems,
Fourniret was hospitalized.
He was convicted of eight murders.
[woman] Today,
he takes all his secrets with him.
[Mouzin] At that point, it was too late.
That was it.
We can't turn back time.
[Francis Nachbar] What did I feel
when Fourniret died?
Nothing. Apart from that things were
going to get even more difficult.
It would be even harder
to find other victims
FORMER PUBLIC PROSECUTOR
and find the bodies we were
looking for.
Now everything lies with Monique Olivier.
[Delgenes] Hope died with Fourniret.
But Olivier isn't Fourniret.
Since she didn't take part in everything,
she wasn't there,
so we don't have the answers.
So everything is focused on her.
But I'd say it's now ten,
even a thousand times stronger
because Fourniret is no longer here.
[man] His shadow, Monique Olivier,
is now in the spotlight.
A woman who was
fully implicated in these murders.
A zealot who was
certainly a match for her mentor.
[Delgenes] She may have thought,
"That's it."
"I'm clearing my conscience because
there's a future. My life isn't over."
You always have to think that there's
a possible way out. You have to have hope.
That's how I see it.
[echoing shouts]
[Herrmann] Once you've confessed
to ten murders,
there's a point
it's no longer about just one or two.
I think it's actually reclaiming that
element of humanity she might still have.
That element of humanity
that makes her different to Fourniret.
Saying, "Okay, I'll say what I know
about this case because
all the evidence put together, my lawyer,
all of that means that I can confess."
[voices echoing]
[keys jingle]
[Delgenes] So, she told
the investigators, "Okay."
"I need to tell you I was there
when he kidnapped that child."
"He left. I was alone with her,
and I kept an eye on her."
"I took her to the toilet."
[Seban] During Estelle's abduction,
Olivier watched over her
while Michel Fourniret went to work
to avoid giving the impression
they had changed their routine,
because he was scared
of becoming a suspect.
[Herrmann] Yes, she saw Estelle alive.
Yes, she kept her alive.
She called her "the little one," because
Estelle was the youngest, she said.
Her role is critical in this case.
Critical. Because she didn't turn him in.
She didn't free Estelle.
She didn't free any of them.
That little girl was nothing to her.
And especially because
she didn't talk for 18 years.
She could have.
Instead, she told her fellow prisoners.
Such a lack of respect.
[Milica] I said to her,
"But how could you stand the screaming?"
"And the little girl's crying?"
She was calling out for her mom.
"Madam, please let me go. Untie me."
"How could you?"
She said, "I became indifferent
I got used to it."
And she said, "They always
called out to their mothers for help."
All the victims called out
for their mothers
and begged Monique to free them
and let them go.
[Mouzin] She assisted.
She took part.
She was complicit.
She gave him a hand.
We don't know to what extent.
I don't see by what miracle
she could imagine
that she'd get out of this
with her head held high,
unless it was about carrying on
with her logic of destroying people.
She is evil in the form of an old woman.
PRISON ADMINISTRATION
[woman] The inmates call us "the blues".
[chuckles]
It's the uniform.
We wear blue, so they call us "the blues."
I knew Monique Olivier
between 2010 and 2017.
Monique Olivier. Ah, Monique Olivier.
FORMER HEAD SUPERVISOR
OF RENNES PRISON
Monique Oliver regularly told us
that she had been attacked.
- [echoing shouts]
- [lock turns]
"In this prison,
they never stop insulting me.
"They never stop spitting at me.
They insult me. It shouldn't happen."
She was too scared
to go to the hairdresser.
Scared of what? She was all alone
in the hair salon with the hairdresser.
HAIRDRESSING SALON
[muffled, echoing shouts]
Mrs. Olivier was always a great actor
when it came to presenting herself
as the victim.
I felt that Mrs. Olivier
was very scared of being forgotten.
So, to not be forgotten
well, she had to get herself noticed.
And what did she do to get noticed?
She made up stories.
I suddenly heard that the searches were
going to resume. Things were in motion.
I was very, very skeptical,
really skeptical about what would happen.
And the result.
AUGUST 30, 2021
[Delgenes] Olivier was categorical
about the fact that
Estelle Mouzin should be found here.
