Friday 28 March 2008

Michel Fourniret: the circus has begun.

"Je suis dénué de tout sentiment humain."

28 mars 2008

"Muet pendant toute l'audience, le tueur en série présumé se décrit comme "un être mauvais et dénué de tout sentiment humain", dans le document qu'il a transmis à la cour d'assises des Ardennes."

"Le cirque a commencé!!! La bête essaye de manipuler le procès. Il veut attirer l'attention. Il veut tourner en dérision le malheur des familles des victimes. Il joue son égocentrique. Même maintenant, au moment où les familles des victimes risque d'être à nouveau victimisées, cet être n'a aucun respect! Si tout individu à droit à un procès équitable, permettez moi de dire que les fillettes qui sont passées entre les mains de cette chose ignoble n'en n'ont pas eu, elles!!! (Enfants Kidnappés)"

I am devoid of all human feeling.

Silent during the hearing, the alleged serial killer describes himself as, "an evil being and devoid of all human feeling," in a document, which he handed to the Ardennes Court of Assizes.

The circus has begun!!! The beast is trying to manipulate the trial. He wants to attract attention. He wants to make a mockery of the unhappiness of the victims' families. He is totally self-centred. Even now, at a time when the victims' families are risking being victimised again, this being has no respect. If every individual has a right to a fair trial, allow me to say that the young girls who passed through the hands of this despicable thing, they have not had that! (Enfants Kidnappés)

"
Muet pendant toute l'audience, le tueur en série présumé s'est décrit comme "un être mauvais et dénué de tout sentiment humain" dans le document qu'il a transmis à la cour d'assises des Ardennes et dont l'AFP s'est procuré une copie. Le document est destiné selon son auteur à justifier son souhait de garder le silence à son procès, qui s'est ouvert à Charleville-Mezières, ce jeudi 27 mars."

Silent throughout the hearing, the alleged serial killer described himself as, "an evil being and devoid of all human feeling," in a document which he handed to the Ardennes Court of Assizes and of which AFP has procured a copy. According to its author, the document is intended to justify his wish to remain silent at his trail, which opened in Charleville-Mezières, on Thursday 27th March.

"A l'ouverture de l'audience, Michel Fourniret avait refusé de décliner son identité et laissé entendre qu'il ne s'exprimerait pas, faute de huis clos.
"Sans huis clos, bouche cousue": Michel Fourniret, barbe grisonnante et pull bleu électrique, avait brandi un petit mot manuscrit préparé à l'avance dès la première question du président de la cour d'assises des Ardennes, Gilles Latapie.
"Vous jouez avec mon dernier contrôle ophtalmo", avait ironisé celui-ci, laissant entendre qu'il avait du mal voir le mot, avant de lire à haute voix la phrase de l'accusé à l'attention de la salle."

At the opening of the hearing, Michel Fournirte had refused to confirm his identity and hinted that he would not express himself, without (the trial being) in camera.
"Without (the trial) being in camera, lips sealed." With graying beard and electric blue sweater, Michel Fourniret had brandished a small print manuscript prepared in advance before the first question from the president of the Ardennes Court of Assizes, Giles Latapie.
"You play with my last bit of eye control," he joked, hinting that he had difficulty seeing the words, before reading aloud the accused's sentence for the attention of the room.


"Michel Fourniret avait en outre refusé de s'exposer aux flashes des photographes autorisés à une courte séance de prises de vue en début d'audience.
Vers 10h30, il s'était assis dans le box, face aux proches des victimes serrés sur les bancs des parties civiles."

Michel Fourniret had also refused to expose himself to the flashes of the photographers, who are authorised at a court sitting a photo session before the hearing.

Towards 10.30, he is sitting in the box, facing the relatives of the victims, seated on the public benches.

"
Rouleau de papier entouré d'un ruban

Debout, les bras croisés, Michel Fourniret n'avait d'abord répondu aux questions du président que par des mouvements de tête, avant de prendre la parole en lui faisant transmettre un rouleau de papier entouré d'un ruban.
"Il s'agit d'un exposé que j'avais l'intention de lire pour expliquer les raisons de ma décision de boycott du procès", avait-il déclaré. "En l'absence de huis clos, je vous demande de bien vouloir le lire aux familles des victimes".
"C'est très joliment fait", avait dit le président en prenant en main le document. "J'en prendrai connaissance et il sera versé au débat".
Plus grave et solennel en tout début d'audience, Gilles Latapie avait assuré que "la cour s'inclinait avec respect et émotion devant les victimes et leurs familles". "Il serait déplacé de dire autre chose".

