The town of Namur is covered in white ribbons of mourning

Mourners in the southern Belgian town of Namur left flowers and toys in memory of the 12-year-old who had been missing for 15 years.

Her remains were found earlier this month, buried in the grounds of Fourniret's former home.

The girl is one of nine people that the 62-year-old Frenchman says he killed.

The former forestry worker has been in custody since June 2003 and says his victims were mostly teenage girls, killed in Belgium and France between 1987 and 2001.

Powerful memories

There was live television coverage of the service at the St Loup church in Namur, which was covered in white ribbons and balloons.

Hundreds of people packed into the 17th Century church and thousands more lined nearby roads.

One report from the scene said the atmosphere was redolent of the White March through Brussels in 1996 when tens of thousands took to the streets to remember missing children and protest at failures of law enforcement following the arrest of child-killer Marc Dutroux.

Elisabeth Brichet had once been thought to be a victim of Dutroux

Cristel van Damme, who was at the church with her three daughters and her mother, said they wanted to show sympathy and support for Elisabeth's family.

"We have children of our own," she was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

The breakthrough in the case surrounding the death of Elisabeth came last month when Fourniret's estranged wife Monique Oliver accused him of various murders.

Fourniret then led investigators to where two bodies were buried in the grounds of his former chateau in northern France.

DNA tests confirmed that the remains were of Elisabeth and 22-year-old Jeanne-Marie Desramault, whom Fourniret has also admitted to killing.

Fourniret has been formally charged with the murder of Elisabeth.

He was also charged with kidnapping, unlawfully imprisoning and raping her.

French and Belgian police believe Fourniret may be linked to dozens of other murders.