And today, she's in the mood to take part.
She's traveled here and she's searching.
[Herrmann] She's known what happened
to Estelle for 18 years.
She's known where she is for that long.
She might not know it
to the nearest meter,
but in any case, she knows
where she was taken and what happened.
We go up this path into the forest.
We walk next to one another.
We listen to what she says.
We ask her questions of the cuff.
[Mouzin] It's impossible for me to know
what's going on in her head
or to know whether she knows,
doesn't know, or has forgotten.
Or whether in the last 20 years,
the vegetation has changed the landscape
so much there's no way to get a bearing.
When I saw Monique Olivier
I'm not going to say
that it was all an act,
but she pretended to be weakened.
Even though we could see
that she had all of her reasoning skills.
One thing was certain,
she took great pleasure
in being out in the open air
and getting a lot of attention.
She was at the center of the world again.
"It's not there.
Dig three meters to the left."
"No, three meters to the right.
That's it."
And Monique Olivier took pleasure
in leading us around by our noses,
because we relied on the information
she was giving us to find Estelle's body.
[Jean-Luc Ployé] Take away Monique Olivier
and put in Fourniret,
and they behave in exactly the same way.
The same posture. The blank stares.
"I can't remember
if it's to the right or to the left."
EXPERT COURT PSYCHOLOGIS
You see, so in some way, she's completely
re-enacting Fourniret's personality.
A transference has taken place.
I thought,
"You're still manipulating everyone."
"You're still taking us all for fools."
"Because the end result will be nothing."
So, we had already carried out
a massive amount of searches,
and it was right at the end that she said,
"That's not where it happened."
[birdsong]
So, we haven't found
Estelle Mouzin's body.
[birdsong]
[distant laughter and chatter]
[Mouzin] I'm not the only one
who was taken for a ride.
How many families have they led on?
They are capable of finding a level of
satisfaction, I was going to say pleasure,
in any situation they find themselves in.
Even when they are found guilty.
But they still have this ability
to cause problems right until the end.
There.
[Herrmann] She shamelessly
manipulated us all.
When you're with her,
it feels very uncertain.
Like she's calculating everything.
She drip-fed us everything.
We insisted on explaining
that there was nothing at stake.
She knows things, but doesn't give them up
easily. She's always been like that.
That's how she operates.
[Delgenes] That's the whole paradox
of Monique Olivier.
She says nothing but she says everything.
She doesn't want to confess anything, but
confesses to terrible things nobody knew.
She even says things that are damaging
to her, criminally speaking.
She says things
that are horrible or terrible
that nobody knows about
and nobody could imagine.
[Seban] With Monique Olivier,
the line between a lie and the truth,
what she says to please people,
what she says
so people will leave her alone,
or to manipulate people
and the truth that she offers
is always very complicated
and very difficult to define.
[Nachbar] For me, Monique Olivier
is the epitome of manipulation.
You can't imagine her being able
to manipulate anyone,
and she manipulated Fourniret
from the start.
She manipulated Fourniret,
not the other way around.
He was like an insect
buzzing in a spider's web.
But she's the spider
in the center of the web.
[Delgenes] Tell me.
Since you confessed in 2004, what do you
think about when you look back on that?
[Olivier] Erm, its, it's difficult, hmm?
It's
Of course I regret everything
that happened, but
- I'd like to be left in peace.
- Mm-hmm.
Do you regret talking
about the Mouzin case?
No, I don't regret it. But [sighs]
What I regret is that
my truth is being denied. That's all.
- And what's that?
- Yes.
You say, "My truth is being denied."
But what is it?
[Olivier sighs]
I've always spoken my truth.
And now, they're denying it.
About the Mouzin case? You mean,
you don't know where the body is?
Yeah, all that, yes.
It's not that I don't want to say,
I just don't know.
[Delgenes] In the Parrish
and Domece cases,
in the Mouzin case at the next trial,
she'll be alone in the dock
as Fourniret is no longer here.
I've always been against that.
I want her to keep talking, always.
I do everything I can
to allow her to speak,
because it changes nothing
but it's important for the victims.
In order to get answers,
you have to understand her reasoning.
