COLD CASE 

Fresh Sophie Toscan du Plantier probe twist as gardai believe west Cork murder victim knew her killer

• Published: 17:52, 2 Apr 2023
• Updated: 18:14, 2 Apr 2023

• )

SOPHIE Toscan du Plantier was killed by someone she knew, gardai now firmly believe following the cold case probe which has extended to France.

Investigating officers have ruled out a random attack, branding the savage December 1996 killing at her west Cork holiday home “personal and violent”.

Gardai are still confident they will eventually track down and charge the filmmaker’s killer following a year in which they have re-interviewed and taken statements from over 100 people connected with the case, we have learned.

Every living original witness has been contacted and spoken to by detectives, and a number of new leads have also emerged and are being pursued vigorously.

The investigating team are getting huge co-operation from the people of west Cork.

And the whole French side of the murder inquiry is being now seriously examined.

READ MORE IN TRAGIC SOPHIE

It is understood that officers are getting the full cooperation of the French authorities and members of the team will soon be flying to France to follow up several different lines of inquiry.

A senior source said: “No stone is being left unturned to find Sophie’s killer.

“Every last scrap of information on the case files is being looked at.

“The French are being very helpful and a number of officers will be flying to Paris soon to follow up a number of leads and see where we end up.

“One way or another we now think Sophie was killed by someone she knew.

“This wasn’t a case of a random intruder breaking into her home.

“There was no sexual assault. Her murder was purely personal and violent.”

It is understood Sophie’s son Pierre is being briefed every month by the Gardai and is being kept up to date on developments.

He still owns the family holiday home outside Schull in west Cork where she was killed and pays a visit every year.

INFO PLEA

Earlier this year, gardai feared they did not have enough new information to make a breakthrough in the 26-year-old unsolved case.

A senior Garda source said: “We are making progress slowly but surely. We received a lot of new information which is extremely helpful and is now being checked out.

“Nevertheless we have still not made a breakthrough as such but we are getting there.

“We are effectively running two investigations side by side — the original murder probe plus the cold-case review of her murder.

“Every new lead is being probed. Some members of the public have contacted us with new information while others who made statements before have remembered important things they forgot to mention.

“The public appeal has certainly refreshed people’s memories in the west Cork area and been extremely helpful.”