Bailey described as 'strange' and 'bohemian'

Ian Bailey was described today as a strange, bohemian type of character, who was rumoured to howl at the moon, a witness said in court as the seven newspapers began their defence in a libel action against them.

Mrs Caroline Leftwick gave this description of Mr Bailey when she was asked about his reputation in the locality prior to his arrest.

The defence today began by teasing out evidence on the question of when Ian Bailey first knew about the murder of Sophie Toscan duPlantier.

Defence Senior Counsel, Paul Gallagher, said that it was on the transcript of evidence that Mr Bailey said the first he heard of it was when journalist Eddie Cassidy told him that a foreign national, possibly French, had been murdered.

Mr Gallagher questioned Mr Cassidy of the Irish Examiner and asked him what he told Mr Bailey when he rang him to cover the story at 1.40pm on December 23, 1996.

Mr Cassidy said: “I thought it might have been a hit and run traffic accident or something like that. The first time I got an indication it could have been a murder was at around 4pm at the scene.”

Mr Cassidy said that he did not tell Mr Bailey in the phone call that a foreign national, possibly French, had been murdered.

Mrs Leftwick was due to meet Mr Bailey that day and she said that he rang between 11.30am and 12.30pm to say that he could not keep the appointment because there had been a murder in the locality and he had the job of covering it as a story and she said he sounded excited.

James Duggan, barrister for the plaintiff, said Mr Bailey couldn’t have told her of a murder because he didn’t know there had been one.

Mrs Leftwick said: “I am certain because that is how I first heard about it.”

A neighbour, Mrs Louise Kennedy, said she saw a fire near the studio house of Jules Thomas and Ian Bailey on December 26, 1996 and she denied that she could have been mistaken when cross-examined on the point.

She also said that on an occasion around this time she saw two two-inch scratches on one of Ian Bailey’s cheeks.

A video was shown by the plaintiff’s team before they concluded their evidence today, showing Mr Bailey on the pier at Schull on Christmas morning in 1996, wearing a broad-rimmed hat and apparently reciting one of his poems to camera.

Earlier in the case Mr Bailey said that he took off his hat at one point and that it was clear that he had no scratches on his face but in the segment of video shown in court today he was wearing his hat at all times.