[echoing shouts]
What do you think
about the upcoming trial,
where the Mouzin, Parrish
and Domece cases will be tried together?
What do you think? Does it scare you?
[Olivier] I think I'm going to take
a lot of heat that day.
Yeah? Okay.
- That I know, but
- But that's normal.
Who do you want to save today?
The children are missing.
Parents have lost their children.
Fourniret is dead.
Either Monique Olivier is perverse
like Fourniret and says nothing
or she takes responsibility
because that's all she can do.
Er, I think that I I don't know.
No, you're right. Yeah.
I think that she should force herself to
speak and do everything she can.
As for me, I always try to pursue
the truth and get her to participate.
Because if she shuts down,
we wouldn't be able to recover anything.
You should be careful.
[Nachbar] My big regret
in the Fourniret-Olivier case
isn't the few mistakes I made
in my closing speech.
It's not criticism from journalists,
I don't care about that at all.
It's about not identifying
the other victims.
We identified some of them.
We're far from identifying them all.
That's my big regret to this day.
All other things are futile.
[man] Will the wife of
the Ogre of the Ardennes, Monique Olivier,
help the courts uncover
Michel Fourniret's final mysteries?
Or, like him, will she take pleasure
in her position of strength,
play with the judge, the investigators,
the families of the victims,
and remain on the path of evil?
[Nachbar] I think she's completely
indifferent to the fate of the victims,
and their families.
She has more than shown that.
I think that if Monique Olivier
makes a pretence of collaborating,
it is perhaps in the hope
that she won't end her days in prison.
To be clear, I don't think she's changed.
MICHEL FOURNIRET WAS CONVICTED OF MURDER,
RAPE OR ATTEMPTED RAPE, AND MURDER.
MONIQUE OLIVIER WAS CONVICTED
FOR BEING COMPLICI
IN SEVERAL MURDERS AND/OR RAPES
OR ATTEMPTED RAPES.
AGED 17
TO DATE, MONIQUE OLIVIER WILL BE ABLE
TO APPLY FOR CONDITIONAL RELEASE IN 2032,
AT THE AGE OF 84.
HOWEVER, SHE'S STILL TO BE JUDGED
IN THE CASES OF JOANNA PARRISH,
MARIE-ANGÈLE DOMECE, ESTELLE MOUZIN.
[Corinne Herrmann] Fourniret
and Olivier carried on for a long time.
That's not typical
for all serial killer couples.
Serial killers mean a series of victims.
It also means time.
With the Fourniret case,
Corinne Herrmann and ourselves
were convinced this wouldn't be the only
trial, there had to be a lot of cases.
ÉRIC MOUZIN'S ATTORNEY
Often, the families are forgotten
and left alone with their pain.
The investigations are abandoned.
So we specialize in unsolved cases,
because no one is dealing with them.
[Herrmann] In 2015, we were going through
a quiet patch in the criminal files.
There was no energy, no checks,
nothing was happening.
For ten years, Olivier and Fourniret
rarely left their prison cells.
Barely anything was heard from them.
They got divorced.
She was no longer under his control.
So we thought she might help us,
as she'd been the one to confess.
ÉRIC MOUZIN'S ATTORNEY
She is the key.
[telephone ringing]
In May of 2015,
the law firm receptionist called
to tell me that there was a witness
who wanted to talk about Monique Olivier.
A woman.
She said she was Monique's prison mate.
And she immediately told me that Monique
had confided in her about Estelle Mouzin.
ESTELLE MOUZIN - AGED 9
- The disappearance of Estelle Mouzin.
- Estelle Mouzin.
- Estelle Mouzin.
- Estelle Mouzin.
[woman] Has the investigation
into the disappearance
of Estelle Mouzin been reopened?
Michel Fourniret,
the French forest ranger,
had been charged in Belgium
for abducting minors and indecent assault.
His wife has accused him of murdering
nine children and young girls.
With at least ten murders,
usually involving rape,
experts say he is
the most prolific serial killer in France.
Whatever may have happened to Estelle,
you have to give her back to us.
[woman] The murders by the Ogre of
the Ardennes and his wife shocked Europe.
The remains of a teenage girl
who disappeared ten months ago
have been found in Belgium.
