LAST UPDATE | 22 Jan

THE UNCLE OF Sophie Toscan du Plantier has reaffirmed his family’s belief that Ian Bailey, who died yesterday, was responsible for her murder in 1996. 

Speaking on RTÉ Radio One this morning Jean Pierre Gazeau said that the death of Ian Bailey – following a cardiac arrest – should not stop the garda cold case review of Sophie’s murder from proceeding. 

He said that there are hopes that new evidence could be generated by “DNA research”, through new systems of investigation. 

Gazeau said that Sophie’s parents are in their 90s, and in poor health. He said that Sophie’s brother may tell them that Ian Bailey has died today, but they are currently unaware of the news. 

The French man said that he never saw or spoke with Ian Bailey, but that the journalist who was the chief suspect in his niece’s murder tried to contact him “maybe two or three times”. 

Gazeau said that these attempts came in the form of emails, and a voice message left on his answering machine on one occasion. 

Gazeau said that he never responded, as the investigation into Sophie’s murder is a “matter of justice”, and that it would be abnormal to have direct communication between a person accused of murder, and the family of the victim. 

Sophie’s uncle said that Bailey had been convicted in France because there are so many “circumstantial evidences”. 

Sophie Toscan du Plantier was killed at the age of 39.

Sophie’s son Pierre-Louis Baudey-Vignaud told RTÉ News that the family continues their “effort for truth and justice”. 

“An investigation is still under way in Ireland and we are confident that the discovery of new elements, the hearing of new witnesses, and the revelation of possible complicity will enable Irish police to close the case, finally, 27 years after my mother’s murder,” he said. 

Ian Bailey was arrested twice in connection to the murder of 39-year-old French woman Sophie Toscan du Plantier, but he was never charged, as the Director of Public Prosecutions was never of the view that the evidence against him surpassed the threshold. 

Sophie, a television producer, was outside her house in West Cork on 23 December 1996.

A French court convicted Bailey for the murder in absentia in 2019. Bailey has always denied that he murdered Sophie, and has repeatedly alleged that he has been the victim of garda corruption.

Cork Solicitor Frank Buttimer, who represented Bailey on multiple occasions, spoke today of the “fundamental flaws” in the garda investigation into Sophie’s murder. 

On Morning Ireland, Buttimer said that Bailey “brought a lot of attention on himself” through his own behaviour following his arrests in connection to the murder. 

“The circumstances in which he found himself were challenging for him, it became a spiral of mental problems with regards to what had been done to him,” he said. 

Buttimer said that Bailey’s “status” as chief suspect was “a creation to ensure that someone was identified as the offender in this awful case”. 

Buttimer said that when Bailey walked down the street in West Cork, where he continued to reside in Scull and other areas, people would “stare at him”. 

He said that everybody would “associate” Bailey with Sophie’s murder whether they believed him to be “innocent” or not. 

Buttimer claimed that more people believed Bailey was innocent as time went on. 

The solicitor acknowledged that Bailey was convicted of assaulting his former partner Joules Thomas, but he insisted that being convicted for assault is not the same thing as being “guilty of murder”. 

Buttimer said that he will remember Bailey as a “complex” person who had very different public and private personas. 

“I can promise you I will never forget him,” he added.

With reporting by Hayley Halpin