A roll of paper with a ribbon around it.

Standing, arms crossed, Michel Fourniret had not, at first, responded to the questions of the president except with movements of his head, before taking the floor, and having a roll of paper tied with a ribbon passed to him.
"It is a statement which I intend to read to explain the reasons for my decision to boycott the trial", he said. "In the absence of closed doors (in camera) I ask if you would like to read it to the families of the victims."
"It is very nicely done," said the president, taking hold of the document. "I will study it and it will be entered into the debate."
Most seriousand solemn at the very beginning of the hearing, Giles Latopie had assured that, "the court bows with respect and feeling before the victims and their families." " It will be inappropriate to say anything else."

"Elle veut s'excuser"

Lorsque ses questions ont visé Monique Olivier, celle-ci a accepté d'une voix claire d'y répondre. Née en 1948 à Tours, "j'étais garde-malade, c'était pas une profession mais de l'aide familiale".
Michel Fourniret, qui aura 66 ans au cours de ce procès prévu jusqu'à fin mai, est jugé pour sept homicides commis entre 1987 et 2001 sur des jeunes femmes ou adolescentes, en France et en Belgique, des crimes qu'il a reconnus.
Monique Olivier, 59 ans, est accusée aussi d'un des meurtres et de complicité dans plusieurs autres dossiers. Elle encourt comme lui la réclusion criminelle à perpétuité.
"Elle s'est rendu compte des gestes qu'elle avait commis et elle veut s'excuser, demander pardon", a affirmé devant des journalistes un de ses avocats, Me Jacques Deslandes, assurant que Monique Olivier serait présente à chaque audience."

She would like to apologise.

When her questions were directed, Monique Olivier accepted to respond in a clear voice. Born in 1948 in tours, "I was a nurse. Not a profession but as support to families."
Michel Fourniret, who will be 66 years old during this trial, scheduled until the end of May, is being tried for seven murders committed between 1987 and 2001 on young women and adolescents, in France and Belgium, crimes whihc he has acknowledged.
Monique Olivier, 59 years old, is also accused of one of the murders and of complicity in several other cases. She is in line, like him, for a life sentence without parole.
"She has taken stock of the acts she has committed and she wants to apologise, to ask forgiveness," one of her lawyers, Me Jacques Deslandes, stated for the journalists, assuring that Monique Olivier would be present at each hearing.

"
Rapt manqué, près de Namur

L'odyssée criminelle des deux époux s'était terminée en juin 2003 avec le rapt manqué, près de Namur, de Marie (prénom modifié à la demande de la famille), 13 ans, qui s'était enfui à un stop. Le relevé d'un numéro d'immatriculation avait permis à la police belge d'arrêter Michel Fourniret.
Outre les sept homicides (Isabelle Laville, Fabienne Leroy, Jeanne-Marie Desramault, Elisabeth Brichet, Natacha Danais, Céline Saison et Mananya Thumpong), Michel Fourniret est aussi jugé pour une tentative de viol, un enlèvement manqué et pour l'agression sexuelle de Marie.
Alors que Michel Fourniret a été mis en examen ce mois-ci dans deux autres dossiers de meurtres en France, la justice belge a relancé son enquête sur la disparition en 2003 près de Paris de la petite Estelle Mouzin en examinant à nouveau l'alibi du tueur en série présumé, a rapporté jeudi le journal belge Le Soir.
En France, Michel Fourniret encourt la réclusion à perpétuité, assortie d'une peine de sûreté de trente ans, Monique Olivier la perpétuité assortie de 22 ans de sûreté. (NouvelObs)"

Failed abduction, near Namur.

The criminal odyssey of the two spouses came to an end in June 2003 with the failed abduction, near Namur, of Marie, (Christian name changed at the request of the family) aged 13, who had fled at a stop sign. The recording of a registration number had allowed the Belgian to arrest Michel Fourniret.
As well as the seven murders (Isabelle Laville, Fabienne Leroy, Jeanne-Marie Desramault, Elisabeth Brichet, Natacha Danais, Céline Saison and Mananya Thumpong) Michel Fourniret is also being tried for attempted rape, a failed abduction and for sexual assault on Marie.
On Thursday, the Belgian journal Le Soir reported that when Michel Fourniret was placed under investigation this month in two other cases of murder in France, the Belgian police reopened its enquiry into the disappearance in 2003 near Paris of little Estelle Mouzin, re-examining the alibi of the alleged serial killer.
In France, Michel Fourniret is in line for a life sentence without parole, with a minimum term of 30 years, Monique Olivier a minimum term of 22 years. (NouvelObs)

