A witness who claims to have seen Ian Bailey try to clean bloodstained clothing a day after the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier has issued a new statement about the revived Garda investigation.
The woman, who lives abroad, has now issued a “key statement” to cold case investigators, which is an “integral part” of the re-investigation into the 1996 unsolved murder in West Cork.
Sources have confirmed she is a “credible witness” and her statement is seen as a “cornerstone” of the renewed Garda investigation announced last week.
The woman gave gardaí new details in her recent statement alleging that she tried to clean, and possibly even throw away, blood-stained clothing in his home the day after the French filmmaker was murdered.
When approached, Mr Bailey said: “I clearly don’t know what the statement says.
“It is my understanding that she has previously retracted a false statement she made about it. I believe she has apologized to Jules before too [Mr Bailey’s ex-partner] about making this false statement.”
The former journalist, who was arrested twice after the murder and has since protested vehemently against his innocence, said the cold case review was something he has been asking Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to lead for some time.
“This review wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t written to Drew Harris three times. So I welcome it. The Garda have not contacted me yet, I assume they will. I am fully willing to cooperate with the re-examination. I don’t know who killed Sophie Toscan du Plantier and I don’t need to know. I just know it had nothing to do with me,” Bailey said.
It comes as Ms Toscan du Plantier’s uncle said this weekend the family welcomed the “great news” that the Garda Serious Crime Review Team (SCRT) is conducting a full cold case assessment of the murder.
speak with the Sunday IndependentJean-Pierre Gazeau said the family did not want to hold too much hope, but said he had every confidence in the Garda investigation.
“If it doesn’t go to the DPP, we’ll have to accept our sad fate. If there is no real criminal trial in Ireland, it would be a kind of failure. We don’t want to hope too much because in the last 26 years we have been given false hopes so often,” he said.
“We certainly believe that this review is progressing. I am sure that the Gardaí would not have ordered the review if there had not been a solid basis for doing so, such as new witness statements. We believe that a review could further the matter.
“Of course we have hope again, but we have to remain pragmatic. So we remain cautious, but optimistic.”
Bailey has repeatedly denied any involvement in the murder. He was arrested twice but never charged in connection with the woman’s murder near Toormore, outside Schull in Co Cork.
Gazeau said it was his belief that the journalist who was a poet was now being put back in the spotlight, a position he claimed Mr Bailey enjoyed.
“Ian Bailey, I wouldn’t like to be in his place right now. He lives in another world. But in reality, this matter is now in the hands of the Garda,” he said.
“The opportunity for new DNA evidence is very positive. We will never stop seeking justice for Sophie and evidence of her death. We need to know what happened to her that tragic night.”
She was found beaten to death outside her vacation home on December 23, 1996.
Gardaí had previously identified Mr Bailey as the prime suspect.
The DPP has twice ruled that there was not enough evidence to charge him.
Gazeau said he believed the renewed publicity surrounding the case led in part to the re-investigation. He said he hoped it would eventually lead to “justice”.
Speaking to Newstalk on Friday, Mrs. Toscan du Plantier’s son, Pierre-Louis Baudey-Vignaud, said he can never find peace.
“Twenty-five years in search of justice, it took me a long time to fight, to talk to the Irish police, to the French police, to do the trial. You can never make peace with things like this,” he said.
“Every day, every week, for 25 years I have information, I have an exchange with journalists, with people in Ireland, with people in France. So every day is a nightmare.”