All language subtitles for Murder.At.The.Cottage 05EnglishEnglish

The following programme contains
distressing scenes.

It's now almost
a quarter of a century

since Sophie Toscan du Plantier was
murdered in Toormore in West Cork.

Ian Bailey, the chief suspect,
was never charged.

The Director of Public Prosecutions

prevented the police from charging
him due to insufficient evidence.

In response, in 2007 the French
launched their own campaign

against Ian Bailey.

They attempted to extradite him

under a European arrest warrant
but that failed.

Now a case in absentia
commences against him in Paris...

..while he remains down in West Cork.

That's called a Martello tower.

They were built by the British

in fear of the French
arriving in Ireland,

bringing the Napoleoniccode.

Ian Bailey will be tried
under that code...

..which Napoleon himself declared
as his biggest achievement.

In Ireland, we wish the French
had brought their code

born of revolution because we were
suffering under the penal laws

which were essentially
apartheid laws,

not against race
but against religion.

So it's not the first time that
we heard about the Napoleonic code.

It's a very, very interesting
conflict of cultures.

The Bailey case has led to a clash of
two legal systems.

Me personally, I would prefer
that there was one legal system

throughout Europe
that we could all adhere to.

But that's not the case.
And this conflict is gonna show

the weaknesses and strengths
of both systems.

Ian Bailey has repeatedly
denied any involvement

in the killing of Ms Toscan du
Plantier

or ever having confessed his guilt.
He's being tried in absentia.

He's not being represented by a
legal team at the trial and there's
no jury.

The case will instead be decided by
three magistrates.

They're...

trapped in the position where they
can't grieve,

where they're not allowed
to let Sophie go.

I suppose, like, talking to them,
there was the horror

of the kind of continual nightmare
of the way she died,

very brutally.

There's just so many elements of it
that lead, like,

to a society
that needs to examine itself.

It goes to the police,

it goes to the forensics in Ireland.

It goes to the heart of a system

that didn't have enough empathy
for the family when she died.

Pierre-Louis
Baudey-Vignaud arriving at the
criminal court of Paris

where the man
accused of murdering his mother

has gone on trial in absentia.

I just want justice to be done.

This trial is not only
the trial of my mother's death.

It's the trial of the truth
because we all need it.

We all need it for peace again.

Renowned journalist and writer, Nick
Foster, is attending court with me.

I was aware he was writing a book
on the case

and he has better French than I do

and I wanted to understand all the
small details.

The whole case against Bailey,

the whole charge sheet, an hour and
a half, was read out as a monologue.

So, at the moment, they've had a
kind of overview

of 50 or 60 statements

and they've gone through those.

There was no cross-examination, so
it never really came to life.

But they're saying they want
Ian Bailey to be here.

They want him to be tried in this
building and they want a resolution.

Of course he can read the newspapers
and switch on TV,

but they want him here.
They want him here.

He's either innocent or he's not.

But he's going to be feeling the
pressure either way.

Oi, you fuckers!

-Oi, you fuckers!
-It's all right, I'm
-round here.
-Hello?

-Hello?!
-Hello?

The fucking chickens are
-in the side greenhouse.
-Oh, Christ.

-Causing mayhem.
-Oh...

Sorry.
They're not too bad, are they?

Well, you know, I don't need any
extra little tiny stressful things.

I do not need them.
--Out.
-I don't need them.
-Out.

'I'm gonna be thrown to a bonfire.

They're building a gallows,
resurrecting a guillotine in Paris.

There'll be an absolute feeding
frenzyover me being convicted.'

Oh. Good evening.

-Ian, good evening.
-Good evening.

Hello. This is Nick here, how are
-you?
-I'm OK, I'm 'go maith'.

I'm gonna tell you what happened
today.

It's been a long day.
We've only just...

we've only just had a chance to step
-out.
-Mm-hm.

They said how Sophie Toscan
-du Plantier was murdered.
-Yep.

They said you bashed her head in.