Cédric Visart de Bocarmé fut procureur du Roi à Namur. C'est sous sa responsabilité que fut menée l'enquête sur la disparition d'Elisabeth Brichet. Aujourd'hui débute le procès du meurtrier de la petite fille. Un procès dont celui qui est devenu procureur général de Liège attend beaucoup. Il était l'invité de Bel RTL, ce matin. "

Cédric Visart de Bocarmé was a prosecutor in Namur. The enquiry into the disappearance of Elisabeth Brichet was conducted under his authority. Today the trial of the murderer of the little girl begins. A trial of which he who has become the prosecutor general of Liège, expects a great deal. He was a guest of Bel RTL this morning.

"
C'est le moment le plus important de tout le dossier" commence le procureur. "La touche finale" poursuit-il. "C'est maintenant qu'on va remettre ensemble toutes les pièces du puzzle et découvrir quelle est l'ampleur des faits" explique un homme qui espère "en apprendre beaucoup plus". C'est que de nombreuses enquêtes sont toujours en cours et de nouvelles révélations à Charleville-Mézières pourraient les accélérer."

It is the most important time in the whole case," the prosecutor begins. "The final touch," he continues. "Now that we are going to put together all the pieces of the puzzle and discover what is the extent of the facts" explains a man who hopes, "to learn a lot more." This is because a number of enquiries are still ongoing and new revelations at Charleville-Mézières could speed them up.

"
Me de Bocarmé est revenu sur l'irruption de Fourniret dans l'enquête sur la disparition d'Elisabeth: "Pour moi, ça a été une surprise. On ne s'y attendait pas du tout, même si les enquêteurs travaillaient depuis quelques mois sur le cas Fourniret. mais nous avions d'autres auteurs potentiels. Cela a quand même été une surprise. Après 15 ans, on était un peu désespéré de ne pas avancer...".

Me de Bocarmé came back to the eruption of Fourniret into the enquiry into Elisabeth's disappearance: "For me, that was a surprise. It was not at all expected, even though investigators were working for a few months on the Fourniret case. But we had other potential perpetrators. This was still a surprise. After 15 years, we were a little desperate for not having advanced...."

"Au moment de l'arrestation, les débats furent intenses sur les raisons d'une aussi longue "tranquillité" de Fourniret qui put assassiner tant de jeunes filles sans être inquiété par la justice, alors qu'il avait déjà été emprisonné pour viol dans le passé. S'il reconnait à Fourniret un "art consommé de se fondre dans la population", le procureur considère toujours comme inimaginable l'effacement du casier judiciaire de Fourniret et le manque de connexion entres les justices des pays voisins. Aujourd'hui, toutefois, il souligne la création d'une banque de données internationales qui permettra d'obtenir les antécédents d'un suspect dans plusieurs pays. (RTL Info)"

At the time of the arrest, debates were intense about the reasons for such a long,"peace," for Fourniret, who could kill so many young girls without being investigated by the police, whenhe had already been imprisoned for rape in the past. "If he recognises in Fourniret a, "Consummate art for blending into the population," the prosecutor still considers it unimaginable the erasing if Fourniret's criminal record and the failure of communication between the police of neighbouring countries. Today, however, he stresses the creation of an international data bank which will allow the the background of a suspect to be obtained in several countries. (RTL Info)

http://www.kidnapping.be/fourniret/index.html


************Article ends************

Something that absolutely astounds me about this is that Monique Olivier wants to apologise and ask for forgiveness. She has, apparently, taken stock of what she has done and wants to ask for forgiveness. After so many years of helping Fourniret? It now occurs to her to take stock of what she has done? Perhaps I am just cynical and unbelieving, but it seems to me that Monique Olivier is a little late in her realisation of the enormity of these crimes and this is her attempt to lessen the sentence which the court may seek to impose on her.

If I were a parent of one of the young girls that she and Fourniret had violently killed, I don't know if I could trust the sincerity of her remorse or if I could forgive her. For such evil people, forgiveness, like vengeance, would be God's not mine.
That woman deserves to be punished to the full extent that the law allows. May she sit in prison for the rest of her life, with plenty of time to consider what she has done.


Enfants Kidnappés: Kate and Gerry McCann participate in an ITV documentary.