[man] The Fournirets are said
to have raped and killed young girls
in France and Belgium in an extremely
sadistic and meticulous manner.
[woman] Fourniret's wife
presents as a submissive wife
who is scared of her husband,
so has not spoken up until now.
[man] She's a housewife
who helps to rape, kill, and abduct.
But in the end, she is a housewife.
MONIQUE OLIVIER: ACCESSORY TO EVIL
EPISODE 5
THE SECRET KEEPER
[woman] I was involved in organized crime.
I spent many years in prison.
[camera shutter whirrs]
I was convicted several times,
for embezzlement and fraud.
When I arrived at Rennes prison,
I was in detention with Monique.
MONIQUE OLIVIER'S FORMER FELLOW INMATE
WOMEN'S PRISON
RENNES - FRANCE
I never spoke to her for 18 months.
I completely ignored her.
For me, she didn't exist.
And then
I became interested when I thought
they talked about her on the news.
[voices echoing]
[man] I don't know who you are
or where you are.
But I am certain that you can hear me.
And I know that you must feel flattered.
Estelle is not an object
that you can hold onto like this.
She is a child who should have her freedom
and be returned to her family.
[Milica] I saw Estelle's father on TV.
Whatever may have happened to Estelle,
you have to give her back to us.
You have committed a horrific act,
and you are not human.
I'm not a vigilante.
I'm just a father who wants
to find his daughter.
After that program, I was
disturbed by the
by that man's distress.
And I thought,
"She's two meters away from me."
"Maybe I can do something."
I said to her, "Listen, Monique."
"The story about Estelle,
do you know anything about it?"
"Do you think Michel did it or not?"
She replied,
"She's his type of child."
[creaking sound effect]
JANUARY 9, 2003
GUERMANTES
[man] January 9th 2003 was a Thursday.
It was snowing and was very cold.
I think the children were having dinner.
Around 8:30 or 8:45,
I got a phone call from Estelle's mother
ESTELLE MOUZIN'S FATHER
telling me that Estelle wasn't there.
She asked me if I knew anything.
She told me she'd gone around to all the
neighbors. Nobody knew where Estelle was.
I didn't really understand much
at the start, to be honest.
I understood Estelle wasn't there,
and if she wasn't there,
something very serious had happened.
[woman] She left school at six p.m.
It was one kilometer, a 20-minute walk,
for her to get home.
She knew not to get in a car with anyone.
And I don't think she would
with a stranger.
As soon as I heard about this,
I believed that
Estelle was taken by someone.
[birdsong]
[Jean Espitalier] I dreaded this case.
There was no evidence
and no clues in the investigation
FORMER DIRECTOR OF
THE VERSAILLES CRIMINAL POLICE
to help us determine
where Estelle disappeared.
And there were no witnesses
to help us understand what had happened.
We searched a 25-kilometer
radius around Guermantes.
We looked in fields, in forests, in woods.
Three to four meters, guys.
Three to four meters.
[Espitalier] We probed wells
and all the waterways.
But we didn't find anything.
MISSING
ESTELLE MOUZIN, AGED 9
[Mouzin] A month in, we have no leads
or new pieces of information.
So we're looking at a total vacuum.
It's absolute torture.
[helicopter engine whirring]
[Espitalier] I walked the streets
of Guermantes multiple times.
I walked them during the day and
I walked them several times at night.
[thunder rumbling]
I tried to put myself
in the shoes of a predator
who was trying to abduct a little girl.
But I found nothing.
So I had the idea of interviewing
everyone who was at home
along Estelle's route from school to home
on the evening she went missing.
That's how we identified
Estelle's classmate,
who had spent Sunday afternoon with her.
She told us that,
before the Christmas holidays,
she had been approached by a vehicle.
[crickets chirping]
She was on her way home from school,
and a man approached her.
He said, "Listen, you have a big bag,
it's heavy. I'll take you home."
[engine idling]
"No, thank you, no. No, I'm already home."
"Okay, goodbye."
When we got this statement,
we were able to create a sketch.
[man] An appeal for witnesses
has been launched by investigators.
This composite sketch is
of a man who is described by police
as being European, aged between 40 and 45.
From what we know, this man was seen
driving a vehicle like this.