They said I bashed her head in?
With a cavity block.

They went through the whole thing
there.

So they say there were 40 to 50
blows...

and um...and that's why your hands

were scratched by the brambles.

We heard a bit about Sophie
and her marriage.

She wasn't too happy, either in her
-first marriage or her second.
-Yeah.

And um...

Yeah, and I think that um... It was
poignant. It was very poignant.

When we saw the photos
of the crime scene with the body...

I mean, it was sad, but you know
what, it made me angry too

because up to now, somebody's got
away with this. Up to now.

The mother was wheeled in
in a wheelchair.

The father was there in a beautiful
suit

listening to every word.

And it must be so difficult for
them.

It must be heartbreaking for them.
It must be harrowing for them.

And they were so dignified -
as was Sophie's son, Pierre-Louis.

This is the culmination
of a big effort.

A massive...emotional effort
and investment.

And you feel for them.
You can't but feel for them.

The family have spent 22 years
waiting for justice for Sophie.

But I wonder, can this trial deliver
it?

Today we heard major plot points
in the investigation

and as Ian Bailey
had no defence team there,

they all went uncontested.

They spoke a lot
-about Marie Farrell today.
-Right.

They're placing you at Kealfadda
bridge

on the night of the murder.

And that was according to her first
phone call to the police.

Uh-huh.

Statement of Marie Farrell,
14th February 1997.

When we were approaching Sylvie
O'Connell's shop,

I could see a man walking on the
road.

This man had a black coat which was
down below his knees.

I now know this man
to be Ian Bailey.

Absolute total fucking bollocks,
but never mind.

'Marie Farrell told the two
solicitors

all her statements
implicating me were false

and she was persuaded to make them
because the Guards said,

"Oh, Ian Bailey, he is the
murderer."

And this is all on record.'

Oh.

Mm.

You would think either you take the
last statement

or you take nothing, you know?

In fact, Marie Farrell
offered to come to France

to say that she recanted
those statements.

But the French prosecution team
rejected her offer

or they would only take
her early statements at face value,

implicating Ian Bailey

and saying that she saw him at
Kealfadda bridge

on the night of the murder.

The contradictions in Marie Farrell's
statements have been ignored...

but the changing
statements of Ian and Jules

are the stepping stones on which the
court is building a case against him.

His movements on the night of
Sophie's murder

are now under scrutiny.

They were talking
about a lot of stuff

but the question is your whole thing
of that night -

that you left the house
and your alibi doesn't hold up.

And in your first statement,
you stayed in bed all night.

It raises questions, you know?

We have to go back, Ian.

You should talk to Colm there
about the alibi.

As he didn't turn up and
we're giving him the opportunity

to respond to what's happening
in the trial,

I think that's the only time
he's put under any pressure

to give any answer
to what they're saying in the trial.

So at least we have a record of it.

I'm being asked about the alibi
and the thing is this.

I was over-truthful and frank
with the Guards...

..and...

Sorry, you'll have to...
Cos this is going back

into memory-bank dredge time.
Shall we...

It's actually
the alibi from the night itself.

Just what was it -Well, the thing
is,it isn't an alibi

because an alibi
is something that can be stood up.

And... So...

Actually, can we cut for now

and...have a...

a-a-a comfort break

-and we'll go back to that?
-Yeah.
If that's OK?

Oh.

Right, um, this is gonna be
pretty fucking visceral.

This is gonna be visceral.

As Ian Bailey
faces criminal proceedings...

We'll go back to that...for the
murder of Sophie Toscandu Plantier,

his solicitor tells us why he
believes this caseshould matter to
all of us.

Welcome to Claire Byrne Live.

Cut! You can cut.
Now that's our time.

Er, no, a pre...a pre-recording.

'You asked me about alibi.'

An alibi is a phrase, a Latin
phrase,

which means you have...

..plausible, provable excuse.

I... Technically, I'm a lawyer.
I know I have no alibi

because I left her, she was snoring.

I went down the road

and I wrote the thing on the
typewriter.

