NEW DNA from the scene of the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier has been found, it has been reported.
Investigators using a revolutionary new technique – Touch DNA – to raise a profile from the rock used to beat the French filmmaker said the results would be revealed in coming months.
Touch DNA uses a V-Mac machine to scour rocks and porous items for DNA that could not be detected using previous methods. It has been used to solve a number of killings in America where rocks and stones were used as murder weapons.
These results could finally solve the mystery of who murdered the 39-year-old mother of one outside her West Cork holiday home in December 1996.
Gardaí retained the DNA samples of a number of men, including prime suspect Ian Bailey who protested his innocence and died of a heart attack in January 2024.
Bloodied clothing worn by Ms du Plantier on the night of her murder has also been submitted to the FBI for testing. A member of her family said they were cautiously optimistic about the latest developments.
In 2019 Manchester-born Ian Bailey was convicted in absentia in a Paris court of murdering Ms Toscan du Plantier but Irish courts ruled against extraditing him.
Gardaí said that the murder investigation was ongoing but refused to confirm or deny that new DNA had been found. A garda spokesman said: ‘The Garda Serious Crime Review Team's review into this murder, which began in June 2022, also continues.
‘Gardaí continue to appeal to anyone with information to contact the investigation team at Bantry Garda Station or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.
‘An Garda Síochána make operational decisions on the release of information in respect of any investigation, on a case by case basis. An Garda Síochána is not providing any further information on the investigation into the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, at this time.’
Fresh hopes for a DNA breakthrough come as director Jim Sheridan’s fictional re-imagining of the case, and what might have happened had Ian Bailey gone on trial here, is set for a September cinema release.
Re-creation, starring Colm Meaney and Aidan Gillen, had its Irish premiere at the Galway film fleadh in July. Sheridan remains true to his belief of Bailey’s ‘probable innocence’.
