Fresh appeal for information in du Plantier case

THE superintendent heading the investigation into the 1996 murder of Frenchwoman Sophie Toscan du Plantier near the West Cork town of Schull yesterday vowed to catch her killer.

Making a fresh appeal for information, Supt Liam Horgan said the gardaí owe it to her parents to bring the killer to justice.

“The file sits on my desk; I see it every day. It’s never out of my mind or the minds of the gardaí in Schull. The file cannot be put away - it will never be put away,” he said.

“It’s an unsolved murder and there is still a killer walking around. I want to try and identify that person and bring him or her to justice.”

But Supt Horgan, who officially liaises with the murdered woman’s family, revealed that the heartbroken parents, 80-year-old Georges and 79-year-old Marguerite Bouniol are “close to despair”.

“They feel absolutely helpless. Sophie’s mother is failing, I can see it in her. Sophie’s father puts on a brave face but, below it all, is troubled inside.”

The senior officer, who assumed responsibility for the investigation in West Cork in 2003, said despite an extraordinary public response over the years, he remains convinced that someone may have retained vital information.

“The parents will never give up hope, the gardaí also cannot. We are their only hope. That’s the reason we can’t give up; we owe it to them, and we owe it to Sophie, as well, to continue with the investigation.”

The Director of Public Prosecutions, on two occasions, has refused to give approval for gardaí to prefer charges against a person described as a chief suspect in the inquiry. Freelance journalist Ian Bailey was twice arrested, in 1987 and 1998, and released on each occasion without any charge.

Yesterday, Supt Horgan said gardaí maintained an “open mind” in the murder investigation and appealed to anyone with information to contact him personally, and in confidence.

He said the family of Sophie Toscan du Plantier always had full confidence that justice would be done but he felt their beliefs were beginning to diminish.

“Over the years, they are close to reaching the point of despair,” he said.

The battered body of the 38-year-old Paris-based television documentary producer was discovered on December 23, 1996, on a cul-de-sac laneway leading to her Irish hideaway at Dunmanus West, Toormore, near Schull.

The parents return yearly to the converted farmhouse where they “feel a closeness” to their daughter.

Supt Horgan, can be contacted at 027-20866.