Came back up in the morning

and I made you a cup of coffee.

You did.

And...

Actually, I don't wanna do this now.

Let's do it tomorrow because it's...

-You forget the sequence.
-Yeah.

Hello, hun. Can I get you anything?

-What?
-I said "Hello, hun,
can I get you anything?

-Like... No.
-No?

Would you like
a stroke on the knee?

A cuddle or a hug?

A loving hug?

I could give you...

You're exhausted.
Could I give you a loving hug?

All right.

His solicitor, Frank
Buttimer, spoke to mebefore we came
on air.

I asked him why Ian Bailey is not
attending or mounting a defence.

It's simply because, Claire, he
doesn't recognise the validity or
justness

of what's going on in France.
Our criminal justice system

has determined over a long period of
time

that he cannot and will not
be placed on trial

in this jurisdiction in relation
to the evidence gathered.

In the meantime, the exact same
evidence, nothing new or different.

The French, though they have
criticised the police gathering

of that evidence themselves,
think that it is good evidence

upon which to put him on trial in
THEIR system.

The basic idea here is the lack of
respectthat is being shown

by the French to the
Irish criminal justice system.

I have to say, regrettably, aided
and abetted

by the Department of Justice

by their provision to the French of
what is called 'mutual assistance'.

Ian Bailey we know
hasn't been able to leave

this jurisdiction for about nine
years now.

How is he dealing with this
this week?

He's devastated and he has been
devastated leading up to it.

He has known that this thing is
pending in France.

It's outside of his control.

His life has been destroyed. He has
always protested his innocence.

His position has been vindicated
by our DPP

and it is just a grotesque
state of affairs -

And you, Frank Buttimer, are
convinced of his innocence?

-Absolutely.
-That case is ongoing and
you'll hear more about it

on RTE News throughout the week.
Now, an overwhelming...

Off television. Off television.

Off television. Off.

Instant reaction.

I'm calm in the eye of the
hurricane.

I'm calm in the eye
of the hurricane.

Um... Yeah.

Any questions?

I thought Frank looked very tired.

He's got the grey under his eyes.

Fuck sake.

I mean, that man... All of us...

I mean, her...

It's a form of torture.

But you've stayed strong.

For 22 years.22 years.

I'm not gonna let them destroy me,

but I must say that my sleep
is destroyed.

My rest is... My peace within...

Tranquillity...is destroyed. Yeah.
-Serenity.
-Yeah.

If you haven't done anything, it
just makes you stronger in a way.

-It's strange.
-Mm.

It's like feeding
the flame of resilience,

-being accused of something.
-Mm.

May the truth... And the prayer is,

may the truth emerge.
May the truth emerge.

A second day of evidence
for the family of Sophie Toscan du
Plantier.

The court also heard from Agnes
Thomas

who'd been the victim's best friend.

She said Sophie had told her that a
man in Irelandhad contacted her in
Paris

in the weeks before she was killed.

She said he'd described himself as a
poet

and he wanted to talk to Sophie
about cultural projects.

Ms Thomas said she thought
her friend might have been planning

to meet this man when she was in
Cork.

It was a piece of
emotionally-charged evidence,

not backed up by phone records at
all.

But it was emotionally-charged and I
think it had an impacton the panel
of judges.

This was evidence
that wasn't given immediately,

so the lady in question
said that after the killing

she felt so bad that she didn't go
with Sophie on that final trip...

..that she had a kind of blackout.

So she forgot a lot of details
of what had happened just before

but they came back later.

Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Of course they would.

-Yeah.
-Ian, is...
Ian, is
there any chanceyou made that call?

No! Absolutely not.
Not a...not at all.

No, it's a complete and absolute
piece of...

If the implication, and it clearly
is, that it was me, as I said,

that's a load of fuckin' bollocks.
Don't forget,

the only knowledge I have was that
Alf Lyons

pointed out the fact that he had a
French neighbour andshe was over.

There was never any introduction
and I didn't know...you know...

