I am trying to keep up with the transcripts provided by Enfants Kidnappés, because I think it is important that this information is available in English, for the sake of Fourniret's victims and the victims' families. Reading the details each day has mostly left me with a feeling of numbness, of almost total incomprehension about how someone who looks like a human being, sounds like a human being, and no doubt carries out all of the bodily functions of a human being, can be so far removed from any sense of humanity, as Michel Fourniret clearly is. That is, until I read the transcript of the hearing in which the case of Jeanne-Marie Desramault was presented and Jeanne-Marie's father spoke at the bar; that sense of numbness evaporated and today, I cried, for Jeanne-Marie, her father, and all of the other victims of Michel Fourniret.
Here is the transcript from Enfants Kidnappés.
http://www.kidnapping.be/fourniret/index.html
"09 avril 2008
"Le père de Jeanne-Marie demande justice"
"Le père de Jeanne-Marie Desramault, victime présumée de Michel Fourniret jugé en assises aux côtés de son épouse Monique Olivier, a demandé mercredi à la cour que justice soit faite."Que la justice les punisse" a déclaré d'une voix faible Henri Desramault, veuf de 87 ans, en faisant référence aux époux Fourniret. Le vieil homme, cheminot à la retraite, amaigri et diminué, s'est exprimé péniblement quelques minutes à la barre sur son fauteuil roulant avant de fondre en larmes. Jeanne-Marie Desramault était une jeune étudiante de 22 ans lorsqu'elle disparut le 18 mars 1989 à Charleville-Mézières. Son corps a été découvert, sur les indications de ce dernier, le 3 juillet 2004 dans le parc du château du Sautou, l'ancienne propriété du couple Fourniret-Olivier."
Jeanne-Marie's father demands justice.
The father of Jeanne-Marie Desramault, alleged victim of Michel Fourniret, on trial at the assizes alongside his wife Monique Olivier, demanded on Wednesday at the court that justice is done.
"That justice punishes them," Henri Desramault, a widower aged 87 years, stated in a quiet voice, making reference to the Fourniret couple. The old man, a retired railway worker, thin and diminished, expressed himself painfully at the bar for a few minutes, in his wheelchair, before dissolving in tears. Jeanne-Marie Desramault was a young student, aged 22, when she disappeared on March 18th 1989 in Charleville-Mézières. Her body was discovered, on the instructions of the accused, on July 3rd 2004, in the grounds of the Chateau du Sautou, former property of the Fourniret-Olivier couple.
"Michel Fourniret avoue un troisième meurtre à son procès"
"Le tueur en série présumé Michel Fourniret est à nouveau sorti de son silence mercredi à la cour d'assises des Ardennes pour avouer un troisième meurtre sur les sept dont il répond, mais il a refusé de répondre aux questions et de parler au père de la victime.
L'affaire concerne Jeanne-Marie Desramault, une jeune fille de 21 ans disparue le 18 mars 1989 et dont le corps a été retrouvé en 2004, après l'arrestation de Michel Fourniret en 2003. C'est le seul des sept dossiers dont il répond où sa femme est co-accusée d'avoir non seulement enlevé mais aussi tué. A la neuvième audience du procès, après la lecture des charges d'enlèvement, séquestration, tentative de viol et meurtre concernant , l'accusé, prié de préciser sa position, a dit : "Vous venez de lire les faits qui me sont reprochés. Je reconnais ces faits".
Michel Fourniret confesses to a third murder at his trial.
The alleged serial killer, Michel Fourniret, once again came out of his silence on Wednesday, at the Ardennes Court of Assizes, to confess to a third murder of the seven for which he is accused, but he refused to respond to questions and to speak to the victim's father.
The case is about Jeanne-Marie Desramault, a young woman, aged 21, who disappeared on March 18th 1989 and whose body was found in 2004, after Michel Fourniret's arrest in 2003. It is the only one of the seven murders to which he has responded, in which his wife is co-accused of having not only abducted but also killed. On the ninth day of the trial, after the reading of the charges of abduction, kidnapping, attempted rape and murder involved, the accused, asked to clarify his position, said: "You have just read the facts with which I am charged. I acknowledge these facts."
"Il refuse normalement de parler, en prétextant le refus du huis clos qu'il souhaite."
"L'émotion a étranglé plusieurs jurés lorsque le père de Jeanne-Marie, Henri, 87 ans, est venu en fauteuil roulant à la barre, soutenu à distance par deux religieuses et les autres familles de victimes, qui lui ont offert des roses blanches avant l'audience. Le témoin a regardé en silence l'accusé, qui a soutenu son regard sans ciller. Tandis qu'étaient projetées sur un écran les photos de sa fille, qui était son seul enfant, Henri Desramault, avant de fondre en larmes, n'a eu que ces mots : "Je demande justice pour Jeanne-Marie".
He normally refuses to speak, blaming the refusal for the proceedings to be held in camera.
The emotion choked several jurors when Jeanne-Marie's father, Henri, aged 87, came to the bar in his wheelchair, supported at a distance by two nuns and the other victims' families, who offered him white roses before the hearing. The witness looked in silence at the accused, who held his gaze without blinking. While photos of his daughter, who was his only child, were being projected onto a screen, Henri Desramault, before dissolving in tears, had only these words: "I demand justice for Jeanne-Marie."
