Monique Olivier: Accessory to Evil tells the story of the wife of France’s most infamous murderer. She allowed her murderous husband to commit the crimes that he did. The docuseries is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
A recording of a girl from June 2003 reveals that a man, who is later identified as Michel Fourniret, asked her for directions. She agreed to help him and sat in his car, and the moment she did, Fourniret’s demeanor completely changed.
Fourniret asked her several questions about her virginity and claimed that he is going to take her virginity away. The woman accompanying Fourniret, his wife, Monique Olivier, tied the girl’s hands and put her in the car’s trunk.
The girl was exceptionally smart as she managed to untie herself and escape the car when it was moving at a light pace. She approaches another driver, hoping that he will help her.
When they cross paths with Fourniret’s car again, they note down his car’s registration number. Reporting to the nearest police station resulted in the arrest of Michel Fourniret, who is charged with abducting minors and indecent assault.
An investigation into Fourniret’s house and past began. Talking to Fourniret’s neighbors revealed that Fourniret and his wife, Monique, share quite a strange relationship; they looked more like friends than a couple.
Furthermore, Fourniret’s absence didn’t surprise Monique at all. At Fourniret’s house, the cops found handcuffs, children’s clothing, masks for putting people to sleep, and a lot more. All of this hinted that Fourniret has been active for a very long time.
Monique Olivier didn’t know anything about all of this. It felt like she is a submissive wife who doesn’t question her husband. The investigators really believed that they are dealing with a serious pedophile.
Fourniret was extremely closed-off, manipulative, and cunning. Despite confronting him with everything the investigators found, he never said a word.
Assuming that Monique is the weak link, the investigators pursued her to figure out if Fourniret had done something serious. Fourniret’s van gave them gas station receipts, restaurant receipts, and toll documents and allowed them to retrace his route.
The route suggested that he was present at locations from where, a few years earlier, young girls were abducted. The clues were there, and the investigators only had to prove that Fourniret is behind the kidnappings.
Monique finally opened up after being pushed a lot. She confessed that her husband used to go out on his own, in his van, to hunt down young girls. She told the investigators about the eight murders her husband had committed.
While confessing about all of this, Monique acted like she is the submissive wife who is afraid of her husband, as he might do the same to her if she tried to stop him.
A few of the investigators believed there is more to this and that Monique isn’t telling the whole truth. Monique then further went into her confession and admitted that she took part in the abduction of a girl named Isabelle Laville.
It was then revealed that she was part of several abductions and had done terrible things. She didn’t even feel bad about doing them. A look into how Monique and Fourniret met reveals that she agreed to marry him despite knowing that he was a sexual offender.
Fourniret was in prison, and they started talking to each other through letters when she saw an advertisement in the newspaper. Fourniret made a lonely Monique feel as if she mattered.
Fourniret had some sort of fascination with virginity. Monique had already gone through a failed marriage where she lost custody of her children. Fourniret assured her that he is there for her.
Together, they came up with a pact. Monique will assist Fourniret in his quest for virginity; she will find virgin girls for him, and in exchange, he must help her kill her ex-husband.
Monique joins Fourniret when he comes out of the prison, and together they hunt down their first victim after observing her and identifying her route. The two also give birth to a baby, nine months after killing their first victim. They later even use their baby as an excuse to lure young girls in.
Some of the bodies of these young girls were discovered near Fourniret and Monique’s chateau. A further dive into the investigation also brings to light the case of Michel luring young au pairs to their house.
Fourniret and Monique killed the young girls in a sadistic and meticulous manner and were able to avoid the authorities for a very long time.
Monique Olivier: Accessory to Evil ending explained in detail:
Did Monique get sentenced along with Fourniret?
During the trial, talking to Monique reveals what made her stay with Fourniret all these years. Fourniret was impotent, and having his victims beg for their lives helped with his situation. Monique loved watching him like that, and even she played the victim when they used to get intimate.
This revelation made Monique a criminal too because they worked together. Monique could’ve reported him sooner, but she decided not to.
Monique’s lawyer, Richard Delgenes, knew there was no way out for Fourniret or Monique. He still appealed to the court to make a distinction. He asked the court not to give Monique the maximum sentence, as there is a symbolic difference between the hands of the killer and the eyes of the accomplice.
The final verdict said Fourniret will die in prison while his wife and accomplice will be released after 28 years with no parole.
Richard Delgenes clarified that being the devil and watching the devil act are two different things. Therefore, the distinction that the court made is sensible.
Did Fourniret have a hand in other kidnappings?
After the verdict, inside the prison, Monique confided in an inmate about another missing child, Estelle Mouzin, who disappeared from Guermantes in 2003.
Estelle’s case had become cold, but Monique’s confession quickly brought the case close to a conclusion. Monique and Fourniret are brought to the location from where they abducted her to reconstruct the crime scene. Unfortunately, these efforts don’t lead the investigators to Estelle’s body.
Fourniret died on May 10, 2021, at the age of 79, as he was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and heart problems. There is a belief that Fourniret had a hand in other kidnappings like Estelle’s, but with him dead now, they might never find out who else Fourniret kidnapped and killed.
Was Istelle’s body recovered?
Monique Olivier helps the authorities find Estelle’s body. She travels with them and takes part in the search. The authorities pulled off a massive search, only for Monique to later reveal that the location they are at is probably not where they got rid of Estelle.
The authorities believe that Monique is an excellent manipulator and isn’t what she shows the world. The investigations from the past have revealed that she had a higher IQ than Fourniret.
Monique, on her side, doesn’t regret talking about Mouzin’s case, but she feels bad that her truth is being denied. She says she doesn’t know where the body is, and the authorities just don’t want to accept it.
To this day, Monique Olivier will be able to apply for conditional release; however, she is still to be judged in the cases of Joanna Parrish, Marie-Angèle Domèce, and Estelle Mouzin.
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