Cold Case Review of Sophie Tuscan du Plantier murder to proceed. **Threadbans in OP**

Its a bit more nuanced than that.

The French system incorporates a check and balance system at every stage of the investigative process.

Our system simply allows the investigation to proceed to the point where the Gardai arec satisfied that they have a case and present the evidence file to the dept of Public Prosecutions for scrutiny.

When the evidence was presented to the French courts, it had not been through the French investigative process and was taken at face value.

Still fine for french consider the Irish system to be broken down and yet they still take the files and happy to reach the conclusion it was bailey. Don't want any Irish investigation taking place on french soul. Was french system not broken not to in way unearth the suspicions Sophie's family had of Daniel and the life he was leading and if he even cared for Sophie. In any estimation his behaviour in not travelling to Ireland immediately after murder and not willing to be involved in investigation or welcoming a new family with his partner with months later is ultimately on par with any of chief suspects for entire case. That could be bouquet of evidence in itself if it was process adopted in Irish system.

Ah Yes, thank you! I remember seeing that now but I had forgotten. The problem is that the Gardai made statements about this which don't mention Leo - see statement from Garda John Galvin below. Garda Galvin maintains he walked Bailey and Jules to Alfies and back again. If Bailey tagged on behind Leo, why didn't the Gardai tell him to give the briquettes to Leo instead. Alfie made a statement in January 1997 to say than Bailey called him and asked if he needed anything and he told him to bring briquettes.

So is Leo correct? Is the Garda Galvin covering his rear? I don't think we can say. Alfie did say the Bolgers called around that Sunday, so he could have been walking up with him, but the Gardai maintain they made sure nobody unauthorized entered the scene.

It is an interesting documentary but it contains a lot of misconceptions and falsehoods. I believe those pictures of Bailey peering in the window were taken by Colman Doyle who was working with Caroline Mangez for Paris Match. This would mean they were taken in early January. In any case you can see all the vegetation was stripped at that stage so it was after the cordon was lifted. It is very misleading for the documentary to suggest this is a photo of Bailey entering the crime scene. The interview just before with Catherine Mangez says "Bailey was on the scene even before the Gardai arrived" and was talking about it being a murder before anyone else did. Mangez didn't arrive in Cork until January and she didn't even meet Bailey until 11th January so she is just repeating rumour. We know that the 999 operator gathered it was a murder from Alfie on the first call and the Schull gardai were calling for a scene of crimes detective over the radio, so the whole county knew it was a murder by 11am. Unless everyone is in a massive decades long conspiracy Bailey was not on scene before the Gardai arrived.

It is very unfortunate the Gardai didn't interview Leo Bolger after Bailey was a suspect or if they did it was decades later. So there is nothing about Bailey in his Garda statements. In his first statement Leo was very clear that he had no personal contact with Sophie since 1994 when he fixed a window and she paid him. Yet in the documentaries and podcasts he is telling everyone he was workingon her roof in 1995 when Bailey was working for Alfie and was allegedly introduced to Sophie. So this doesn't quite fit with his earliest, and presumably most accurate statements.

Statement of Garda John Galvin of Bantry Garda Station taken on 12/02/2002 at Bantry Garda station by D/Sgt E O’Callaghan

I remember the 27th of December 1996. I was on duty at the scene of the murder of Sophie Du Plantier as part of a search team under the supervision of Sgt P. F. Looney. I commenced duty there at 9am and was on duty there for most of the day. I recall at some stage during the day Ian Bailey and a female who was unknown to me at the time, being accompanied by Garda Martin O’Sullivan past the cordon point and up through a field towards Alfie Lyons’ house. Garda O’Sullivan requested that I escort these people up past the rear of Sophie Du Plantier’s house to the gate of Alfie Lyons’ house. I cannot recall how long they stayed there, but I recall escorting them back down from Alfie Lyons’ house, past Sophie Du Plantier and back along the route they had taken until they reached the cordon point where Garda O’Sullivan was on duty. Ian Bailey, who was known to me at the time and the female accompanying him, did not interfere with the scene or did not approach the house other than to walk along the laneway to Alfie Lyons’ house which was along the back of the Du Plantier house. This statement is correct.

Signed: John M Galvin Gda

If we are in a legal glasshouse, there are no unbroken panes left. I don't think either legal system comes out looking well out of this fiasco. It would be interesting to know if it would be any easier today to investigate a cross border homicide.

Yes a judge is appointed to direct the investigation to make it fairer for the investigators and the accused, but doesn't always work out that way. The French system is intended to be inquisitorial - the ideal is to reach "la manifestation de la vérité" - they want to find the truth of what happened. Common Law in UK/Ireland/US is adversarial - to answer the question is only if a particular person is guity of a specific charge and nothing else. We have inquiries/tribunals/Grand Juries for questions of what happened.

There is a good article explaining the French system and how it works here: Investigating Homicide investigation in France

Leo and Sally Bolger and their phone number are mentioned in a list of items that need fixing including windows, and a shutter. Unfortunately this entry is not dated, but it is in a plain black book which seems to have stuff pertaining to Ireland, and the house. It appears after a thank you note from one house guest for a stay dated August/Sept 94 and before a bill from Josie Hellen dated January 1995, so I think these items were listed in 1994, matching Leo's first statement that he fixed a window & a chair in 1994, was paid for that and that was his last personal contact with Sophie.

Alfie's telephone number appears in her agenda in the telephone numbers for Ireland, along with Leo & Sally Bolger, Richardsons, Josie Hellen, David Dukelow (heating guy), John Scully (electrician). There is no mention of Alfie & Leo otherwise. Note this is not from a "diary" but a year planner, with a two page spread per week where she would write in dates, meetings, flight details etc, like a filofax. She clearly used it extensively to plan her life diligently writing in lunch dates, meetings, parties, telephone numbers, flights etc.

I have ordered it but I know I am going to find it very irritating.

Also let's never forget. The Irish Daily Star two page spread "MURDERED SOPHIE'S TANGLED LOVE LIFE" which caused so much hurt to her family was something that Senan Moloney collaborated with Bailey on. He was the crime correspondant for the Star.