The death of Sophie Toscan du Plantier’s father, Georges Bouniol was extraordinarily sad for his family as he died without ever learning the full truth of what happened to his daughter, a family member has said.
Mr Bouniol (98) who died on December 30th in Hospital Broca in Paris, surrounded by family members, will be remembered at a funeral mass at 10.30am on Monday at the Church of St Eustache in Paris where he and his wife, Marguerite were married over 60 years ago.
St Eustache was also where Sophie and her brothers, Bertrand and Stephane were baptised and after the funeral mass on Monday, Mr Bouniol will be laid to rest on Tuesday beside Sophie at the family vault at the cemetery in Cambret in Lozere in the south of France.
Mother of one, Ms Toscan du Plantier (39) was murdered outside her holiday home at Dreenane in Toormore near Schull in west Cork and her badly beaten body was found on the laneway leading to the isolated former farmhouse on the morning of December 23rd 1996.
Ireland weather: Met Éireann warns further snow possible while temperatures could drop to -10 degrees this week
Man (60s) dies after ‘altercation’ on Baggot Street in Dublin city centre
Witness who failed to appear at Diarmuid Phelan murder trial arrested in Dublin
The last thing our teenage son said was: ‘Why are you all so sad? I’m going to be fine’
Ms Toscan du Plantier’s uncle, Jean Pierre Gazeau said the death of his brother-in-law was particularly painful for close family members.
“Sophie was so much part of Georges and Marguerite’s life so you can imagine their pain when she was murdered – it was something that has never left them and for Georges to die without knowing the truth of what happened to Sophie, it makes his death even sadder.
“Georges was a man of great decency and dignity, and he did not always show his emotions but internally he was suffering great pain and sometimes his face would be transformed – it was as if you could see his soul and you knew the pain that Sophie’s murder was causing him.”
President of the Association for the Campaign for the Truth about the Murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, Mr Gazeau said that Mr Bouniol, like all members of the Bouniol family, felt great frustration at not being able to find out what exactly happened his daughter.
“We, like Georges, are still hoping to get the real truth of what happened between 11pm on December 22nd 1996 when Sophie spoke to her husband, Daniel Toscan du Plantier and 10.30am the next morning when her body was found by her neighbour, Shirley Foster.
[ Sophie Toscan du Plantier’s parents on life without herOpens in new window ]
“That is like a black window for us all – we don’t know what exactly happened to her – we know she fought because Sophie was a fighter and she fought for her life in those final moments alone as she faced the terror of realising that she was going to die there in her beloved west Cork.
“But we don’t know the full truth and if you have the truth, even it is terrible, you can master it and grieve fully but when you don’t have the truth – then it is like trying to deal with someone who has disappeared, yes, we have a body, but we still do not have the full story.”
Mr Gazeau said he believes there are still people in west Cork with information on the murder that could assist a Garda Serious Crime Review team examining the case and he urged them to come forward and contact the gardaí so the family can finally learn the truth of what happened.
Chief suspect, English journalist, Ian Bailey, who died last January at the age of 66, was twice arrested and questioned by gardaí about the killing but released without charge on each occasion and although convicted in absentia in France, he repeatedly denied any involvement in murder.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