His behavior is of great interest
to investigators.
Six months later, we learned about
Michel Fourniret's arrest.
JUNE 26, 2003
DINANT - BELGIUM
[man] The 60-year-old Frenchman
was charged with abuducting a minor,
attempted abduction and indecent assault.
[Espitalier] So obviously, Fourniret
immediately becomes a potential suspect,
because the way he operates
matches the possible circumstances
around Estelle's disappearance.
[siren blaring]
Immediately, we got in touch
with the Belgian police
to see if there was any evidence
that could link to our investigation.
Were there any clues we could use
to place Michel Fourniret
in Guermantes?
And most importantly,
Michel Fourniret had an alibi.
The team of investigators
were informed of a phone call
made from Michel Fourniret's landline
to his eldest son,
from his first marriage.
That day was his birthday.
Michel Fourniret couldn't have made
the call in Sart-Custinne at eight p.m.
and been in Guermantes
between five and six pm.
There's 250 kilometers between them.
250 kilometers at a time
when the traffic conditions are difficult.
[thunder rumbles]
It was impossible.
There is currently nothing
in Estelle Mouzin's file
that directly or indirectly
implicates Michel Fourniret.
HELP US FIND ESTELLE
[woman] Four years on
from her disappearance,
the investigators in charge
of Estelle Mouzin's case
reassured the family
they are not giving up their efforts
after ruling out
Michel Fourniret's involvement.
[man] Despite their best efforts,
there are still no solid leads.
[woman] Do you feel discouraged,
a year later?
No, never.
- [woman] Do you still hope to find her?
- Of course.
[man] Estelle Mouzin, who disappeared
five years ago today, was only nine.
[woman] It has been six years
since the little girl disappeared.
She'd be 16 now.
Estelle disappeared seven years ago on her
way home from school in Seine-et-Marne.
[Milica] I asked her
"How come you don't know about Estelle?"
Because there are no secrets between
husband and wife. Quite the opposite.
She said, "You know, I was his alibi."
[muffled, echoing voices]
She drank a cup of coffee
while telling me everything.
With no emotion at all.
That day, it was in the winter
after lunch, Michel told her, "I'm going
out to hunt for little virgins."
"I've already checked out the town
and two little girls."
But he told her, "I prefer one of them
because the street is quite dark."
"It's easier for me."
[thunder rumbling]
Michel told her, "If I'm not home
at such-and-such time,
dial my son's phone number."
[ringing tone]
"Let it ring twice, hang up
and don't answer it."
"You never know,
it could be my alibi later."
[muffled, echoing crying]
[Herrmann] Right then, Milica brought me
a tangible piece of evidence on a plate.
Monique told her that she'd made the call.
So the case that had been built
by the police and the justice system
completely crumbled.
There was no alibi.
Without an alibi, action could be taken.
Suddenly, a specific event happens
that contradicts
everything that was said before.
So I started getting my hopes up again.
[siren blaring]
[man] Was Michel Fourniret involved
in the disappearance of Estelle Mouzin
in Guermantes in Seine-et-Marne?
These questions are central
to a hearing being held this afternoon
and being asked of Monique Olivier,
the serial killer's former partner,
which could call Fourniret's alibi
into question.
[man] Hello. How was the hearing?
It was quite long, but it went well.
Monique Oliver told
the examining magistrate
MONIQUE OLIVIER'S ATTORNEY
that she made a call
to Michel Fourniret's son
on January 9th, 2003
at the request of Michel Fourniret,
which means that he wasn't
in Sart-Custinne in Belgium
on the day
that Estelle Mouzin disappeared.
[Delgenes] Monique Olivier confessed.
That was huge.
People don't realize, but she confessed
to a case that had been cold for years.
Without her, the case wouldn't have
been solved, so yes, she confessed.
What's in it for her?
She's serving a life sentence.
If she really were a criminal, she'd
keep it to herself like Fourniret did.
[Chloé Triomphe] She had been
in prison for years,
distanced from Fourniret,
with no contact with him.
She asked for a divorce years earlier.
Every day, she becomes
less held by his control.
She was no longer afraid of him.
No longer afraid to talk.
So why not give justice a helping hand?
