A senior garda leading the investigation into the 1996 murder of French woman Sophie Toscan du Plantier has issued a new appeal for information.
He spoke of the ordeal her family has been going through and how her parents despair that her killer will ever be brought to justice.
Supt Liam Horgan said there were still people who had information which could assist the gardaí in bringing the killer to justice and he assured them that they would be treated confidentially.
"I believe there are people out there who may have snippets of information that could assist us - they may have thought the information was of no significance and they may feel that with the passage of time it is even less significant, but we would welcome all assistance," he said.
A mother of one, Ms Toscan du Plantier (39) was murdered late on the night of December 22nd or early on December 23rd, 1996, during a pre-Christmas visit to her holiday cottage at Toormore near Schull in west Cork.
Every year since, her parents, Georges and Marguerite Bouniol have visited Toormore in the weeks before Christmas and have attended a memorial Mass in nearby Goleen, where they have appealed to the public for assistance in tracing their daughter's killer.
This year the Bouniols did not make any public appeal. Supt Horgan said he believed that if people knew what effect the nine-year ordeal was having on the elderly couple, they might be moved to come forward.
"I think their frustration at the fact that nobody has been charged and the murder remains unsolved has finally begun to turn to despair. They are both incredibly strong people but this was the first time that I've seen despair so evident in Sophie's mother's eyes.
"She is 79 and Mr Bouniol is 80 and she admitted to me that she now fears that she will die without seeing justice done for her daughter and that's become a huge burden and worry for both of them - she is starting to fail and it really is taking a terrible toll on them," Supt Horgan said.
"They're very decent people, they're not vindictive and they're not interested in punishment - all they want is to find out the truth about what happened their daughter and that they can get justice for her, but you can see now that they really are getting desperate."
Supt Horgan said that the family's visits to Toormore, where they stay in Ms du Plantier's cottage, have become "a sort of pilgrimage" for the family and it also allows them an opportunity to try and assist with the investigation.
"They have always wanted to help the gardaí, but obviously because they live in France, it isn't easy for them - that's why they value so much coming over here every Christmas and appealing to people. It gives them a sense of being involved and helping the investigation.
"They've always stayed at Sophie's house - they feel comfortable there and say they get a sense of the serenity that she enjoyed there and given that she died there, they say it's a spot that they can feel close to her," he said.
Supt Horgan first met the Bouniols on Christmas morning in 1996 after he was assigned to meet them in Cork city, when together with their son, Bertrand, and Sophie's aunt, Marie Madeleine Opalka, they came to Ireland to identify their daughter's body.
"Here they were in a strange land, at a loss as to what had happened their daughter and at a loss as to what was going to happen next but it was clear even then, they were a very strong family.
"I remember they all insisted on coming to identify Sophie's body."
Supt Horgan has kept in contact with the Bouniols ever since. Seeing a notable change this year, he is anxious that anyone with any information that could assist gardaí would come forward.
"Whoever killed Sophie is still walking around free and I'm convinced that there may be someone out there with information that will help identify that person so that we can bring him or her to justice, and I would urge anyone with information to contact us," he said.
Anyone who can assist the investigation is asked to contact Supt Horgan at Bantry Garda station on 027-20866.
