Edith Bonlieu

Marie Édith Jeanne Vuarnet (, 18 April 1934 – 16 December 1995) was a French alpine skier. She competed in the women's downhill at the 1956 Winter Olympics, and was a three time champion in the French downhill competition. She was a member of the Order of the Solar Temple and died in a mass murder-suicide on 16 December 1995, alongside other members including her youngest son, Patrick.

Biography

Early life and career Marie Édith Jeanne Vuarnet was born 18 April 1934, in Paron, France. She was a three time champion in the French downhill skiing competition, in 1955, 1958, and 1960.

She came second in the 1955 Zermatt downhill, losing to of Austria, five seconds slower. She competed in the women's downhill at the 1956 Winter Olympics. Two years later she and Vuarnet, then a triple French champion, married on 15 November 1958. Upon learning of their involvement in the OTS, Jean Vuarnet was enraged. Their bodies were immolated in a star shape in a place named the Hellhole. They took sedatives and then were shot by two other members of the group. It is contested as to whether all the members of the group, including Edith, consented to death in this second transit. She died aged 61.

The bodies were discovered on the 23rd. Following her death, Jean Vuarnet wrote a book about the case, , , telling of her behavior prior to the deaths. The Vuarnet family dispute that it was a mass suicide, proposing instead that they were murdered by outside forces.