Murder at the Cottage | Sky

May well have been daylight at the time, probably was in fact.

You would hope that both were checked but how thoroughly were they checked if given in such a short time span she was back on the road and on her way to the dump.

Between the gardai arriving at the scene and Shirley driving off on her way was just probably over 2 hours. The car and rubbish should have been left at the scene.

Sorry for jumping around. Was the pattern of the blood stains on the gate ever explained or surmised? To me they look like smears as if a hand was holding them and moved along the bars in a lateral movement. The gate was obviously open when Shirley left the morning of discovery but could it be that the gate was closed during the chase and Sophie attempted to climb it which would fit in with the blood being on the top 2 bars only? If the gate was open when the blood was deposited it could only be from her using the gate to try and stay upright as she was falling? Still think the gate has a story to tell with the argument over whether it should be left open or closed, the amount of blood on it and it subsequently going missing or deemed irrelevant.

I guess it would have made that aspect of it obvious, but still leave the authorities none the wiser about who she might be confronting. Seems less risky to me than actually being caught with it - unless you were worried there was something other than fingerprints of yours on the poker.

Because to get to the dump she'd have to drive right by the corpse. Be a fairly strong indicator of guilt to claim not to have seen it.

The last part about being 90% certain is one thing that gets stuck in my throat over him. Makes so little sense.

"So you introduced the two of them... are you certain?"

"Yes"

"I'm certain"

"Definately"

90% is saying. I want to make you think I'm certain but giving myself an out if contradicted. It's the mark of someone lying imo. Nobody says they are 90% of a recollection. An exact % is just stupid. It's yes or no, or can or can't be certain.

Jeez this thread moves fast... I can understand the frustrations of all as its hard just to concentrate on one point at a time as every one is in/or at a different stage of the murder from doors to gates to access and weapons...….but everyones will/hope is in opening a small crack that possibly lead to an understanding or possibility.

2 points today for me.

1 . it looks like the gate was open during the assault (not sophies preference) as the blood marks/stickers are on the road side of the gate.... Or was she further out the lane?... made her way back to the gate and either opened it or climbed it... assaulted inside.

1. The Alfies' claim to have been in bed at 10.30? (lights off)..... What made I.B think that there may be a party on when looking across from the hill on the way home from the pub late..? (lights on)… sorry ..I should know this ,or are my times wrong?

I'm with you on point 1, I got my fields mixed up earlier. She must have been in some panic to flee the house. Whoever was outside must have been very aggressive and vocal to make her run for it rather than stay inside. I'm only presuming here but I can picture Bailey being like a drunk bear trying to get inside but giving up and moving on. She could have fell too running down the hill which allowed her attacker to catch up but you wonder how it quickly turned to a murder rather than a vicious assault, if it wasn't Bailey who else was wanting to do this to her.

Jules Thomas gave evidence in court in 2014;

"She denied telling gardaí Mr Bailey said to her, when they stopped at Hunt’s Hill near Schull sometime earlier that night on their way home, he had a feeling something bad was going to happen. That was “absolute invention”, she said."

There was a lot of invention. I know the area well and I haven't been able to find any vantage point on any road where you can see those three houses.

If you can read the top sentance Jules stated that ... something something... when we were looking accross the terrain Ian remarked Something Alphies house accross the way and and then said thers a light on...

There must be a vantage point & these are Jules words/ Statement...?

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/ian-bailey-s-partner-some-material-in-statements-invention-1.2018797

No

So what/who do we believe here? as this 'viewing of a light' is possibly the only evidence linking I.B to the crime scene that night... which sounds crazy.

This is jules v Gardai. ....

Any video evidence /interviews of Jules or I.B talking about hunt hill?

You make it sound like she went to the shops;

"and a box of Christmas crackers there please".

"Jaysus Shirley was that your neighbour got murdered this morning?"

"Yes awful it was. Are you ready for the Christmas swim?"

This is from someone who knew Shirley which doesn't fit your impressions;

"If Shirley was involved she is the greatest actress who ever lived. I saw her in August '96, she was lighthearted and looking forward to her retirement. In January '97 she was a broken woman who was in the absolute horrors and feeling trapped in a house she no longer felt safe in. She worried she could be next. Yet, at no point did she indicate any fear of Alfie. In fact they stayed together until his death a few months ago. They also stayed in the cottage but only because they could not raise the funds to move."

This brings up an interesting point regarding the possible age of the killer:

Suppose Sophie was at first hit at the entrance of her house where the blood stain was found, confronted with something, threatened and then started running towards the gate, trying to outrun the killer. The killer caught up with her at the gate ( the gate was quite possibly closed and Sophie took some time trying to climb over the gate), the killer then killed her with that cavity block and later dumped her body on the road side, than it should be considered that the killer must have been physically fit to keep up with Sophie.

Sophie running to the gate must have had a practical reason out of a simple survival instinct and knew that she had little to no time and every second mattered. Possibly knowing that Alfie and Shirley were asleep at this late hour and waking them up, them getting to the door to open up would have taken to long, so Sophie tries to escape somewhere where she thought she could outsmart the killer, hiding behind briars, brambles, possible other bushes and that all under the guise of darkness.

Shirley and Alfie were older than Sophie and so was Ian Bailey, plus Bailey would have had a lot to drink that night. So Sophie would have outrun him easily that night.

I would therefore suggest that the killer must have been either around Sophie's age or even younger, or if older, somebody who is in excellent physical shape. ( Possibly pointing to a Gard, as a suggestion )