Brother of Sophie Toscan du Plantier urges witnesses previously afraid to come forward

A brother of Sophie Toscan du Plantier has urged anyone who may have information about her murder and did not come forward while the chief suspect, Ian Bailey, was alive, to contact the Garda cold case team reviewing the investigation.

Bertrand Bouniol told The Irish Times that he, his parents Georges and Marguerite and his brother Stephane remain haunted by what happened to his sister in west Cork in December 1996 and the scene that confronted him when he had to identify her badly beaten body.

“People around us in Cork were happy celebrating Christmas and we were ravaged by Sophie’s death,” he said.

“I leaned over the coffin and for one or two seconds I thought, ‘no, that’s not Sophie’. Her face had been redone and looked like it was made of wax. Then I saw her blonde hair and her hands and thought perhaps ‘it is her’. It was an experience I wouldn’t wish on anyone. It is always in my head.”

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Mr Bouniol said the family remained convinced that Mr Bailey, who died on Sunday, was Ms Toscan du Plantier’s killer. Mr Bailey was convicted in absentia of her murder by a French court but the Irish courts refused to extradite him to serve a 25-year sentence.

Mr Bailey had always denied any involvement in the murder. He was twice arrested in connection with Ms Toscan du Plantier’s death but was never charged.

Mr Bouniol expressed regret that Mr Bailey’s death from a suspected heart attack had robbed the family of any possibility of hearing him confess to the murder.

“But we are encouraged by the news that the Garda will continue with its cold case inquiry and I would urge anyone, witnesses out there, who may have important information, but were afraid for whatever reason when Ian Bailey was alive, to come forward now that he is dead,” he said.

Mr Bouniol said it was important that the Irish investigation would be brought to a conclusion as not just the family, but the wider public deserve to know the truth.

He said that if gardaí “convince” the Director of Public Prosecutions “they have identified the killer of my sister, that will be interesting”.

“The subject is closed in France but for Ireland, it is still open,” he added.

“The pity is though that we will never know details from Bailey’s own mouth of what exactly he did on this horrible night and why, and that is difficult for us.”

Mr Bouniol’s uncle, Jean Pierre Gazeau, said the family had no doubt following Mr Bailey’s conviction in absentia in Paris that he was the killer. He said the family was still anxious for gardaí to continue their investigation and reach a similar conclusion.

Mr Gazeau, president of the Association for the Truth about the Murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier campaign group, lamented the fact that Ireland refused to extradite Mr Bailey to France to serve the jail term imposed for the murder.

[ Time and again, I saw the hopes of Sophie Toscan du Plantier’s family crushed ]

“Ian Bailey refused to answer the questions of French investigators, entangling himself in lies and contradictions. Provoking and taunting the police, the judiciary, and the media, he always avoided telling the truth about this murder, of which, beyond any reasonable doubt, he knew every detail,” he said.

“We continue our efforts for truth and justice and an investigation is under way in Ireland, and we are confident that the discovery of new elements, the hearing of new witnesses, and the revelation of possible complicity will enable Irish police to close the case, 27 years after the murder.”

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