Never introduced. So, no, that's
-absolute nonsense.
-OK.

It's hard to conduct
a criminal trial from afar.

They read out a list of the Irish
witnesses they tried to contact

and each time, it came back
'not known at this address',

'did not reply',

'absent', 'deceased'.

And even the Guards, who sent
Bailey's file over here to the
French,

haven't bothered to turn up,
which is an extraordinary situation.

I just can't understand it.

The presiding judge has to read out

the statements made by the Guards
back in the day.

And some questions have come up that
only the Irish police can answer.

The gate. Now, that had blood marks
on it.

We know because we saw the pictures.

But where is that gate? Gone missing.

It would be nice
to find out from the Guards

a bit more about the lack
of DNA evidence.

It doesn't feel right.

You'd wonder if it might be tricky
for the prosecution case.

And then, when the first witness
from Ireland arrived in the stand,

that in itself
was an unorthodox court appearance.

It seems surprising that we get
the mother of a key witness

that's giving evidence
on his behalf.

Amanda Reed told the court
her then 14-year-old son, Malachi,

had taken a lift home with Mr Bailey
on 4th February 1997.

He said he told him
he'd gone to the victim's house

and bashed her brains in
with a rock.

-Did you say that?
-No. And I'll tell
you what, that's hearsayevidence.

I did pick him up,
I did give him a lift,

and he asked me how things were and
I said things were going well

until people started saying
that I had gone up the hill

and bashed her brains out.
And that's what I said.

That what you said to other people,
like Helen Callanan... Yep.

..they say those were confessions.

-Right.
-Is there a part of you that
wants to be here to say something?

No.

One of the things
that's really interesting

is that sarcasm, black humour,
is a British upper-class thing

where you're supposed to, by tone,
know that the opposite is true

and that really could be his undoing.

Then he said, "I killed her
to resurrect my career."

"You saw her in Spar and she
turned you on,

walking up the aisle with a tight
arse,

so you went up there to see what you
could get. You chased her,

stoved something into the back of
her headand went further than you
meant to."

Ian was turning his car when he
said, "I went up with a rock

and bashed her fuckin' brains in."

'Sure, yeah, course I did. I needed
a story. This is how it happened.'

The rumour started to be spread
around.

Helen Callanan who was news editor
of the Sunday Tribune, who were
commissioning me,

she told me, "Ian, you know it's
being said that you murdered her."

I said something like, "Who's saying
this?" She said, "I can't tell you."

I said something like, "Sure, yeah,
course I did, I needed a story."

You know. And I think somebody
would have to be in a position

where the most outrageous allegation
had been made against them, erm,

to know what the position was like.

It was obviously one of the things I
regret now and was unwise

but it was my impulsive, shall we...

No, not impulsive cos I'm not
impulsive.

It was just my defensive response,
if you like.

Could this be
the boy who cried wolf?

He keeps putting himself
in the frame

and eventually they take him
at his word?

I'm looking at these two old people

and they're smaller than me,
which is really small...

Yeah...and I can only imagine that
their little daughter is smaller
than that

and there's a rage in me
at who killed Sophie du Plantier.

The only reason I'm interested in it
is a rage.

And have you got a rage
to find out who did it?

You know, I do the Lord's prayer and
I've done the Lord's prayerfor a
long time

and the hardest line in the Lord's
prayer is to forgivethose who
trespass against you.

And I've done that for many years
and that means

I don't harbour anger,
rage or negativity.

You know, if you want to ask how
I've managed to do that

I don't quite know, but I've done
it.

Ian, you do...you do have rage.

You've as big a rage as I do, if not
-more.
-Hang on, hang on a second.

You're explosive.
You fuckin' exploded at Jules.

You can't say you don't have rage.

Well, I mean,
there was then and now.

You know, I mean,
you know now... I don't know.

I'll say something about
Bailey. He put himself in the centre
of the story

and made it worse for the family.

So if he didn't do it... So, you -

If he didn't do it, he's at least
responsible for that.

