Immersive read: French trial of Ian Bailey is latest chapter in nightmare which is now 23-years-old

Ian Bailey will be tried for murder in his absence next week and the trial in a Parisian courthouse will be the latest chapter in a story which has captivated Ireland since Sophie Toscan Du Plantier was found dead in the west Cork village of Schull in 1996.

Immersive read: French trial of Ian Bailey is latest chapter in nightmare which is now 23-years-old

[section][options][type]ONE_COLUMN[/type][parallax]SophieToscanDuPlantierHomeWestCork_large.jpg[/parallax][customcssclass]header[/customcssclass][/options][content][column1][title]Ian Bailey trial:
The latest chapter in tragedy which has captivated nation for over two decades[/title][/column1][/content][/section]

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Ian Bailey will be tried for murder in his absence next week and the trial in a Parisian courthouse will be the latest chapter in a story that has captivated Ireland since Sophie Toscan du Plantier was found murdered in the west Cork village of Schull in 1996.

[section][options][type]TWO_COLUMN[/type][fullheight]true[/fullheight][/options][content][column1][timgfull]Sophie1immersive_large.jpg[/timgfull][sticky][timgfull]zzzSophieToscanDuPlantierBoatingHolidayCREDITDeathInDecemebr_large.jpg[/timgfull][/sticky][/column1][column2][subhead]On 23 December 1996 the body of Sophie Toscan du Plantier was found about 200 yards from her holiday home in Schull, west Cork. She had been battered to death. The scene suggested that she had been running for her life from her home when the assailant attacked her in the most brutal manner.[/subhead]Ian Bailey, an English journalist who had been living locally since 1991, was one of the first to report on the discovery. Pretty soon, he came under suspicion himself.Since then Mr Bailey’s name has been inextricably linked to Ms du Plantier’s through a series of reports, inquiries and investigations. That has culminated with the forthcoming murder trial in Paris.Bailey has always proclaimed his innocence. He has initiated a number of actions based on his entitlement to the presumption of innocence. Ms du Plantier’s family have been central to the campaign in France to bring Mr Bailey to trial. The French justice system is now doing so under an ancient law which allows for the prosecution of anyone in relation to the death of a French citizen.No charges were ever brought against Ian Bailey in this jurisdiction in relation to Ms du Plantier’s death. Now the French are putting him on trial. Absolutely nothing has emerged to even suggest that the French prosecutorial authorities have uncovered more evidence than the gardai.[timgfull]zzzPierreLouisBaudleyVignaudsSonOfSophieToscanduPlantierUSEONCEONLYdec16_large.jpg[/timgfull][style=color: #5a5a5a; font-size: 17px] Sophie Toscan du Plantier with her son Pierre. Reproduced with kind permission of du Plantier family[/style][/column2][/content][/section]

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Garda Investigation

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DPP analysis of garda investigation

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Libel action

Garda review of Garda Investigation

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Extradition hearings

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Recordings Tribunal

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[section][options][type]ONE_COLUMN[/type][/options][content][column1]On 4 November 2014 Ian Bailey’s High Court action against the state opened. It was expected to run for six weeks.The hearing was in front on a jury. The option had been open to Bailey to opt for a judge only. A decade earlier, he had brought his libel action to the Circuit Court in front of a judge only, where the limit to any award was €38,000. If he had brought that action to the High Court, and won, he could have received damages of many multiples of what was available in the Circuit court. But back then little had emerged about the garda investigation. The DPP analysis was not known publicly. Marie Farrell’s credibility as a witness was not questioned.Now all had changed. Now, Bailey quite obviously hoped that public sympathy in some quarters for his case might be reflected in a jury room.The six week schedule turned out to be very wide of the mark. The hearing ran for 64 days over five months – one of the longest in the history of the state – and involving 90 witness.On 30 March 2015 the jury delivered its verdict. It found against Bailey on the two conspiracy allegations they were asked to consider – whether gardai had conspired to implicate him in the murder of Ms Du Plantier and whether there was a garda conspiracy to obtain false statements from Marie Farrell.The jury was not asked to consider any wrongful arrest because it had taken place outside a specified legal period. [/column1][/content][/section]

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GSOC complaints

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A timeline of events that rocked a nation

199119931996 December 20: December 23:1997 January 11: January 20: January 21: January 24: February 4: February 10: April 17: September 29: December 18:1998 January 27: March 9:2000 July 7: September 22:2001 August 18: November:2002 January: December 19:2003 March: December:2004 March:2005 April:2006 April:2007 May 1: November:2008 June: July:2009 June:2010 February 19: April 23: December:2011 March 18: October:2012 March 1: Sept: October:2013 May 10:2014 April: October: November 4:2015 March 30:2016 July 27: August: December 23:2018 August 3:2019 February 26: May 20:

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