Detective Inspector Des McTiernan told a new garda podcast: “I would say we are being extremely comprehensive.”
A report is expected by the three-year anniversary of its beginning in June.
However, gardaí declined to say how much the cold-case review has cost to date, or to list the countries visited by officers – thought to run to double figures.
Det Insp McTiernan stressed the close liaison between An Garda Síochána and the FBI, to whom clothes and exhibits were sent for further analysis.
“From a forensic perspective, we’re trying to develop it more, because there are now advancements out there on the worldwide scale,” he said on the podcast available on the garda website.
“We don’t just confine ourselves to Ireland and our ability and capacity here. We have gone abroad, and we’ve done that before. We have close links to the FBI, and that’s working quite well.
“Forensics is advancing all the time. Phone analysis is advancing all the time.
“Phone extractions going back two, three years could be totally different to what you get now, and you have to be very aware of that. So the technical sides of investigations and cold cases are also an opportunity for us.”
Det Insp McTiernan describes the 1996 killing of the French film-maker and mother of one at her holiday cottage at Toormore, west Cork, as “a very sad case, and it’s obviously a high-profile case”.
“The investigation into that is still very much alive and well, and that’s thanks to Eamon Brady, detective inspector in west Cork, who is continuing the ongoing investigation, running parallel to our [cold case] review
.
“We’re trying to develop new leads. I would say it’s going well. I would say we are being extremely comprehensive.
“Our witnesses are extremely helpful and very supportive in the course of the investigation, because people want to help. They want to get to the bottom of what actually happened to Sophie.”
The force has refused to say how many new interviews or re-interviews it has carried out, telling the Irish Independent: “An Garda Síochána makes 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.”
Det Insp McTiernan praised the work of French investigators that led to the murder conviction of English poet Ian Bailey in absentia in 2019. But investigators here still had an open mind, he said.
He tells journalist Patrice Harrington on the podcast: “If I was to focus on a particular individual, because everybody says that he has done it, I wouldn’t be doing the family, the suspect, or potentially other suspects, or the public in general, any favours.
“In a serious crime review, by its nature, we have to have an open mind, and we have to be independent and impartial. That’s the key to it.”
The Garda Serious Crime Review Team review into the murder began in June 2022.
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.
#Sophie #Toscan #Plantier #coldcase #review #nears #threeyear #mark #senior #garda
