Jury in Bailey action to get issue paper with yes/no answers
Evidence has concluded in the long-running civil action by Ian Bailey against the Garda Commissioner and State over the conduct of the investigation into the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier.
The body of Ms Toscan du Plantier was found near her holiday home at Toormore, Schull, on the morning of December 23, 1996. Mr Bailey has always denied any involvement in her murder.
After hearing from more than 90 witnesses over 59 days, the case has been adjourned to resume on March 24, when the jury will hear closing speeches from both sides, to be followed by a charge from Mr Justice John Hedigan.
The judge told the jury, when retiring to consider their verdict, they would be given an issue paper containing a number of questions which would each require a yes or no answer.
Since the case opened on November 24, the jury heard evidence from 21 witnesses for Mr Bailey, including Mr Bailey, his partner Jules Thomas, former Schull shopkeeper Marie Farrell, former British soldier Martin Graham, and two former Directors of Public Prosecutions — Eamonn Barnes and James Hamilton.
The State called about 70 witnesses, including senior gardaí involved in the murder investigation. Of that number, some witness statements were agreed between the sides and read to the jury.
Mr Bailey has made a series of claims over the conduct of the murder investigation, including wrongful arrest and conspiracy to manufacture evidence. The defendants deny the claims.
Det Chief Supt Dominic Hayes, attached to an investigation unit in Garda HQ in 1996 and 1997, said he was involved in two interviews with Mr Bailey during his second arrest on January 27, 1998, and nothing untoward or unusual happened in either interview.
Supt Hayes said he was involved in interviewing Jules Thomas on September 22, 2000, a day after he was involved in interviewing her daughter Fenella, then aged almost 18. Nothing untoward happened during either interview, he said.
Under cross-examination by Tom Creed SC, for Mr Bailey, it was put to him Jules Thomas said gardaí had not noted down what she said during the interviews and she was very frightened.
Supt Hayes said Ms Thomas did not appear to be frightened, his notes reflected what she said, they were read over to her and she signed them on a number of pages. She was “in no way hostile”, answered the questions put to her, seemed calm and there was no complaint made to him about his conduct, he said.
Michael McSweeney, who runs a photographic agency in Cork, said Ian Bailey told him on December 23, 1996, he had photos of the scene of the murder taken before 11am that day.
Mr McSweeney said the photos were of whitethorn or blackthorn hedges and were not good quality. Under cross-examination, he agreed he had, in a previous statement, said the photos featured gardaí at the scene and said he considered that reference to gardaí was “the truth”.
After Mr Bailey was arrested on February 10, 1997, and released without charge, Mr McSweeney said he went to Mr Bailey’s home with other journalists on February 11.
He was “quite taken aback” when Mr Bailey said to him he, Mr McSweeney, had phoned him (Mr Bailey) about it. It seemed to him Mr Bailey was alleging it was Mr McSweeney who had phoned him on December 23, 1996, not vice versa, and he was upset about that.
Mr Bailey appeared “quite excited”, he said. Under cross-examination, Tom Creed SC noted Mr McSweeney had, in his previous statement, described Mr Bailey as “quite jumpy and agitated” on February 11, 1997.
Catherine Keane, from the Office of the General Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages, was asked questions about Marie Farrell’s evidence that her companion on the night of December 22-23, 1996 was John Reilly from Longford, now deceased.
Ms Keane said she received from gardaí a list of 17 names of John Reilly or John O’Reilly or variations of that name and could find no corresponding details for any of those men in Co Longford.
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