Sophie’s family vow to continue with their campaign for ‘truth and justice’

THE son of Sophie Toscan du Plantier said he will continue to seek justice for his mother. Pierre Louis Baudey-Vignaud, who was just 15 years old when he heard the news that his mother had been murdered in West Cork, vowed: ‘We continue our effort for truth and justice.’

In a statement issued to The Southern Star, he acknowledged that an investigation is still underway in Ireland.

‘We are confident that the discovery of new elements, the hearing of new witnesses, and the revelation of possible complicity will enable Irish police to close the case, finally, 27 years after the murder,’ he said.

Jean-Pierre Gazeau, the uncle of the slain French film producer – who was responsible for establishing the Association for the Truth about the Murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier with his sister Marie Madeleine Opalka in 2007 – offered the blessing that the soul of Ian Bailey would ‘rest in peace’.

However, in a statement issued by the association to The Southern Star, Mr Gazeau referred to how Ian Bailey had, over the last 27 years, evaded justice.‘A Paris Criminal Court sentenced him in absentia on May 31st 2019 to 25 years in prison for murder,’ he stated.

‘Despite this trial and France’s repeated requests for his extradition, Ian Bailey remained free, never facing charges from the Irish justice system.

‘Throughout these years, Ian Bailey refused to answer the questions of French investigations, entangling himself in lies and contradictions,’ he added.

‘Provoking and taunting the police, the judiciary, and the media, Ian Bailey always avoided telling the truth about this murder, of which, beyond any reasonable doubt, he knew every detail,’ said Mr Gazeau.

‘The Irish judicial authorities never wanted to charge him or extradite him to France, in disregard of European commitments based on the principle of mutual trust between states, which Ireland signed and ratified,’ he claimed.

The request to have Ian Bailey extradited to France was, in fact, heard on at least two occasions in Ireland’s High Court and it was deemed unconstitutional on the basis that a person cannot be tried in absentia.

‘With Bailey’s death, Sophie’s family and our association will never be able to obtain a confession from Ian Bailey,’ Jean Pierre Gazeau concluded in his statement.

Meanwhile, in an interview on Newstalk’s The Hard Shoulder, Sophie’s uncle said the family ‘strongly believe’ that Ian Bailey killed his niece.

He described the death of Ian Bailey as ‘frustrating because we will never get the truth from Ian Bailey himself. On the other hand, we were expecting this sad event because we knew the health of Ian Bailey was becoming extremely fragile,’ he stated.

‘We wish that the cold case team will continue its investigation especially because there may be a possibility to get material evidence concerning DNA in the block that was used to destroy the face of my niece.’

Mr Gazeau said the death of Ian Bailey might encourage people – who up to now might have been reluctant to come forward – to tell the truth about what happened.