It is an image that is burned into his memory and he winces as he recalls it; Du Plantier's head and face had been smashed with a 20kg block of concrete.
"I leant over the coffin and for one or two seconds I thought: no, that's not Sophie. Her face had been redone and looked like it was made of wax. Then I saw her blonde hair and her hands and thought perhaps it is her. It was," Bouniol says.
"It was an experience I wouldn't wish on anyone. It's always in my head," he added.
For almost three decades, Du Plantier's family has battled to discover the truth and see her killer brought to justice.
Now there is only frustration after the death of Ian Bailey, 66, the prime suspect. He was never brought to trial in Ireland, where prosecutors decided there was a lack of physical evidence, but in 2015 was convicted in his absence of murdering Sophie by a French court and sentenced to 25 years.
This story is from the January 23, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the January 23, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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