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CRIME

Serial killer ‘confesses’ to killing British student Joanna Parrish in France

A French serial killer dubbed the Ogre of the Ardennes has confessed to the murder of British student Joanna Parrish in 1990, the victim’s family’s lawyer has said.

Serial killer 'confesses' to killing British student Joanna Parrish in France
Serial killer Michel Fourniret

Michel Fourniret has finally admitted what was long suspected – that he killed the 20-year-old when the language student was on a university placement in France in 1990, lawyer Didier Seban said.

Fourniret, who is in prison for a series of other murders, also admitted to killing an 18-year-old mentally disabled woman, Marie-Ange Domece, in 1988 in the same region of Burgundy.

Her body has never been found. Ms Parrish’s naked body was found in the Yonne River near the town of Auxerre.

The killer made the confessions during fresh interrogations by investigating magistrates this week and last, the lawyer said, adding that he had been summoned to be informed of the new twist in the long-running case.

“This is the end of a very long battle,” Mr Seban told France Info radio station.

“We fought hard to prevent this case being closed,” he said.

Fourniret had been charged with the abduction and murder of the two young women in 2008 but the case was dismissed by an appeal court in 2011.

Fourniret was convicted in 2008 for the murder of seven girls and young women in France and Belgium and was sentenced to life in prison.

His wife, Monique Olivier  –  whose submissive relationship with Fourniret drew comparisons with Gloucester serial killers Fred and Rose West  –  was found guilty of one of the murders and assisting three others.

Fourniret is now likely to be tried for the murder of Ms Parrish and Domece.

Ms Parrish, who studied French and Spanish at Leeds University, was coming to the end of a year teaching English at a lycee in Auxerre when she was killed on May 17 1990.

She was abducted after placing an advertisement in a local newspaper offering English lessons.

Her body was later found in River Yonne near to where she lived. An autopsy showed that she had been raped, beaten and strangled before her body was dumped in the river.

Her parents, Roger and Pauline, were long convinced that their daughter had been murdered by Fourniret.

They attended the 2008 trial that saw him convicted of the seven murders.

The couple have been critical of the French investigation.

Reporters and police were allegedly allowed to enter the crime scene where their daughter’s body was found, possibly destroying vital evidence. DNA evidence and files went missing and police were accused of not properly following up various leads.

 

CRIME

Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

French prosecutors have charged a 19-year-old man and a youth in the Paris region with planning a "terrorist" attack on Jewish targets, a judicial source told AFP on Friday.

Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

While no details on the pair have been released, French anti-terrorist investigators have expressed increased concern over the young age of some suspects detained in recent months for planning militant attacks.

The 19-year-old has been charged with “terrorist conspiracy” to commit attacks and the “acquisition and possession of arms for a terrorist enterprise,” said the judicial source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

READ ALSO: Anti-Semitism fears stalk Jewish voters’ choice in France

The youth aged under 18 was detained on June 13, the source said.

The pair made contact on social media and were planning a “a violent action notably aiming at Jewish targets,” said the source without giving details on the plot.

Anti-terrorism investigators say a growing number of youths have been held in recent months for preparing attacks.

READ ALSO: French election breakdown: TV debates, polling latest and anti-Semitism

“This is a necessarily worrying phenomenon,” senior anti-terrorist prosecutor Olivier Christen said at an evidentiary hearing on Wednesday.

French politicians have also condemned a growing number of attacks on the country’s Jewish community, the biggest outside Israel and the United States.

Outrage has been expressed over the rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl in a park in the Paris suburbs last Saturday. Two 13-year-old boys have been charged with rape and making anti-Semitic insults.

Several protest rallies have been held in Paris and other French cities over the case which comes as France prepares for a national election in which the far-right National Rally party is tipped to make major gains. 

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