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Timeline: The Ian Bailey case

December 23rd 1996: French film producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier (39) is found dead by nei...
Newstalk
Newstalk

18.11 5 Nov 2014


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Timeline: The Ian Bailey case

Timeline: The Ian Bailey case

Newstalk
Newstalk

18.11 5 Nov 2014


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December 23rd 1996: French film producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier (39) is found dead by neighbours outside her holiday home near Toormore, Schull, Co Cork.
 
January 11th 1997: Local shopkeeper Marie Farrell allegedly uses the name  'Fiona' to make a confidential phone call to gardai about a man she had seen at Kealfadda Bridge, not far from the killing, at around 3am on December 23rd. At the time of the sighting she was with a man who was not her husband.
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January 31st 1997: A Garda Superintendent allegedly tells Ian Bailey that he is going to place him at Kealfadda bridge in the early hours of the morning.
 
January/February 1997: Marie Farrell is allegedly told that if she identifies the man on the bridge as Mr Bailey, she won't have to give a statement.
 
February 10th, 1997: Freelance journalist Ian Bailey is arrested on suspicion of murdering film-maker Sophie Toscan du Plantier. He is detained at Bandon Garda Station for 12 hours and is released without charge.
 
January 27th, 1998: Ian Bailey, the 'prime suspect' in the du Plantier case, is arrested for a second time. Again he is released without charge.
 
April 2005: Marie Farrell allegedly phones Ian Bailey's solicitor Frank Buttimer and says ''I want to tell the truth.''. She subsequently withdraws all statements she had made to gardai about the du Plantier investigation.
 
February 2010: French authorities make a request for Ian Bailey's extradition on a European Arrest Warrant.
 
October 25th 2011: Ian Bailey's partner Jules Thomas sends a letter to the Office of the DPP in which she writes ''for the last 15 years we've been living in hell'' as the French authorities continue to investigate the murder.
 
November 2011: Solicitor Frank Buttimer is furnished information from the DPP's office concerning pressure gardai allegedly sought to put on the DPP and a state solicitor in the Bailey case.
 
May 2012: Supreme Court rules Ian Bailey will not be extradited to France.
 
November 4th 2014: Jury sworn for Ian Bailey's civil action for damages in the High Court against the Garda Commissioner and the State for alleged wrongful arrest.
 
March 30th 2015: Ian Bailey loses civil case for damages against the State and Garda Commissioner.

It related to the evidence of Schull shopkeeper Marie Farrell, who said detectives convinced her to give statements placing the former journalist on a bridge near the crime scene - which she retracted many years later.

As the jury retired to consider their decision they had two questions to answer – the first was whether gardai conspired to implicate Ian Bailey in the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier.

The second was whether there was a garda conspiracy to obtain false statements from Schull shopkeeper Marie Farrell that Ian Bailey had intimidated her.

After about two hours deliberations the jury came back with their answers – no, on both counts.


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