A TEAM of French investigators will today begin interviewing the first of 30 witnesses who have agreed to meet them as part of their investigation into the murder of French film producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier in west Cork almost 15 years ago.
The team of three investigators and two forensic scientists arrived at Cork airport yesterday evening. They were met by the interior security attaché at the French embassy in London, Eric Battesti, and Garda liaison officer Det Insp Joe Moore.
Mr Battesti confirmed to The Irish Timesthat the three members of the investigation team would focus on very precise details in statements made by witnesses, mainly in 1996 and 1997, to gardaí investigating the murder of Ms Toscan du Plantier.
It is understood that the French investigators will seek to get witnesses to confirm the broad statement they made to gardaí but that they will then question individual witnesses closely on particular aspects of the statements which they believe are critical to the inquiry.
Among the witnesses to whom the investigators will speak are several who have made statements around contact they had with English journalist Ian Bailey in the hours after Ms Toscan du Plantier’s body was found but before the killing became public knowledge.
The French investigation team, who will be accompanied at the voluntary interviews by a garda, will also focus on a small number of witnesses who have made statements to the Garda investigation in which they said Mr Bailey spoke to them about the death of Ms Toscan du Plantier.
Mr Bailey has always denied any involvement in the murder of Ms Toscan du Plantier.
Yesterday Mr Bailey’s solicitor, Frank Buttimer, reiterated his client’s denial of any involvement in the death of Ms Toscan du Plantier. He described the decision of the Garda Síochána to allow French police to carry out an investigation in Ireland as “unprecedented”.
“Three is absolutely no connection between the French police arriving in Ireland for the purpose of a criminal investigation and the extradition hearing currently before the Supreme Court involving my client, Ian Bailey – the two events are totally unconnected,” he said.
“There is no precedent, to my knowledge, for a foreign police force to come into this jurisdiction to investigate a domestic crime committed here and in the process supplant the Irish police who appear to have abdicated their responsibility to investigate the crime.”