"L'IMAGE DE LA VIERGE MARIE"
"L'avocat de la famille Desramault, Didier Seban, a interpellé l'accusé, lui rappelant une déposition antérieure où il disait avoir vu en Jeanne-Marie "l'image de la Vierge Marie". "C'est parce qu'elle évoquait la Vierge Marie que vous l'avez choisie ? Vous n'avez rien à dire à M. Desramault ? c'est peut-être la dernière fois que vous le verrez", a dit l'avocat. Debout à quelques mètres, visage dur et figé, Michel Fourniret a répondu : "Vous connaissez ma position, permettez moi de vous la rappeler". Et il est resté debout, les yeux dans ceux de l'avocat, sans bouger, durant une vingtaine de secondes. Interrogée, son épouse Monique Olivier a dit reconnaitre les faits, mais son avocat a aussitôt précisé qu'elle niait la co-action dans le meurtre qui est retenue par l'accusation. Jeanne-Marie Desramault a été présentée par un témoin comme "fleur bleue, gentille, douce et naïve aussi". Très croyante, le jeune fille "cherchait à faire connaissance avec les gens qu'elle rencontrait et avait toujours un a priori positif, avait le coeur ouvert", a-t-on expliqué à la barre."
The image of the Virgin Mary.
Didier Seban, lawyer for the Desramault family, called out to the accused, reminding him of a previous statement where he spoke of having seen in Jeanne-Marie, "the image of the Virgin Mary." "it was because she evoked the Virgin Mary that you chose her? You have nothing to say to M. Desramault? This may be the last time you see him," said the lawyer. Standing a few metres away, face hard and motionless, Michel Fourniret responded: "You know my position, allow me to remind you." And he remained standing, eyes meeting those of the lawyer, without moving, for about 20 seconds. When questioned, his wife Monique Olivier said that she acknowledged the facts, but her lawyer also said that she denies the co-action in the murder which is contained in the charge. Jeanne-Marie Desramault was described by a witness as, "a blue flower, kind, gentle and also naive," Very believing, a young woman who, "sought to get to know the people she met and always had a positive attitude, an open heart," was explained at the bar.
"Le déroulement des évènements:"
"Etudiante à Charleville-Mézières, où elle logeait dans une institution religieuse, elle prenait le train tous les samedis pour rentrer chez ses parents à Béthune. Elle a rencontré fortuitement Michel Fourniret lors d'un de ces voyages, a dit Monique Olivier. Le tueur a engagé la conversation et fait mine de partager sa ferveur religieuse. A la gare, Monique Olivier attendait son mari et le trio a fait connaissance. Il a alors été convenu de se revoir. Pour la mettre en confiance, Michel Fourniret a imaginé lui proposer une sortie en Belgique et le couple Fourniret est venu un jour la retrouver à la sortie des cours, avec leur fils Selim, âgé de quelques mois. "Michel Fourniret avait voulu lui faire une surprise", a raconté l'accusée. Après un repas dans une pâtisserie, Jeanne-Marie a été raccompagnée à Charleville. Plus tard, Monique Olivier reconnait avoir appelé au téléphone son institution religieuse en se présentant sous un faux nom, pour relancer la jeune fille. Le 18 mars 1989, Michel Fourniret a provoqué une rencontre à la gare de Charleville et a persuadé Jeanne-Marie de venir chez lui, où il l'a tuée. Il a enterré son corps dans sa propriété de Sautou. Des mois durant, le père de Jeanne-Marie a pris le train qu'elle devait prendre ce jour-là, montrant sa photo à tous les voyageurs. La mère de Jeanne-Marie est morte en 1993. (Reuters)"
The unfolding of events.
Student in Charleville-Mézières, where she was lodging in a religious institution, she took the train every Saturday to return to her parents house in Béthune. She met Michel Fourniret casually during one of these journeys, said Monique Olivier. The killer initiated the conversation and pretended to share her religious fervour. At the station, Monique Olivier was waiting for her husband and the trio were introduced. It was then agreed to meet again. To instil trust in her, Michel Fourniret thought up suggesting to her an outing to Belgium and the Fourniret couple went to find her one day, at the end of classes, with their son Selim, who was a few months old. "Michel Fourniret had wanted to give her a surprise," recounted the accused. (Monique Olivier) After a meal at a patisserie, Jeanne-Marie was accompanied back to Charleville. Later, Monique Olivier admitted having made a telephone call to the religious institution, presenting herself under a false name, to chase up the young woman. On March 18th 1989, Michel Fourniret engineered a meeting at Charleville station and he persuaded Jeanne-Marie to come with him to his house, where he killed her. He buried her body on his property in Sautou. For months, Jeanne-Marie's father took the train that she should have taken that day, showing her photo to all the travellers. Jeanne-Marie's mother died in 1993. (Reuters)
End of transcript.
Jeanne-Marie Desramault was a student, an only child of whom her parents were no doubt very proud. She was kind, gentle and trusting and close to her family, whom she visited every weekend. Michel Fourniret took all that was good and decent about that young woman and defiled her in the most gross way imaginable. Jeanne-Marie's father faced that epitome of evil in the courtroom and the arrogant inhuman scum of a man did not even have the courage to explain why he took Henri's only child. Henri Desramault is a man of courage. Michel Fourniret is a coward, who could only prey on the powerless and trusting.
I know that the Bible says, "Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord," but I cannot help but hope that some kind of vengeance is wreaked on Michel Fourniret when he is spending the rest of his life in prison. May he spend his time in fear of coming into contact with ordinary criminals, who are not averse to inflicting their own kind of punishment on rapists and murders of young girls and young women.
