The investigation concerns the disappearance of Lydie Logé, 29 years old, on December 18, 1993, whose body was never found. The prosecutor's office in Caen announced Monday the opening of a criminal investigation for "kidnapping followed by death" after the custody last week, Michel Fourniret and his ex-wife Monique Olivier.
It was reopened in 2018 by the Argentan parquet after new elements: the "comparison of a mitochondrial DNA from a hair element found in the C15 of Michel Fourniret and the mitochondrial DNA of an ascendant of Lydia Housed, "said AFP Carole Etienne, prosecutor of the Republic of Caen.
"Investigations very advanced"
Nuclear DNA is transmitted by both parents but mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is inherited only from the mother. Last week's police custody helped to establish "a possible path of Michel Fourniret in the Orne he does not dispute," according to Ms. Étienne.
These elements will "initiate very thorough investigations", she said, while remaining cautious because "there are still checks to be done". The judicial investigation for "sequestration followed by death" was opened this weekend and the defection of Michel Fourniret and Monique Olivier following their custody has not yet taken place, said Ms. Étienne.
After the custody last Thursday, concerning Monique Olivier, the prosecutor had said that "its role is not established at this stage of the audits".
Fourniret and Olivier already sentenced to life imprisonment
Michel Fourniret was sentenced in 2008 to life imprisonment for seven murders of young women or girls between 1987 and 2001, preceded by rape or attempted rape. Monique Olivier was sentenced to life imprisonment with a 28-year sentence, for complicity in four of the murders and rape in a meeting of a girl.
On November 16, 2018, Michel Fourniret was again sentenced to life for the 1988 assassination of Farida Hammiche whose body was never found. His ex-wife was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment.