Bailey relieved at witnesses move

Ian Bailey today said he is relieved that a woman who made statements implicating him in the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier has now said they were untrue.

Marie Farrell testified during a libel action by Mr Bailey that she saw him at Kealfadda Bridge, close to Mme du Plantier’s home, on the night the Frenchwoman was murdered in December 1996.

However, she has now said that any statements she made that would have implicated Ian Bailey in the murder are not true.

Mr Bailey’s solicitor, Frank Buttimer, has now written to the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, and the Garda Commissioner, Noel Conroy, asking them to enquire into the case.

“Mr Bailey is very relieved,” Mr Buttimer told The Evening Echo today.

“He feels an honest lady has now come forward.

“He feels very gratified that Marie Farrell has now come forward.”

Marie Farrell approached Frank Buttimer within the past month to tell him that the statements she made in reference to Mr Bailey were untrue.

Mrs Farrell’s solicitor, Donal Daly, said: “The instructions she has given us are to the effect that the central allegation which she made linking Mr Bailey to this murder is incorrect.

“She has come forward now because she has been under considerable stress and pressure for many years with this matter.

“It has been a cause of great pressure and distress and worry to herself and her family. She wishes to come clean about the allegation she has made. The only way she has of relieving the stress is to come out and tell the truth.”

Mr Buttimer said, “As a result of the information she has now given to me I have, on behalf of my client, Mr Bailey, forwarded a letter, on October 11, to the Minister for Justice and to the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána, giving certain details of the matters raised by Mrs Farrell with me.

“The information she has furnished confirms any reference in any of the statements that she made concerning Mr Ian Bailey is certainly incorrect.

“She has withdrawn all allegations which she has heretofore made against Mr Bailey in any of the statements she has made.

“The purpose of the letter is to bring these facts to the attention of the minister and the garda authorities to enable an enquiry to be made into what is now being said, bearing in mind that at all times Mr Bailey has maintained his absolute innocence of any involvement in this dreadful crime.”

Mme Du Plantier was murdered on December 23, 1996 near her home in Schull.

Mr Bailey of The Prairie, Schull, brought an unsuccessful libel action against newspaper coverage linking him to the case in December 2003. Mrs Farrell of Ard Chleire, Schull, was a central witness in that civil action.