[Espitalier] I'm not convinced that
Michel Fourniret kidnapped Estelle Mouzin,
because everything is based
on Monique Olivier's accusations.
Michel Fourniret's possible guilt
cannot be discounted
until Estelle Mouzin's body,
her remains, are found.
[birdsong]
[woman] Seventeen years later, no one has
forgotten the face of Estelle Mouzin.
The noose is tightening around the neck
of serial killer Michel Fourniret.
The investigation never seemed
so close to a conclusion.
All that remains is the girl's body,
which has never been found.
[Herrmann] So, at the end of 2020,
there was what we call a reconstruction.
We went with him and Monique Olivier,
so they could explain things.
We took them to the scene
because that helps trigger memories.
It helps bring things into focus
and allows us to verify things.
[camera shutter whirrs]
For me, the couple is reunited.
She spoke to him, remembered places.
He gave specific information,
he remembered what he'd done.
He didn't really remember whether
he had gone right or left, exactly,
when or how he killed her
or in which room.
But the picture became clearer
while discussing things with the judge,
and also while talking to Monique Olivier.
[shutter whirrs]
She spoke to him gently.
She practically embraced him.
In that moment, I thought,
"They're still a couple,
and she is still there for him,
even after all these years,
like she always was."
She practically put her hand
on his shoulder and said,
"Yes, remember?
You know where you put her. You know."
Olivier challenged him,
along the lines of,
"Go on, tell them what happened
to help justice move forward."
[Herrmann] I hoped then that he would
say something.
[Seban] We thought we were close
to breaking through.
[Herrmann] We're there.
He didn't say, but we're really close
to him telling us something.
Unfortunately, these searches
didn't lead to finding Estelle's body.
[thunder rumbling]
[wind whistling]
MAY 10, 2021
We have just heard that French
serial killer Michel Fourniret
has died at the age of 79.
- [thunder rumbles]
- [soft rainfall]
[man] Suffering from Alzheimer's
and heart problems,
Fourniret was hospitalized.
He was convicted of eight murders.
[woman] Today,
he takes all his secrets with him.
[Mouzin] At that point, it was too late.
That was it.
We can't turn back time.
[Francis Nachbar] What did I feel
when Fourniret died?
Nothing. Apart from that things were
going to get even more difficult.
It would be even harder
to find other victims
FORMER PUBLIC PROSECUTOR
and find the bodies we were
looking for.
Now everything lies with Monique Olivier.
[Delgenes] Hope died with Fourniret.
But Olivier isn't Fourniret.
Since she didn't take part in everything,
she wasn't there,
so we don't have the answers.
So everything is focused on her.
But I'd say it's now ten,
even a thousand times stronger
because Fourniret is no longer here.
[man] His shadow, Monique Olivier,
is now in the spotlight.
A woman who was
fully implicated in these murders.
A zealot who was
certainly a match for her mentor.
[Delgenes] She may have thought,
"That's it."
"I'm clearing my conscience because
there's a future. My life isn't over."
You always have to think that there's
a possible way out. You have to have hope.
That's how I see it.
[echoing shouts]
[Herrmann] Once you've confessed
to ten murders,
there's a point
it's no longer about just one or two.
I think it's actually reclaiming that
element of humanity she might still have.
That element of humanity
that makes her different to Fourniret.
Saying, "Okay, I'll say what I know
about this case because
all the evidence put together, my lawyer,
all of that means that I can confess."
[voices echoing]
[keys jingle]
[Delgenes] So, she told
the investigators, "Okay."
"I need to tell you I was there
when he kidnapped that child."
"He left. I was alone with her,
and I kept an eye on her."
"I took her to the toilet."
[Seban] During Estelle's abduction,
Olivier watched over her
while Michel Fourniret went to work
to avoid giving the impression
they had changed their routine,
because he was scared
of becoming a suspect.
[Herrmann] Yes, she saw Estelle alive.
Yes, she kept her alive.
She called her "the little one," because
Estelle was the youngest, she said.
Her role is critical in this case.
Critical. Because she didn't turn him in.
She didn't free Estelle.
She didn't free any of them.
That little girl was nothing to her.
And especially because
she didn't talk for 18 years.
She could have.
