This news item brought together all the elements to keep the French in suspense for decades. Firstly because of the identity of the victim since she was the wife of a famous film producer. But also by the setting, because the drama took place in an isolated place in the middle of the Irish moor. Finally, the profile of the suspect who has always remained silent.
Ian Bailey, the British journalist sentenced in France to twenty-five years in prison for the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier in 1996, has died, his lawyer announced on Sunday, cited by Irish media.
Convicted on May 31, 2019 in his absence by the Paris Assize Court for the murder of the 39-year-old French woman, Ian Bailey, who had always proclaimed his innocence, lived in Ireland, a country which had refused to extradite him.
Ian Bailey, 66, died suddenly Sunday afternoon in Bantry (southern Ireland), reported the RTE television channel, adding that his death had been confirmed by his lawyer Frank Buttimer. According to the Irish Times, Ian Bailey suffered two heart attacks last year.
Convicted in France, he was never extradited by Ireland
A documentary released in 2021 on the Netflix streaming platform once again sparked talk about this affair which caused a stir in France at the end of the 1990s. The body of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, wife of French film producer Daniel Toscan du Plantier (died in 2003), was discovered on the morning of December 23, 1996 by a neighbor, below his isolated house in Schull, on the southwest coast of Ireland.
Very quickly suspected by the Irish police, Ian Bailey was twice placed in police custody in 1997 and 1998, but never prosecuted in Ireland, due to lack of sufficient evidence, in an investigation marred by numerous difficulties.
Surprised at home, Sophie Toscan du Plantier fled to the moors and struggled against her attacker. His skull had been smashed by a flat stone and a cinder block.
At the end of the trial in Paris, French justice considered that there was “sufficient evidence” to convict Ian Bailey despite the absence of scientific evidence linking him to the crime. But Ireland has always refused to authorize his extradition to France, despite several requests from the French authorities.