The mood in court is sombre.
First thing was

that the presiding judge

read out a profile of Ian Bailey,

drawn up not with Bailey present,
but on the basis of documents.

His diary in part.

Poems.

Statements made by the Guards.

'"Masturbation.
Just a little gentle agitation.

Stops a lot of aggravation."

Apparently, they're readingbits and
pieces,

scraps and bits of information into
the evidence

and no-body's ever seen anything
like it.

I've written fuckin' books and books
and books - all taken illegally

that certainly, had the case
gone ahead in this country,

would have been rendered absolutely
inadmissible

and everything that would have been
inadmissible here - guess what?

It not only becomes admissible in
the French system,

but is actually classed as evidence.

Nobody's there to defend him
or to put a different point of view.

They took as a starting point...

..Bailey's attack on Jules Thomas.

"Alcohol can make him violent."

What they wanted to know was,

is this a man capable
of a very, very violent act?

They said that Ian Bailey
was narcissistic, impulsive,

egotistical and he needs recognition.

He takes pleasure in being
the centre of attention
and he likes to provoke.

The conclusion was he has a
borderline psychological disorder

without being psychotic.

They say you
always had your dick in your hand.

That was written in the diary.

Well, yeah, I mean, of course, I
write poetry with my dick, you see?

-You know.
-Then they basically said
that Sophie was the perfect...

You were attracted to her in
a mad way, she was the perfect woman

for you to be attracted to

and, erm,

basically you were a pervert.

I knew they were going to
beast me today, by the way,

and I knew what they were going
to do and... Yeah.

Demonise me, beast me,

make me out to be a pervert,
whatever. A sex addict or whatever.

Um... Well, Jim, I mean, I've always
been, you know...

I've always been sort of
interested in that subject

but I don't think I'm a pervert.
I don't think so.

A lot of it
was based on the diary.

I think they got it from there.
Right.

And, I mean, it's what you wrote,
isn't it?

How does that make you feel because
it...

Ha! The whole thing is a load of
bollocks.

No, I'm not a pervert
and, no, I'm not a murderer.

You know, I might be a bit eccentric

and if that's a crime,
well, everybody should watch out.

OK, OK.

All right, Ian. Any more?

We'll talk tomorrow, OK?

It looks like by Friday evening,
the tectonic plates of my life

will have shifted and I could become
a convicted murderer in France

and then I'll become the centre of a
fucking big shitstorm

to use that expression.

Today is the day of
reckoning.

We've heard the conclusions
and now the three magistrates

are in closed chambers
making their decision.

For Sophie's family, who have waited
for over two decades,

these few hours may be the longest
hours they've had to endure.

We can hope - we can hope -

that we have eventually...
eventually justice.

I feel...not good.

I feel...

I have, uh...

big emotion for my mother...

..and...

the truth is very important for us.

For her.

It's the morning... Is it Friday
30th May?

The Republic of France versus Ian
Bailey.

I probably knew this day was coming
for a long, long time.

I was hoping there might
have been an intervention.

I was hoping that somebody might
have stepped forward just to say,

"Hang on, it isn't that Ian Bailey."

But that's not happened.

Ah, good.

Let's get rid of that rooster.

Imagine this.

'Say they got me. I'm 62.

I'm gonna spend 30 years
in a French prison.

And I'm told that they move you
around.

You don't stay in one prison,
you're constantly being shifted.

So you don't know where you are.

And other people who may want to
contact you don't know where you
are.

Phwoa! I have to live
with the possibility of that.'

Hello. We're making a film
of a rooster.

The rooster has become
the star of this movie.

Don't know how it happened.

I don't know. It's cos we called him
John Wayne.

I don't want... A situation could
arise here where if I let him go,

he'd be off and then there will be
a thing saying,

"Ian Bailey chases his cock in
Bantry Square." We don't want that.

Go on in there! Are you OK?

Oh, no, I've injured him.

Have I injured you? No.

