Georges Bouniol never recovered from Sophie Toscan du Plantier's murder, funeral told

Georges Bouniol and Marguerite Bouniol, the parents of Sophie Toscan du Plantier. File Picture

A devastated Georges Bouniol never got over murder of his daughter Sophie Toscan du Plantier, attendees at his funeral mass were told on Monday.

Mr Bouniol died in a Paris hospital on December 30 at the age of 98. The 28th anniversary of his daughter's killing was marked just one week earlier.

Friends of the Bouniol family attended Georges' funeral service at the Church of St Eustache in central Paris on Monday. His wife of 70 years, Marguerite, who is in her 90s and suffers from Parkinson’s, was in also attendance. 

Mr Bouniol's son Stéphane told the assembled mourners that though his father always appeared to be in good spirits when meeting and interacting with others, he had never truly recovered from Sophie's violent death outside of her holiday home in Toormore, Schull on December 23, 1996.

For many years, Georges and Marguerite traveled to West Cork at Christmas time with their other son Bertrand and Sophie’s son Pierre-Louis to attend her anniversary Mass.

Speaking at Georges' funeral, Pierre-Louis described his grandfather as "an exceptional man" who, despite enduring the death of a child, always sought to take care of and look out for his family.

Gardaí re-investigating the case are examining extensive writings by English journalist Ian Bailey to determine if any evidence links him to Ms du Plantier's killing.

Mr Bailey was questioned twice by gardaí in connection with the murder but was never charged in Ireland. A freelance journalist based in West Cork, he became a suspect while reporting on the case. 

In 2019, Mr Bailey was sentenced in absentia to 25 years in jail by a French court for Sophie Toscan du Plantier's murder. Mr Bailey did not have legal representation at the trial.

In 2020, the Irish High Court blocked Mr Bailey's extradition to France, where the law allows suspects to be tried for murdering French citizens abroad.

Georges Bouniol will be laid to rest on in his home village of Combret in the Aveyron department in southern France on Tuesday, next to the grave of his daughter.

Speaking in 2022, Ms du Plantier's uncle, Jean-Pierre Gazeau, said that it was the final wish of Georges and Marguerite to see a conviction in the case, saying the "heartbroken" family had waited far too long for justice.