'Profoundly frustrating': Sophie Toscan du Plantier uncle pleas with Gardaí to persist with murder case

THE UNCLE of Sophie Toscan du Plantier has said "we may never know the truth" following the ing of the chief suspect in her murder.

Following the death of Ian Bailey yesterday Jean-Pierre Gazeau said: “May he rest in peace. For Sophie's family, friends, and the French justice system, he was regarded as guilty in connection with Sophie’s murder.

“However, the Irish Justice did not share the same perspective. This situation is profoundly frustrating for all of us, as it seems we may never learn the truth from Ian Bailey himself.

“Urgently, we appeal for the Irish police to persist in their investigations, with a particular focus on DNA evidence and potential collaborations, aiming to rectify the shortcomings of the Irish judicial authorities in solving the case within Ireland.”

Mr Bailey's solicitor Frank Buttimer said he was "shocked and saddened" by his death on Sunday.

On Sunday afternoon, Mr Bailey collapsed in Bantry where he lived. He had fallen to the ground on Barrack Street in the town while out walking.

He was treated at at the scene but later pronounced dead.

The former journalist, originally from Manchester, is suspected to have had a heart attack.

In September 2023, Mr Bailey suffered two heart attacks in the space of two days which resulted in his hospitalisation and left him fighting for his life.

SHOCK

Speaking following his death on Sunday, solicitor Frank Buttimer, who represented Mr Bailey for over two decades, said he was “very shocked to hear about his untimely death” but that he was aware that Mr Bailey was unwell.

"I knew Ian was very unwell, we were in communication in the past five days, but I didn't know he was terminally unwell," he told the PA news agency.

"He had a very severe heart condition, a very bad heart condition, and had cardiac events prior to Christmas.

"He was a candidate for surgical intervention but wasn't well enough, so he was trying to become well enough."

The body of Ms Du Plantier was discovered outside her remote holiday home in Toormore on the outskirts of Schull in West Cork on December 23, 1996.

Mr Buttimer said that his client had been relentlessly pursued following the tragic ing of of Ms Du Plantier.

“Whilst I have enormous sympathy with the family, as did Ian, for their loss they were relentless in their wrongful pursuit of him.

"Whatever one's feeling is about their tragic loss that feeling is tempered by the consequences that Ian has suffered by his wrongful association with the unlawful killing of Madame Toscan du Plantier.” Mr Buttimer said that the English born former journalist was due to turn 67 later this month. He stated that the legal situation that his client faced having been tried in his absence in went from “extremely worrying” to “infuriating.” 

He stressed that the Irish State “facilitated the pursuit” of Mr Bailey by the French by granting access to the garda file on the case.

“This was a decision made by the then Minister for Justice in 2008 where the Minister for Justice had a discretion not to release the material to the French but chose to make that decision. That then brought about the consequence of their pursuit of Ian.

And then their endless attempts to remove him from the Irish jurisdiction to face 25 years in jail. He was worn down from it.”

An Garda SÍochána confirmed in June 2022 that the Garda Serious Crime Review Team (SCRT) was to conduct a full review of the case.

Mr Bailey has always denied any involvement in Ms du Plantier's death.

He is survived by a sister Kay who lives in the UK. His funeral will take place in West Cork.