Casepin
Back to cases

Case file

Disappearance of Estelle Mouzin

SOLVED2003Guermantes, France3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

Estelle Mouzin, a nine-year-old girl, disappeared on Thursday, 9 January 2003, while walking home from school in Guermantes, France. She was last seen in front of a bakery as she made her way to the home of her mother, Suzanne Mouzin, who was in the process of divorcing the girl's father, Eric Mouzin. Her mother reported her missing to the local police shortly after 7:00 p.m. that evening, and the disappearance drew extensive national media coverage.

The first person investigators suspected was Michel Fourniret, a serial killer arrested in Belgium in June 2003. Police initially discounted him after a phone call appeared to have been placed from his home around the time Mouzin vanished, giving him an apparent alibi. Two weeks before the disappearance, a girl of the same age had narrowly escaped an attempted abduction by a man in a white van; shown a photograph of Fourniret, she said he was not the man involved. Investigators nonetheless found a video recording and photographs of Mouzin on Fourniret's computer, and while leading police to the burial site of one of his other victims, he described clothing similar to what Mouzin had worn the day she vanished. In 2007, citing his alibi and insufficient evidence, police abandoned the pursuit of Fourniret in this case. The investigation, led by Commissioner Jean-Marc Bloch, ultimately involved the interrogation of more than 130 people and searches of every house in Guermantes. A further round of searches on 31 January 2008, in Brie-Comte-Robert and Lognes, included the Royal Wok restaurant over suspicion that human remains might be found there; only animal remains were recovered. In 2010, French authorities issued a new appeal for witnesses using a computer-aged portrait of Mouzin.

The case turned in late 2019. On 27 November, Fourniret — by then already serving a life sentence for other, unrelated murders — was indicted for kidnapping and false imprisonment resulting in death. On 23 January 2020, Fourniret told investigating judge Sabine Khéris that his memory had failed him but that he should be considered guilty in Mouzin's case. The following day, his former wife, Monique Olivier, told the judge that Fourniret had abducted and killed Mouzin, and that she herself had placed a phone call from his son's home on the day of the disappearance to help create his alibi. Fourniret confessed to killing Mouzin on 6 March 2020. Olivier's lawyer later stated that Fourniret had taken Mouzin to Ville-sur-Lumes, in the Ardennes, to confine her, and that he raped and strangled her there; partial DNA traces matching Mouzin were subsequently found on a mattress at a property once owned by Fourniret's sister. Fourniret died in 2021 before he could be prosecuted for the killing.

In 2023, French authorities sought to indict Olivier for her role in Mouzin's kidnapping, alongside separate murder charges involving two other women. At trial, Olivier admitted she had watched over Mouzin while Fourniret was at work and said she regretted not saving her. She was convicted on all charges in December 2023 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Estelle Mouzin's body has never been found, and a march is held each year in her memory.

Key facts

Victims
Estelle Mouzin
Date
2003
Location
Guermantes, France
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 2003-01-09

    Estelle Mouzin, aged nine, disappeared while walking home from school in Guermantes, France; she was last seen near a bakery.

  2. 2003-06

    Michel Fourniret was arrested in Belgium and considered a suspect, but investigators discounted him after an apparent phone-call alibi placed him at home at the time of the disappearance.

  3. 2007

    French police abandoned pursuit of Fourniret in the Mouzin case, citing his alibi and insufficient evidence.

  4. 2008-01-31

    Police searched sites in Brie-Comte-Robert and Lognes, including the Royal Wok restaurant, on suspicion that human remains might be found; only animal remains were recovered.

  5. 2010

    French authorities issued a new appeal for witnesses using a computer-aged portrait of Estelle Mouzin.

  6. 2019-11-27

    Michel Fourniret was indicted for kidnapping and false imprisonment resulting in death in connection with Mouzin's disappearance.

  7. 2020-01-23

    Fourniret told investigating judge Sabine Khéris that his memory had failed him but that he should be considered guilty in Mouzin's case.

  8. 2020-01-24

    Monique Olivier told the judge that Fourniret had abducted and killed Mouzin, and that she had phoned his son's home on the day of the disappearance to help create his alibi.

  9. 2020-03-06

    Michel Fourniret confessed to killing Estelle Mouzin.

  10. 2020-08-21

    Olivier's lawyer stated that Fourniret had taken Mouzin to Ville-sur-Lumes in the Ardennes to confine her and that he raped and strangled her there; partial DNA traces matching Mouzin were later found on a mattress at a property once owned by Fourniret's sister.

  11. 2021

    Michel Fourniret died before he could be prosecuted for Mouzin's killing.

  12. 2023-05

    French authorities sought to indict Monique Olivier on charges including her role in Mouzin's kidnapping.

  13. 2023-11

    Olivier's trial, covering charges related to Mouzin's kidnapping and to the murders of two other women, was scheduled to begin.

  14. 2023-12

    Monique Olivier was convicted on all charges and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Jean-Marc Bloch

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Police commissioner who led the investigation into Estelle Mouzin's disappearance, during which more than 130 people were interrogated and every house in Guermantes was searched.

  • Monique Olivier

    CONVICTED

    Fourniret's former wife. Told investigating judge Sabine Khéris in January 2020 that Fourniret had abducted and killed Mouzin. Convicted in December 2023 of complicity in Mouzin's kidnapping — alongside separate charges involving two other women tried in the same proceeding — and sentenced to life imprisonment.

  • Estelle Mouzin

    VICTIM

    Nine-year-old girl who disappeared while walking home from school in Guermantes, France, on 9 January 2003; her body has never been found.

  • Michel Fourniret

    CHARGED

    Serial killer already serving a life sentence for other, unrelated murders at the time he was indicted on 27 November 2019 for kidnapping and false imprisonment resulting in Mouzin's death. He confessed to killing her on 6 March 2020 but died in 2021 before he could be prosecuted for the crime.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Guermantes, France

48.8600, 2.7500

View on the map

Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Nine-year-old Estelle Mouzin vanished on her way home from school in Guermantes, France, on 9 January 2003. Sixteen years later, serial killer Michel Fourniret confessed to abducting and killing her, but died in 2021 without standing trial for the crime; his former wife, Monique Olivier, was convicted in 2023 of complicity in the kidnapping. Mouzin's body has never been found.
Where did the disappearance happen?
Guermantes, France.
Who was convicted?
Monique Olivier (Fourniret's former wife. Told investigating judge Sabine Khéris in January 2020 that Fourniret had abducted and killed Mouzin. Convicted in December 2023 of complicity in Mouzin's kidnapping — alongside separate charges involving two other women tried in the same proceeding — and sentenced to life imprisonment.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.
More cases in France

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICMurder of Estelle MouzinWikipedia · 2026-07-12
  2. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — BBC NewsBBC News · 2026-07-12
  3. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — The GuardianThe Guardian · 2026-07-12

Record history

First published
JUL 13, 2026