the verdict “brings a form of relief”, reacts Eric Mouzin, Estelle Mouzin’s father

“At the end of the three weeks of trial, we began to feel the effects of fatigue and of being immersed in all these successive horrors, it was very trying,” said Eric Mouzin, Wednesday December 20 on franceinfo.

“It brings a form of relief”, reacted Wednesday December 20 on franceinfo Eric Mouzin, the father of Estelle Mouzin, after the verdict at the trial of Monique Olivier. The ex-wife of Michel Fourniret was tried for three weeks and found guilty of complicity in the kidnappings followed by murder of Marie-Angèle Domèce, Joanna Parrish and Estelle Mouzin.

“At the end of the three weeks of trial, we were starting to feel the effects of fatigue and being immersed in all these successive horrors, it was very trying”he explained.

franceinfo: how do you welcome this verdict?

Eric Mouzin: Like a great relief because indeed, after the three weeks of trial, we were starting to feel the effects of fatigue and being plunged into all these successive horrors, it was very trying. These are other families who have waited for 35 years, 30 years and 20 years for us, to find out what had happened to their child. We of course have incomplete answers, but we have a judgment which confirms the responsibility and guilt of Monique Olivier in these criminal acts. This brings a form of relief.

How are you a few hours after this judgment?

For now, everything is okay. You must of course try to imagine what the sequel will be like. I nevertheless note that justice is offering us a deliberation on civil penalties on May 6, 2024. We see that the time for justice has reintroduced itself into our lives. We will have to wait six months to have a deliberation.

Monique Olivier addressed you and the other families saying “I ask for forgiveness while knowing that it is unforgivable”. How do his words resonate with you?

I especially remember the words of Ms. Kheris, the investigating judge responsible for the Cold Case center in Nanterre, who said that Monique Olivier was “unfathomable”. So say “I apologize, but this is unforgivable”, it’s a somewhat complicated formula to hear. I would have liked more frank and sincere expressions. But given everything we’ve heard about Monique Olivier’s personality, we shouldn’t expect more specific things.

Was your expectation during these three weeks of trial less excuses than explanations?

Not just explanations. It is difficult to justify actions with rational explanations. What we wanted was, in Estelle’s case in particular, to try to find out where the body was in order to possibly start other searches. Now this will be abandoned. It’s not necessarily just Monique Olivier’s fault, because there is still some doubt about the circumstances in which Estelle was put in a hole deep in the Ardennes forest. She provided some elements that she had not provided about Estelle’s last moments, which were not necessarily elements that we wanted to hear, that she had seen Estelle, that she had sitting next to her, that she had given her a glass of water… These are details, but they are a little chilling to imagine that she remained in Estelle’s presence between 4 a.m. and 6 hours, according to the counts that we can make and that she made no decision that would have allowed Estelle to be saved.

Your fight is not over. There is still this complaint for gross negligence against the State?

Yes, because this trial made it possible to highlight all the errors that had been made. Of course, it’s easy to say that once you have the answer, you had to do it this way, that way. We can clearly see the gaps in the investigation over all these years which resulted in Monique Olivier and Michel Fourniret being indicted by Ms. Kheris when it was too late. Michel Fourniret was already seriously affected by the illness and therefore unable to provide precise answers. We have been deprived of part of the answers because of these errors which have shifted the truth in time.