Diana Death Inquiry Ends

After 17 months, the investigation into Princess Diana's death has ended, but Paris prosecutors revealed no details Friday.

The announcement came just hours after Judge Herve Stephan interviewed the photographers implicated in the case to sort out some outstanding issues.

The case is hardly over, however. Now, all parties in the case will have 20 days to request any further tests or questioning they feel is necessary. Sometime after that, Stephan is expected to make his conclusions public.

Diana, boyfriend Dodi Fayed, and their driver, Henri Paul, were killed in an Aug. 31, 1997 car crash in a Paris traffic tunnel. Paul was drunk at the time, and that is still believed to be the main cause of the crash, along with speed.

But the fate of nine photographers and a press motorcyclist who were tailing the Mercedes that was carrying Diana that night has yet to be resolved.

They have been placed under formal investigation - one step short of being formally charged - for manslaughter and failing to aid people in danger.

Many observers believe the manslaughter charges will be dropped, but a few photographers are expected to be formally charged and tried on the second, lesser charge.

The Paris prosecutor's office made the announcement in a statement after a morning in which Stephan interviewed at least five photographers at the Palais de Justice, the main courthouse in Paris.

Lawyers said the questioning focused on recent revelations that one photographer, Fabrice Chasserie, had phone contact three times on the day of the crash with the owner of Etoile Limousine, the company that rented Diana's Mercedes to the Ritz Hotel.

Such contact would imply the photographer had advance knowledge of the route the Mercedes would take. The judge wanted to know if other photographers had that information as well.

Defense lawyer William Bourdon, who represents photographer Nikolas Arsov, said he would now ask the judge to dismiss the case against his client.

The parties now will have nearly three weeks to make their requests. Along with the photographers, that includes the civil parties to the case, among them Mohamed Al Fayed, father of Dodi and owner of the Ritz; Diana's mother, Frances Shand-Kydd; the parents of Henri Paul, and bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, the sole survivor of the crash.

The parties could appeal any decisions Stephan makes on their requests, further dragging out the proceedings.

Written by Jocelyn Noveck