France's most notorious serial killer dies before trial for murder of Briton Joanna Parrish

The father of a British student who was murdered in France in 1990 has expressed regret that the notorious serial killer believed responsible has died in hospital before he could stand trial.

Michel Fourniret was already serving life in prison for a string of brutal murders when three-years ago he confessed to killing Joanna Parrish, a Leeds University language student whose body was found in the River Yonne near Auxerre, Burgundy in 1990, a day after she was reported missing.

The 79-year-old - dubbed the "Ogre of the Ardennes” had been due to go on trial, but died on Monday afternoon in a secure ward of Paris’ Pitié Salpêtrière hospital after being admitted with respiratory problems.

Roger Parrish, Joanna's father said while he was glad he was dead, he did regret that he would not have the opportunity to face him across a court of law.

Mr Parrish also accused the French authorities of frustrating the process suggesting they were waiting for Fourniret to die in order to avoid an unwelcome trial.

Mr Parrish told the Telegraph: "News of his death is not a great surprise as I was aware he was in hospital and was in very poor health. All that together with the pandemic and the reluctance of the French authorities to move things along meant I was not hopeful that his trial would take place.

"But it is a matter of regret that we will not get the chance to face him in a court of law. That would have offered us some closure.

"I cannot deny that it is a good thing that he is no longer around but he was always going to spend the rest of his life in prison."

He said the French authorities ought to have done more to expedite the trial, given the state of the killer's health.

"We knew about Fourniret 16-years ago and he made a confession three-years ago. It has been a long time to be strung along. I do think to some extent the French authorities were hanging on hoping he would die."

Fourniret, 79, was jailed for life in May 2008 for the murder of seven girls and young women. In 2018, he was convicted for the murder of an eighth victim.

He was also charged with the murder of another three women, including Miss Parrish, from Newnham-on-Severn, Gloucestershire after confessing to the killing in 2018.

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.

Fourniret's wife – 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.

Mr Parrish said he hoped she would still stand trial for her role in the murder.

She has told a fellow prisoner that her ex-husband’s victims "greatly exceeded 30", according to investigating sources who have monitored her in Rennes prison.

Last year, in another apparent breakthrough, he confessed to raping and murdering a nine-year-old school girl whose disappearance sparked parallels with Madeleine McCann, the British three-year-old who went missing in Portugal in 2007.

It is feared Fourniret could be responsible for a string of unsolved disappearances across France with DNA evidence linking him to at least 21 murders.

Last year, in another apparent breakthrough, he confessed to raping and murdering a nine-year-old school girl whose disappearance sparked parallels with Madeleine McCann, the British three-year-old who went missing in Portugal in 2007.

Estelle Mouzin vanished in Guermantes, 18 miles east of Paris, on January 9, 2003 while walking home from her school.

While her body has never been found, forensics experts in August identified partial DNA traces of the missing girl on a mattress belonging to Fourniret’s sister, along with that of a second victim, Céline Saison.

According to Le Parisien, upon further inspection of the mattress - in police possession since 2003 - they also found traces of up to 12 other individuals. Experts say recent advances in testing now mean that DNA can be pinpointed from just a few human cells.

The newspaper said that the discovery has prompted police to re-open up to 30 cold cases from among 70 potential victims listed shortly after his arrest.

Fourniret’s first murder dates back to 1987 and his most recent was in 2003. But detectives have always been troubled by a “blank decade” between 1990 and 2000 in which he has not been linked to any disappearances. When asked about the discrepancy, he replied cryptically: “In your shoes, I’d pose the very same question.”