"Kate et Gerry McCann participent à un documentaire sur ITV." "Comme nous vous l'annoncions, en bref, hier, les parents de Madeleine ont pris part à un documentaire télévisé pour marquer la commémoration du premier anniversaire de la disparition de leur fille. Les caméras ont suivi le couple depuis le mois de janvier. Dans le documentaire, le couple parle longuement de Madeleine, du soir où elle a disparu, de leur statut "d'arguidos" au Portugal et de leur décision de revenir en Grande-Bretagne. Les parents n'ont pas reçu de rémunération pour leur participation à ce programme d'une heure sur ITV. La chaîne, au lieu de payer les parents, à verser la somme £10.000 au Fonds Pour Trouver Madeleine."

Kate and Gerry McCann participate in an ITV documentary.

As we announced in brief yesterday, Madeleine's parents have taken part in a television documentary to mark the commemoration of the first anniversary of their daughter's disappearance. The cameras have followed the couple since January. In the documentary, the couple talk at length about Madeleine, of the evening she disappeared, of their, "arguido," status in Portugal and of their decision to return to Great Britain. The parents have not received payment for their participation in the one hour programme for ITV. Instead of paying the parents, the channel has paid the sum of £10,000 into the Find Madeleine Fund.

"Ils ont aussi filmé le lancement d'une campagne visant à introduire un système d'alerte en Europe, quand un enfant disparaît, dans le style du système Amber aux USA. Ce système permettrait aux autorités d'exiger du temps d'antenne aux chaînes de télévisions et de radios à chaque fois qu'un enfant disparaît... (NDLR: nous imaginons qu'il ne s'agirait que d'alertes en cas d'enlèvement avéré par un inconnu... sinon, rien qu'en Belgique, en excluant toutes les fugues de mineur, il y a eu 451 dossier de rapts parentaux l'année dernière... Si le système Amber Européen ne se limite pas aux seuls kidnappings par un ou des inconnus, il y aurait, en Belgique, un peu plus d'une alerte par jour!!! La France étant 80 fois plus grande que la Belgique, le calcul est vite fait... si l'on transpose le tout à l'échelle européenne... on va se retrouver avec plusieurs alertes au quotidien)."

They have also filmed the launch of a campaign looking to introduce an alert system in Europe, when a child disappears, in the style of the Amber system in the USA. This system would allow the authorities to demand air time from television and radio channels each time a child disappears. ..(NDLR: we imagine that would onyl involve alerts in cases of proven abduction by a stranger....otherwise, in Belgium, excluding all under-age runaways, nothing but been 451 cases of parental abduction last year, If the European Amber system does not limit itself to single kidnappings by one or more strangers, there would be, in Belgium, a little more than one alert a day!!! France being 80 times bigger than Belgium, the calculation is quickly done...if everything were implemented at European level ...we would be faced with several alerts daily.)

"Kate et Gerry ont été filmés dans leur maison de Rothley à Leicestershire et les caméras devraient les accompagner à Washington aux États-Unis, où le couple compte poursuivre leur campagne. Les caméras d'ITV seront également présentes à Bruxelles quand les parents de Madeleine iront défendre le projet. Le producteur de Mentorn médias, Steve Anderson, a déclaré: "Au milieu de la controverse, ce qu'il ne faut pas oublier, c'est que la petite est toujours portée disparue et que sa famille a fait de son mieux pour la retrouver. Ils sont déterminés à faire tout ce qu'ils peuvent pour faire en sorte que ce qui est arrivé à Madeleine n'arrive pas à un autre enfant".

Kate and Gerry were filmed in their house in Rothley, Leicestershire and the cameras should accompany them to Washington in the United States, where the couple plans to continue their campaign. The ITV cameras will also be present in Brussels when Madeleine's parents go to support the project. Mentorn Media's producer, Stev Anderson, stated: "In the midst of the controversy, what must not be forgotten, is that th little girl is still missing and that the family has done its best to find her. They are determined to do everything they can to ensure that what happened to Madeleine does not happen to another child."

************Article ends. ************

I don't very often add comments to these articles, but I will add just a brief note, or rather a simple question to this one. I have already, in a previous post, wondered how much information would have been available for an alert, on the night Madeleine disappeared. Look out for a small, blonde child, wearing white, no pink, pyjamas, accompanied by a man with an egg-shaped face with hair. No vehicle description. And a photo? The most up-to-date photo of Madeleine did not appear until, what was it, twenty-three days after she disappeared?

