Gardaí fail to follow lead in Sophie murder case
A travel agent who arranged flights for Sophie du Plantier gave possibly relevant evidence to gardaí in relation to her murder, but they were not interested. By Vincent Browne
A travel agent who had arranged flights and accommodation over several years for Sophie du Plantier gave information to the gardaí relevant to their investigation into her murder, but was led to believe the gardaí were not interested because from a very early stage they had identified the "murderer", Ian Bailey.
The travel agent, who is based in Co Galway, first came into contact with Sophie du Plantier through a French couple, both of whom were involved in the film industry, as was Sophie du Plantier. The agent worked for the French couple, who introduced him to Ms du Plantier, who visited the French couple on several occasions in the west of Ireland before she purchased a house herself in west Cork. This agent subsequently made bookings on her behalf.
Sophie du Plantier was murdered in the late hours of Sunday 22 December 1996 or in the early hours of the following morning, 23 December. At around 2.30pm on the afternoon of 23 December 1996, a French man visited the travel shop of this travel agent in Co Galway. He wanted a flight out of Dublin airport to France the following day and wanted accommodation in Dublin that night. He also wanted the phone numbers of hotels in west Cork. In the course of conversation with another customer in the agent's office at the time, the French man said he was Catalan-French.
The travel agent says the man correspondeded to the description initially made by Marie Farrell in a statement to gardaí on 27 December 1996. She said that on the afternoon of Saturday 21 December 1996 she saw a man of sallow complexion, short hair, 5 foot 10 inches tall in Schull. She later saw this person at 7am the following morning. In a later statement she said she also saw this man near the scene where Sophie du Plantier's body was to be found later, and around the time Sophie du Plantier may have been murdered (3am). We understand that when Marie Farrell first contacted the gardaí, she said the suspicious man she had seen was 5 foot 8 inches, but that gardaí encouraged her to say in her statement he was 5 foot 10 inches. In further statements made to gardaí, she said the man she had seen was "very tall". Also, having failed to identify Ian Bailey initially as the man she had seen, she later said she could definitely identify Ian Bailey as that man. She has recently withdrawn that evidence and told her solicitor she "identified" Bailey under pressure from gardaí.
The travel agent says the person who came to his office on the afternoon of 23 December 1996 was 5 foot 8 inches, had sallow complexion and short hair. The agent, who previously was in the Irish army, went to his local Garda station on the evening of Sunday 29 December 1996 with this information. He discovered a few days later that his local gardaí had not passed on the information he had given them to the gardaí investigating the crime. He contacted the Bandon gardaí directly and was told they were not interested in what he had to say because they knew that a local man had killed Ms du Plantier.
Subsequently, this travel agent contacted his local TD and twice visited the French embassy in Dublin. He was informed by officials in the French embassy that the gardaí "knew" Ian Bailey was the culprit.
He made further representations when he saw a photograph in the Evening Herald of a man accused of assaulting Sophie du Plantier some years previously because of her refusal to show this man's artistic works on a French television programme she hosted.
Although the travel agent has identified himself to us, to the gardaí and to the French embassy, he has asked that his name not be used in connection with this article.
In a further development, Ian Bailey's solicitor Frank Buttimer said he was concerned at the manner in which senior gardaí have begun the review into the investigation of du Plantier's murder. Two officers called to Bailey's house without an appointment or contact with his solicitor. Marie Farrell's solicitor confirmed that members of the investigation team also called to her house unannounced and without contacting her legal representative. Buttimer has sent a letter to Garda Commissioner, Noel Conroy and Michael McDowell, voicing his concerns.