Hello?

Hello?

Right, there he is. He's all yours.
No worse for the ordeal.

Ah.

I must say, I'm feeling remarkably
normal and calm

for the day that's in it.

I've also been informed
by my sources cos I have, erm -

a bit like Michael Collins,
I have a network of informants -

that there are people with cameras
out in Bantry today

out to try to photograph me.

Good morning. How are you?
Good morning. How are you?

Hello, James! Hello, gentlemen.

-How are you?
-Fine. And yourself?
Oi, stop sniffin' me crotch.

Well, I'm sort of OK
in a strange way, you know?

It's D-day for me or something.
Or P-day, Paris day or something.

Hello!

Can you give us a couple of
euros' worth of small ones?

Erm... I don't know what it's about.

Seems like some sort
of feeding frenzy to me

but, don't worry,
they won't take you.

Would you be in a 'John Wayne state
of mind' over the trial in France?

Yeah, you bet I have been.
-Have you?
-Yeah.

How does it affect you?
Does it affect you...?

Look, where is this goingbecause
I'm under strict instruction.

Can I do a few shots of your
-head looking into the camera?
-Yeah.

And we'll leave you alone.
-Is that OK?
-Yeah.

OK, that's lovely. Thank you.

'The judgement is very clear.'

With all the elements of proof,

Ian Bailey
killed my mother 22 years ago.

'It's a victory for the justice.
It's a victory for the truth.'

So...

..we are...we are happy.

We are...

..at peace here.
Thank you very much.

It looks like a weight has been
lifted

off the French family's shoulders

and now I've got to go
and place it on somebody else's

before he hears it on the radio.

Hello. Bailey.

Yeah, oui.
-Erm, fire.

It's what you expected.
-It was guilty.
-Mm-hm.

Er... I think they said 25 years.

Oh, I was...
Sorry, I'm disappointed.

I was expecting 40, but never mind.

Yeah. I'll give you to Nick who
-took down a lot of the details.
-OK.

If you want to hear it -
No, I do. No, Jim, no.

Jim, I don't want to hear the detail
-now.
-You've given me the headlines

and that's good enough for me.
Jules is just coming over.

Maybe pull up a chair or...

Just reshuffling. And...

I think if you were able
to tell her what, you know...

Do you want a cushion or two?
You sure? OK.

Erm, speakerphone.

You. Yeah. Can -

-Hi, Frank.
-No, it's...it's... Oh,
Jim.
Oh, sorry, Jim.

Yes, it's Jim, Jules. How are ya?
I'm OK, Jim.

They did a long, long summation

in which basically they
accepted Marie Farrell's evidence.

-Huh!
-No statement over, kind of, her
evidence.

Every statement Ian made
as a confession.

We expected that.
We did expect that.

It was predictable andwe're not
surprised.

-Yeah.
-Does that sound a bit strange

that I'm not crying
or beating my chest? But...

I think, um... Are we going to tell
the world that you'll stand by Ian

and say it's all a load of lies?
-Oh, yeah, I would.
-Yeah.

-I do. I always have.
-Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.

-Yeah.
-It's um... All right.

What I would like to say is
all they've succeeded in doing

is convicting
a completely innocent person

of a crime he had nothing
to do with.

I'm sorry for their pain.
I'm sorry for their suffering.

I'm sorry about all the lies
that they've chosen to believe

and I'm sorry for their suffering
but the thing is this,

there are no winners in this,
only losers -

of a war of twisted words
and corrupted statements.

And I'm aware that they chose
to believe

the web of engrangements
woven by devils.

I'm sorry for them

and, you know,
we're tough and there we are.

All right.
I did tell you this a long time ago

that I thought, looking forward -I
know.

Everything you've said
has been realised. Absolutely.

So it's not a surprise -
I mean, you know. God.

There are people out there who know,

who know who murdered that woman.

And I can't believe that they can
actually live with what's going on.

I can't believe it.

Never gives up, this man.
Ah, for fuck sake.