Anyway, I digress from my simple question for Kate and Gerry.

Q: On the evening that Madeleine disappeared, what would have been more useful?

a) An Amber alert?

b) A babysitter?

http://www.kidnapping.be/maddie/maddie.html


I have read elsewhere, that Kate and Gerry want to do their best to, "stop," child abdcuctions. Stop child abductions? It ain't gonna happen. As we have seen in the Enfants Kidnappés report above, in Belgium alone there were 451 abductions by parents last year. Would those have been prevented by an Amber alert system? I think not. So, trying to stop them may be like doing a King Canute!

So, if we can't stop abductions, what can we do? Well, we can do our best to prevent them. Abduction by absent parents may be rather difficult to prevent; if a parent has right of access, then legally the risk has to be taken. Abduction by stranger(s)? How to do our best to prevent them? Here are just a few suggestions, which are probably common sense to most parents, even if Clarence Mitchell says that we Brits all leave our children on heir own.

  • Make sure you know where your children are.
  • Keep the children in your sight at all times when out and about.
  • Never leave very young children on their own, especially in an unlocked building.
Remember, if you cannot see the building where your children are, you are probably too far away to know if they are choking, vomiting, or have had a serious accident.

In a holiday apartment like those in Praia da Luz, if parents are in the apartment while children are sleeping, it would be rather difficult for an abduction to take place. If the patio doors and the front door are locked and the windows have shutters, which cannot be opened from the outside (an attempt creates a horrendous din apparently) then I would have thought that abduction would be close to impossible. So, if you go on holiday to PDL, especially if your apartment is outside the Mark Warner complex, the night crêche is useful as is the babysitting service, provided by the nannies whom your children will probably have met at the daytime crêche: not strangers then!

Remember folks. In the UK, there is no minimum age for leaving children on their own. However, the law does state that should you do so and your children suffer significant harm as a consequence, you will be held responsible and may be fined or sent to prison, depending on the level of harm to the child.

And lastly, "to ensure that what happened to Madeleine does not happen to another child," never leave your children alone. Can the McCanns possibly be stupid enough to think that an Amber alert system is the way to deal with situations where parents leave their children on their own? God help us if that's the average level of awareness of our UK doctors!

A roll of paper tied with a ribbon

This morning I read that on the first day of his trial at the Ardennes Court of Assizes, Michel Fourniret presented the court with a roll of paper tied with a ribbon. Important and special documents are presented thus. I have photographs of my daughter and a few years later, my son, proudly holding a roll of paper tied with a ribbon, and I look at those photos with love and pride.

Yesterday Michel Fourniret held a roll of paper tied with a ribbon, which he presented to the court, as though it were a diploma, words important enough to be tied with a ribbon.

Tied with a ribbon. A little girl's hair is tied with a ribbon. A little girl of maybe 12 years old, just leaving childhood behind and entering that phase of becoming a young woman. Just such a young woman was Elisabeth Brichet. Perhaps Elisabeth saw herself as too old, too grown-up, to be wearing a ribbon in her hair. And perhaps Elisabeth's parents were looking forward to that time when they could hold a photograph with love and pride, of their daughter holding a roll of paper tied with a ribbon. But little Elisabeth crossed the path of Michel Fourniret and there would be no more photos, a young life extinguished for the fantasies of a man the world would be better off without.

Michel Fourniret presents his evil in a roll of paper tied with a ribbon. Within that document, it is said that Fourniret describes himself as, "un être mauvais et dénué de tout sentiment humain" - an evil being, devoid of all human feeling. I read that he told his victims, "I am worse than Dutroux." Even now, with the families of his victims there in the court, being forced to live through the stories of how their loved ones were taken from them, Michel Fourniret presents his evil deeds with pride in a roll of paper tied with a ribbon.

The report in Enfants Kidnappés describes Fourniret as, "La bête," the beast. I don't have a word to describe such an evil person. To me, he is not worthy of being called an animal because animals do not kill members of their own species for pleasure. I have no way of understanding how a living thing could look like a human being, walk, talk, breath, eat, like a human being and yet have none of the natural characteristics of any living creature.

Sometimes I forget that I am totally against the death penalty.

My thoughts and prayers are with those families who are sitting through the trauma of this trial, being there for their loved ones, whose lives were taken. Theirs is the love and theirs is the pride that they will face the monster and see justice for all the rolls of paper tied with ribbons, which they will never see.