Foster was the key witness in the Sophie Toscan du Plantier case, the near neighbour discovered her badly beaten body near her holiday home in Toormore in 1996.
The key witness was a retired art teacher and lived with her partner, a retired chef Alfie Lyons in a old farmhouse less than 100m from Toscan du Plantier’s holiday home at Dreenane in Toormore.
In 1996, Foster was driving down the driveway that they shared with Toscan du Plantier when she noticed some white tissue hanging on barbed wire. She initially thought it was a blow up doll, but when she looked closely, she discovered Toscan du Plantier's badly beaten body.
She made several statements to gardaí and she testified on behalf of a number of newspapers in a libel action in 2003.
In 2021, Foster's partner sadly passed away and she moved to live in Schull. That year she expressed her distaste with the media coverage of the death of Toscan du Plantier. Two documentaries were set to be released the same year, Foster confirmed at the time that she had no interest in watching them as she pointed out that she had seen media publicity before in the case.
“We had people bringing their grannies and small children to look at the cross marking where Sophie was found and then some were cheeky enough to drive up to the house and peer in the windows. It was very voyeuristic and every time there was some story in the newspapers they used to start coming, so I expect it will be the same now with people coming up the driveway on foot of these documentaries," Foster said at the time.
Foster is one of more than 20 witnesses who gave statements to the garda murder investigation team.
She is survived by her sisters Jane and Pam and her daughter Gilly. Her cremation service will take place on Saturday at the Island Crematorium in Ringaskiddy, Co Cork.