I'm a dead man walking.

French authorities will now seek

Ian Bailey's extradition
for a third time.

Today everybody must
know and understand

that Ian Bailey is a murderer.

That label is not new one for Bailey
but it has new power.

Whatever happens now,
Ian Bailey will be considered

the man who killed
Sophie Toscan du Plantier.

But was he ever going to shake
that title anyway?

How we build stories,

how justice systems
build court cases fascinates me.

Without scientific proof,
with retracted statements,

with absent witnesses
and no interrogation of the facts,

the French have proved him guilty.

Is he capable of murder?
Aren't we all?

Is he guilty? I don't know.

I don't think we can say for sure.

Is it possible that Ian Bailey
never came here to this retreat

at the side of a lonely hill

under the blinking eye
of the Fastnet lighthouse?

Is it possible
that he will soon be on a plane

to meet a fate
that was never rightfully his?

And if it was not Ian Bailey
here that night,

there's no-one out there looking
for the man who left no trace.

Come on then. There you go.

Hello.

It's been like
waiting for the tsunami wave

that you knew was gonna come.

This morning and yesterday morning,
I woke up with anxiety in me.

I'm going to assume
that at some point in the future,

probably in the course of the next
year possibly, rather thanearlier,

I am going to be handed over
to the French.

So it's pretty fucking dark.

On 16th December, Ian Bailey's

third European arrest warrant
was endorsed by the Irish courts.

He was arrested.
He managed to get bail.

While out on bail, he instructed
his solicitor, Frank Buttimer,

to appeal the extradition.

With his fate now looming,
for the last eight months

he's been waiting for
the extradition appeal to be heard

in the Courts of Criminal Justice
by a High Court judge.

Ian Bailey should
not be extradited to France

to serve a 25-year prison sentence

for the murder of Sophie Toscan du
Plantier, the High Court has ruled.

Good afternoon,
ladies and gentlemen.

I'm going to say a brief few words
on behalf of Mr Bailey.

The first thing to say is that Mr
Baileyis extremely relieved at the
decision made today.

The impact on his life
of the entire situation

has been extremely challenging
for him for the past 24 years.

He always expresses his sadness
and his sympathy for the family

of the late
Madame Toscan du Plantier,

whilst at the same time
always maintaining his innocence

in relation to anything or any
connectionwith that dreadful crime.

Mr Bailey intends to return
to West Cork

to attempt to get on with the rest
of his lifeas best he can,

subject to any other decision
that is made

by the state in relation
to any appeal entitlement.

Thank you very much.
Mr Bailey.

Mr Bailey has decided to reserve his
position at this time.

He may comment at a future date.
Thank you.

We set out in search of justice
and what are we left with?

Broken hearts,

damaged people, damaged communities,
unmet grief,

unanswered questions.

It's like a Shakespeare tragedy...

..where
there's no winners at the end,

only broken shells of people.

Sophie's family...

..are consumed by anger and sadness.

Can't find their way out.

Their daughter's death unavenged.

A sentence handed out
but not endorsed.

They remain convinced that the man
who murdered their daughter is free.

And no matter what way
you look at it, that's the truth.

And what about Ian Bailey?
Innocent or guilty?

He's had a quarter of a century
of a life sentence -

on remand in the prairie,
unable to leave the country.

How can you be a guilty man
in France and a free man in Ireland?

Can somebody explain that to me?

There are two crimes here.

There's the murder
and there's the lack of justice.

Is it 24 or 25 years?
I've lost track of the years.

It's almost half my life
since a false accusation

was made against me
which completely changed my life

and what it might have been.

So, I don't know.
I've just been really, really flat.

Um... I've got no sort of
sense of victory

or, you know, um...

No great
sort of sense of relief even.

I just wonder why, uh, I'm...

I think because for so many years,

my life and my job was to fight as
best I could.

I guess it's a combination
of fear and determination

that sort of held me together.

And...all of a sudden,

I need, um... I need to reinvent
myself, I guess.

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