Ian Bailey (66), the chief suspect in the 1996 murder of French woman Sophie Toscan du Plantier in West Cork, has died.
Ian Bailey collapsed on the street in the town of Bantry, where he lived, on Sunday, January 21. The emergency services were called but he remained unresponsive at the scene.
Bailey, a freelance journalist and poet, originally from Manchester, England, had moved to Cork in 1991. Since Sophie Toscan du Plantier's murder in 1996, Bailey was arrested twice for the crime but was never charged.
In 2020, Bailey was convicted in his absence for the murder by a French court. A 25-year sentence was imposed on him. Ireland's High Court ruled that he should not be extradited to France to face this jail sentence.
Bailey has always protested his innocence, over the last 28 years.
In 2023, Bailey suffered a series of heart attacks. In September he relieved to the Irish Independent that his medical condition was improving and he hoped to undergo a bypass surgery and live long enough to see the person responsible for the murder of Toscan du Plantier brought to justice.
He also admitted that the stress of being wrongly accused was taking its toll on his health.
Reporter John Kierans, writing for the Irish Mirror, explained that he has reported on the Toscan du Plantier murder since 1996. He said that just last week, Bailey told him "If and when I kick the bucket, tell the world I did not kill Sophie Toscan du Plantier.
"You may not believe me but that is the truth. This case has destroyed my life and will probably kill me in the end.
"I don't know how long I have but it will defend my name to my dying breath."
He also wrote that Bailey was on a "kamikaze mission, drinking heavily and smoking since he got out of hospital".
The family of Sophie Toscan du Plantier firmly believes that Bailey was responsible for the 39-year-old mother's death.
Sophie Toscan du Plantier, murdered in 1996.
Toscan du Plantier's uncle, Jean Pierre Gazeau, who has campaigned on her behalf for years spoke to the Irish Examiner in the wake of Bailey's death.
He said “We will never get the truth from him now. We know he is a killer because the judge in France ruled it so, but it is not the same judgment in Ireland. The Irish State still has not solved the case.”
He added "We ask the Irish police to continue their investigation into Sophie’s murder. Ireland, after 27 years, still has not been able to reach a conclusion.
"In France, Bailey has been considered a killer since 2019. We wanted to hear the truth from Bailey. We are not in a position of vengeance at all.”
The case of Sophie Toscan du Plantier has been the subject of several podcasts and documentaries. In
A number of documentaries were made about her death. In 2021, Netflix released a three-part documentary on the case called "Sophie: A Murder in West Cork." In the same year, Irish filmmaker, Jim Sheridan also released a series called "Murder at the Cottage: The Search for Justice for Sophie."
Comments