Murder at the Cottage | Sky

He also visited the area on the Sunday and passed close enough to Sophie's house to be able to see her inside.

He was walking to Toolmore with his son, a nice 4 km walk on a Sunday.

He did not engage with her.

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Well 3.9 km;

Fair enough, but then why didn't he put the fence up after all? How does that explain the posts up by the eastern gable of the house?

I don't think that a neighbour to neighbour squabble or a boundary argument was the motive or reason for the murder. If this would have been so, then something else must have happened after the murder, something Sophie has opposed, or might have objected to. Like some construction, or some kind of fence which would have been too much of a change to the area that somebody like Sophie would have had objections against. However the thing is, no major work was carried out after her death. The only thing which seems to have changed is that Alfie and Shirley's house got a new paint job done in a different colour, after the house was sold. Apart from that everything seems the same. Also Sophie's son hasn't changed much around the house, so it would seem.

That's the thing though, if this was something that was disputed then I would expect the work not to be carried out as it would draw suspicion wouldn't it? Too obvious after the murder to go putting up boundaries on the land.

There's probably nothing to it, just seems strange that there was quite obviously work in progress that for some reason was abandoned completely.

Could well be, but nobody has ever said that was the case. The thing about her fixing the heating comes up a lot. She called her handyman the night of the murder, apparently to discuss getting some plastering done. But nobody has ever said that she was in Cork to put up a fence. Or that she had spoken to anyone about putting up a fence. And why would she put up a fence beside her house in a way that seems to do nothing but interfere with her parking spot? Those fence posts aren't on her land either. It's one thing to park on that bit of land the odd time you're there, can't see the neighbours having a problem with that tbh, but putting a fence up on it is a more permanent action on their land.

It seems more likely to me that the fencing was being erected by someone else. But we don't know who was putting it up, why they were putting it up or why they not only didn't finish the job, but actually removed the bit outside Sophie's house.

I'm not saying this all points to some motive by a neighbour but it's an interesting part of the puzzle. Just more unanswered questions about this case.

Anyone else notice.. The more deeper the analysis of this case, the further away from Bailey it goes.

In the beginning, it was Bailey 100%... No doubt about it.

After going through the cast of possible suspects, motives, scenario's etc.... Any realistic link to Bailey being the murderer is greeted with a wry smile...

How Bailey became prime suspect No.1 is truly jaw dropping. How the investigation became so corrupt so soon is significant.

The missing evidence, the manipulation of witnesses (stooges), the rewards of money & drugs for favourable statements is corruption of the highest order.

This was a face saving exercise / A Force saving exercise? - Who was being protected so vehemently? The raiding of Bailey's studio and ceasing of all his diaries is relevant.. He was hardly going to record murdering somebody was he...? What were the Gards looking for?

Had Bailey figured out a connection to the murder involving a senior Gard?

The key witness placing Bailey anywhere near the case, changed her description of the man she seen multiple times before withdrawing the whole statement(s) and flipping to the other side.. Not before acquiring a half a million property via the help of the Gards first.

Stinks too high heavens!

Sophie had bits and pieces of land all over the place, 8 I think besides the land at the house.

An acre or two here and there, including 2 shared commonages.

She probably didn't even know what and where it was.

Where better place for Bill to do a bit of his "gardening"?

I think I recall he and his wife Kerri grazed a bit of her land or shared commonage.

He was also her handyman doing bits around her house for her earlier, "we got on very well" he is recorded as saying.

But it looked like she was using others at the time of the murder.

That relationship must have soured for whatever reason.

He was selling Christmas trees around Schull on the morning of the murder at around 11 o'clock.

Maybe they should look in Dunmanus bay then , i.e. in the opposite direction for the murder weapon.

Maybe he has to be 'cautious'. The DPP's report makes it obvious that Bailey's testimony is seen as truthful;

"He asserts that Gda. J.P. Culligan was aggressive, particularly during the journey from his home to the Garda Station.

3. He states that the driver of the car was named “Liam” and this man told Bailey that even if the Gardaí did not pin it on him that he was finished in Ireland.

Liam told him that somebody other than the Gardaí would put a bullet in the back of his head."

fence thing is very confusing.

my only tbought here though is opening a right of way from either side can cause rows.

A redneck neighbour sued de next door after wall was moved an inch in rebuild. case dismissed cost 30k each. both neihgbours despise each other.

Humor is good, even in bad situations.

I've had also thoughts about this. However what I think is that Sophie was gone far too long in any calendar year to be having a dispute with a neighbour, whether that's an ownership dispute, a border dispute, or a dispute putting a fence up. In the event of Sophie having a dispute with a neighbour she would most likely have had somebody to take care of that on her behalf, a solicitor? or somebody whom she had trust in? There is not anybody known to have handled such a matter for her, as far as I have followed the case.

You must remember Sophie came to west cork for its wildness, remoteness ,rugged landscape & privacy.

And now what can only be described as a sheep mart ( 4-5 gates) in supposedly common 'nobody knows who owns what' ground + fences are being erected at the bottom of her garden & in view..

Could she not depend on anyone to ensure the plumbing was fixed... Was the heating/plumping a pump house water issue ... was the plastering for the pump house..

The fence at her car makes no sense and was provocative IMO......... The silence is deafening in west cork...

Sophie had hard times herself before she married Ddp so she would have valued what she had..

As a number of people have pointed out here, the surrounds of Sophie's house appear to have been a hive of activity in the period she died. There are plenty of people prepared to go in front of the camera about Ian Bailey but none of those people who we know were doing things in the immediate vicinity are to be found. Alfie was on a french documentary to say nothing much. Shirley, Finbarr Hellen, Bill Fuller, Leo Bolger are either not interviewed or if they are, they aren't asked about the work going on. There is a lot of mystery around the heating/boiler problems.

I posted earlier how a Guard told Bailey he'd be shot by 'somebody other than the Gardai'. Who'd do that to an English basta**d I wonder. People might have good reason to be quiet. In any case Sophie found she wasn't living in a safe house.