Instead, she told her fellow prisoners.
Such a lack of respect.
[Milica] I said to her,
"But how could you stand the screaming?"
"And the little girl's crying?"
She was calling out for her mom.
"Madam, please let me go. Untie me."
"How could you?"
She said, "I became indifferent
I got used to it."
And she said, "They always
called out to their mothers for help."
All the victims called out
for their mothers
and begged Monique to free them
and let them go.
[Mouzin] She assisted.
She took part.
She was complicit.
She gave him a hand.
We don't know to what extent.
I don't see by what miracle
she could imagine
that she'd get out of this
with her head held high,
unless it was about carrying on
with her logic of destroying people.
She is evil in the form of an old woman.
PRISON ADMINISTRATION
[woman] The inmates call us "the blues".
[chuckles]
It's the uniform.
We wear blue, so they call us "the blues."
I knew Monique Olivier
between 2010 and 2017.
Monique Olivier. Ah, Monique Olivier.
FORMER HEAD SUPERVISOR
OF RENNES PRISON
Monique Oliver regularly told us
that she had been attacked.
- [echoing shouts]
- [lock turns]
"In this prison,
they never stop insulting me.
"They never stop spitting at me.
They insult me. It shouldn't happen."
She was too scared
to go to the hairdresser.
Scared of what? She was all alone
in the hair salon with the hairdresser.
HAIRDRESSING SALON
[muffled, echoing shouts]
Mrs. Olivier was always a great actor
when it came to presenting herself
as the victim.
I felt that Mrs. Olivier
was very scared of being forgotten.
So, to not be forgotten
well, she had to get herself noticed.
And what did she do to get noticed?
She made up stories.
I suddenly heard that the searches were
going to resume. Things were in motion.
I was very, very skeptical,
really skeptical about what would happen.
And the result.
AUGUST 30, 2021
[Delgenes] Olivier was categorical
about the fact that
Estelle Mouzin should be found here.
And today, she's in the mood to take part.
She's traveled here and she's searching.
[Herrmann] She's known what happened
to Estelle for 18 years.
She's known where she is for that long.
She might not know it
to the nearest meter,
but in any case, she knows
where she was taken and what happened.
We go up this path into the forest.
We walk next to one another.
We listen to what she says.
We ask her questions of the cuff.
[Mouzin] It's impossible for me to know
what's going on in her head
or to know whether she knows,
doesn't know, or has forgotten.
Or whether in the last 20 years,
the vegetation has changed the landscape
so much there's no way to get a bearing.
When I saw Monique Olivier
I'm not going to say
that it was all an act,
but she pretended to be weakened.
Even though we could see
that she had all of her reasoning skills.
One thing was certain,
she took great pleasure
in being out in the open air
and getting a lot of attention.
She was at the center of the world again.
"It's not there.
Dig three meters to the left."
"No, three meters to the right.
That's it."
And Monique Olivier took pleasure
in leading us around by our noses,
because we relied on the information
she was giving us to find Estelle's body.
[Jean-Luc Ployé] Take away Monique Olivier
and put in Fourniret,
and they behave in exactly the same way.
The same posture. The blank stares.
"I can't remember
if it's to the right or to the left."
EXPERT COURT PSYCHOLOGIS
You see, so in some way, she's completely
re-enacting Fourniret's personality.
A transference has taken place.
I thought,
"You're still manipulating everyone."
"You're still taking us all for fools."
"Because the end result will be nothing."
So, we had already carried out
a massive amount of searches,
and it was right at the end that she said,
"That's not where it happened."
[birdsong]
So, we haven't found
Estelle Mouzin's body.
[birdsong]
[distant laughter and chatter]
[Mouzin] I'm not the only one
who was taken for a ride.
How many families have they led on?
They are capable of finding a level of
satisfaction, I was going to say pleasure,
in any situation they find themselves in.
Even when they are found guilty.
But they still have this ability
to cause problems right until the end.
There.
[Herrmann] She shamelessly
manipulated us all.
When you're with her,
it feels very uncertain.
Like she's calculating everything.
She drip-fed us everything.
We insisted on explaining
that there was nothing at stake.
She knows things, but doesn't give them up
easily. She's always been like that.
