Wednesday 28 October 2026Compiled from published reports. Every claim links to its source.

Ireland Crime

Every case followed from the first report to the sentence, or to where the reporting stopped.

Case No. 4236Murder · Co. Cork · 23 Dec 1996

Sophie Toscan du Plantier's family hopeful DNA experts will lead gardaí to killer

On the 29th anniversary of the 1996 murder of French film producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier near Schull, Co. Cork, her family said they remain hopeful that a Garda cold case review and new DNA testing by M-Vac Systems will identify her killer. The family's uncle Jean Pierre Gazeau said they await results from the technical examination, which sources say will not be available until 2026.

  1. Reported23 Dec
  2. Arrested
  3. Charged
  4. In court
  5. Verdict
  6. Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
13 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatSophie Toscan du Plantier was a French film producer. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatShe was 39 years old and a mother-of-one from Paris. (irishtimes.com)
  • whereShe was found dead on the boreen leading to her isolated holiday home near Schull in west Cork. (irishtimes.com)
  • whereThe review team is based in Bantry in west Cork. (irishtimes.com)
  • whenShe was found on the morning of 23 December 1996. (irishtimes.com)
  • weaponThe rock and concrete block used to kill Ms Toscan du Plantier was among the exhibits examined. (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationSince 2022 the case has been examined by a Garda serious crime review team. (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationThe review team has taken statements from 330 witnesses in Ireland, the UK, Europe, North and South America and Australia. (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationThe team recruited American DNA collection experts M-Vac Systems to examine exhibits from the murder investigation. (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationM-Vac chief executive Jared Bradley travelled to Dublin in July with forensic scientist Suzanna Ryan to carry out examinations. (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationSources close to the Garda review team say it will be 2026 before they receive the results of the DNA tests. (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationNobody has been put at the scene forensically. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherThe family created the Association for the Truth about the Murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier in 2008. (irishtimes.com)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 23 Dec2025
    Reportedirishtimes.com, follow-up
    Sophie Toscan du Plantier’s family hopeful DNA experts will lead gardaí to killer

    29th anniversary piece adding details on the M-Vac DNA examination of exhibits including the rock and concrete block used to kill the victim, the 330 witnesses interviewed by the serious crime review team since 2022, and the family's comments on the ongoing investigation.

    victim, Sophie Toscan du Plantier, 39, female, French, non-irishSophie Toscan du Plantier