An ex-girlfriend of one of the founding members of Boyzone appeared in court yesterday charged with the murder of a French nanny whose charred remains were found in her back garden.
Sabrina Kouider, 34, was remanded in custody at Wimbledon magistrates’ court with Ouissem Medouni, 40, who faces the same charge. The body of Sophie Lionnet, 21, was discovered yesterday in the garden of Kouider’s £900,000 flat in south London.
Neighbours had reported a bonfire and “foul-smelling smoke” on Wednesday afternoon. The relationship between Kouider and Medouni, who were arrested at the scene in Wimbledon Park Road in Southfields yesterday, was unknown.
Police have been unable to identify the age or gender of the remains. However, the victim is understood to be Lionnet, who is said to have worked for Kouider for more than a year. The formal charge does not identify Lionnet, saying “victim unknown”, but claims the murder allegedly happened between September 7 and 20.
The nanny grew up in the northern French town of Troyes. She is thought to have been living in Southfields for 14 months caring for Kouider’s three-year-old daughter and the six-year-old son she had with Mark Walton, one of the original members of Boyzone.
Kouider and Walton separated several years ago. He now lives in Los Angeles, working as an international A&R consultant, according to his LinkedIn page. He is also one of the judges on the Vietnamese version of Pop Idol.
Kouider, a French national, has posed for numerous pictures on social media showing her at various restaurants. She claimed to work as a stylist, make-up artist, fashion designer and songwriter.
Neighbours described Lionnet as an “angel”. Jamie Patel said: “She was very shy and humble, a very beautiful person. We cannot understand how this happened. She was great with children and a nice person.”
Mary Whittaker, 59, said: “She was so good with children and had a lovely face. She was kind and quite shy. With the children she set up a mini shop on the street selling sweets and biscuits.
“She really made an effort with them. We are all so upset — it’s like the Hammer House Of Horror.”
Sunny Patel said: “She was low-key, she held the children’s hands. She used to come in my shop to buy cigarettes and groceries. She was a nice person and cared about the kids.”
In France, a friend from her old school, the Andre Malraux Paron College in Paron, about 70 miles south-east of Paris, recalled a “happy, socially aware young woman who everybody loved.”
The friend, who did not want to be named, added: “Sophie had a social conscience of somebody who was far older. She took up all kinds of causes, and wanted to make a difference. She was bright and good at sport and dreamt of making the world a better place. Sophie did well in her studies, and wanted to travel.”