That's how she operates.
[Delgenes] That's the whole paradox
of Monique Olivier.
She says nothing but she says everything.
She doesn't want to confess anything, but
confesses to terrible things nobody knew.
She even says things that are damaging
to her, criminally speaking.
She says things
that are horrible or terrible
that nobody knows about
and nobody could imagine.
[Seban] With Monique Olivier,
the line between a lie and the truth,
what she says to please people,
what she says
so people will leave her alone,
or to manipulate people
and the truth that she offers
is always very complicated
and very difficult to define.
[Nachbar] For me, Monique Olivier
is the epitome of manipulation.
You can't imagine her being able
to manipulate anyone,
and she manipulated Fourniret
from the start.
She manipulated Fourniret,
not the other way around.
He was like an insect
buzzing in a spider's web.
But she's the spider
in the center of the web.
[Delgenes] Tell me.
Since you confessed in 2004, what do you
think about when you look back on that?
[Olivier] Erm, its, it's difficult, hmm?
It's
Of course I regret everything
that happened, but
- I'd like to be left in peace.
- Mm-hmm.
Do you regret talking
about the Mouzin case?
No, I don't regret it. But [sighs]
What I regret is that
my truth is being denied. That's all.
- And what's that?
- Yes.
You say, "My truth is being denied."
But what is it?
[Olivier sighs]
I've always spoken my truth.
And now, they're denying it.
About the Mouzin case? You mean,
you don't know where the body is?
Yeah, all that, yes.
It's not that I don't want to say,
I just don't know.
[Delgenes] In the Parrish
and Domece cases,
in the Mouzin case at the next trial,
she'll be alone in the dock
as Fourniret is no longer here.
I've always been against that.
I want her to keep talking, always.
I do everything I can
to allow her to speak,
because it changes nothing
but it's important for the victims.
In order to get answers,
you have to understand her reasoning.
[echoing shouts]
What do you think
about the upcoming trial,
where the Mouzin, Parrish
and Domece cases will be tried together?
What do you think? Does it scare you?
[Olivier] I think I'm going to take
a lot of heat that day.
Yeah? Okay.
- That I know, but
- But that's normal.
Who do you want to save today?
The children are missing.
Parents have lost their children.
Fourniret is dead.
Either Monique Olivier is perverse
like Fourniret and says nothing
or she takes responsibility
because that's all she can do.
Er, I think that I I don't know.
No, you're right. Yeah.
I think that she should force herself to
speak and do everything she can.
As for me, I always try to pursue
the truth and get her to participate.
Because if she shuts down,
we wouldn't be able to recover anything.
You should be careful.
[Nachbar] My big regret
in the Fourniret-Olivier case
isn't the few mistakes I made
in my closing speech.
It's not criticism from journalists,
I don't care about that at all.
It's about not identifying
the other victims.
We identified some of them.
We're far from identifying them all.
That's my big regret to this day.
All other things are futile.
[man] Will the wife of
the Ogre of the Ardennes, Monique Olivier,
help the courts uncover
Michel Fourniret's final mysteries?
Or, like him, will she take pleasure
in her position of strength,
play with the judge, the investigators,
the families of the victims,
and remain on the path of evil?
[Nachbar] I think she's completely
indifferent to the fate of the victims,
and their families.
She has more than shown that.
I think that if Monique Olivier
makes a pretence of collaborating,
it is perhaps in the hope
that she won't end her days in prison.
To be clear, I don't think she's changed.
MICHEL FOURNIRET WAS CONVICTED OF MURDER,
RAPE OR ATTEMPTED RAPE, AND MURDER.
MONIQUE OLIVIER WAS CONVICTED
FOR BEING COMPLICI
IN SEVERAL MURDERS AND/OR RAPES
OR ATTEMPTED RAPES.
AGED 17
TO DATE, MONIQUE OLIVIER WILL BE ABLE
TO APPLY FOR CONDITIONAL RELEASE IN 2032,
AT THE AGE OF 84.
HOWEVER, SHE'S STILL TO BE JUDGED
IN THE CASES OF JOANNA PARRISH,
MARIE-ANGÈLE DOMECE, ESTELLE MOUZIN.