A FRENCH magistrate appointed to investigate the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier is to brief French forensic scientists shortly before they travel to Ireland to examine evidence and exhibits collected in the case by gardaí. The team is due here in the next few months.
Judge Patrick Gachon plans to brief a team of police forensic scientists from the Institut de Recherche Criminelle de la Gendarmerie National as to the items and exhibits which he hopes they will examine when they come.
Last September, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern confirmed that permission had been granted to Judge Gachon to send a forensic team to Ireland to examine the evidence gathered by gardaí investigating the murder of French film producer Toscan du Plantier.
Toscan du Plantier (39), was murdered at her holiday home at Toormore outside Schull on the night of December 22nd/23rd, 1996. Nobody was ever charged with her murder but in the course of an extensive investigation, gardaí gathered more than 200 exhibits, though these were not included when Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy sanctioned the handing over of the file on the murder to France in 2008.
In addition to copies of diaries and notebooks seized from English journalist Ian Bailey when he was arrested for questioning about the killing, the exhibits include blood samples, nail scrapings and hair samples taken from Toscan du Plantier’s body.
The blood samples have all been tested three times to date as technology has improved, but on each occasion results have shown the blood to be that of Toscan du Plantier.