SOPHIE TOSCAN DU Plantier’s son said he now has “peace again” following the passing of Ian Bailey.
Bailey, the self-confessed chief suspect for the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, died last month.
It’s understood Bailey, 64, suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed in Bantry, Co Cork.
Bailey had last year said on social media that he was receiving treatment for heart disease having suffered two heart attacks.
Sophie’s son, Pierre-Louis Baudey-Vignaud, told RTÉ’s The Late Late Show that he found out about Bailey’s death when journalists began to contact him.
“It was like a shock for me,” he told The Late Late Show in an interview aired tonight.
“I’ve been fighting for 27 years, and it’s game over. Finally, it’s game over, there is no happy end but it’s game over.”
He said he first reaction was to “sit and to digest” the news.
“Now we will have peace again, in Ireland especially, and in my head,” he added.
“When you are a boxer and the bell rings, whether you lose or win, it’s over. I was like a boxer with a sense of relief at the ring of the bell.”
However, Pierre revealed that his grandparents have not been informed of Bailey’s passing yet because they are “not in very good health”.
Bailey, who was originally from Britain, was arrested by gardaí and questioned in relation to the murder but was never charged.
He had always vehemently denied any involvement in Toscan du Plantier’s death.
Du Plantier’s body was found near her holiday home in Cork on 23 December 1996. No-one has ever been charged with her killing.
Bailey was convicted by a French court in his absence following a campaign by Sophie’s family. The Irish High Court had refused to allow his extradition to France.
“Ian Bailey was a convicted murderer in Paris, they are professional (in France),” said Pierre.
“French justice is not justice for the kids. It’s important that at least been convicted of murder once.”
“The investigation in Ireland is still on the way.”
Last week, gardaí seized items from Bailey’s flat including notebooks, computer equipment, memory sticks and a mobile phone for examination from a rented flat in Bantry, Co Cork.
They spent much of last Friday searching the property after obtaining a warrant to examine the premises on Barrack Street.
Personal items such as hairbrushes, combs and razors will be forensically examined at the Forensic Science Laboratory in Dublin.
This will facilitate gardaí in gathering a broader DNA profile than the one given by Bailey in a voluntary sample 27 years ago.
Pierre told The Late Late Show that “all the light was on Ian Bailey from the beginning”.
He also recounted a story from around 15 years ago of a garda who hugged him and said: “I’m sorry I didn’t succeed but I promise I did my best and Bailey did it.”
Pierre added that it was a “shame” that Bailey was not extradited to France.
“I hope maybe now that he’s passed away that we’ll be able to end the story… Irish people must end the story.”
“It’s still going on” #latelate pic.twitter.com/hR1C7he575
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) February 2, 2024
He also remarked that his mother feels like a “legend” or a “ghost” in Ireland, but he wants her to be remembered as a “free spirit”.
“She made her dream to have a house in Ireland and just to be alone to be free, so maybe her mind and her legend can be free again.”
Pierre now owns that home in Schull and he said it is a “good way for my kids to meet their grandmother and the cocoon she created”.
He added that it wasn’t easy for him to go to Schull but that he “wanted to face it”.
“My mother loves this country, it was her paradise, and I want to go on with that.”
Pierre also said he now wants a “different life” and that he has now “turned the page”.
“They feel their grandmother here for sure” #latelate pic.twitter.com/1uS1uYhXbG
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) February 2, 2024
“I am free again here in Ireland and I don’t want any more interviews, I don’t want any more pressure, it’s the end of this story and another story now, a peaceful story.”
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