21 hours ago
Lawyer: 'Extraordinary' if DNA test links Bailey to death
The solicitor who represented the late Ian Bailey, the chief suspect in the killing of French woman Sophie Toscan du Plantier, has said he would find it "extraordinary" if a new DNA test linked him to the murder scene.
Frank Buttimer was speaking after it emerged that a garda cold case team is awaiting a report on whether the new advanced method of DNA collection has yielded results.
The method, called M-VAC, has helped solve decades-old cold cases in the United States.
Ms du Plantier's body was found on the laneway leading to her isolated holiday home near Schull in Co Cork on the morning of 26 December 1996.
A post-mortem examination revealed she had been bludgeoned to death with a rock and a concrete block.
Nobody has been charged in Ireland in connection with her murder.
The rock and block as well as Ms du Plantier's dressing gown, leggings, vest and boots have been analysed by new technology, according to The Irish Times.
Mr Buttimer represented Mr Bailey for over 20 years. Mr Bailey was the chief suspect in the murder of the French woman before his death last year.
Commenting on the attempts to use new DNA techniques to advance the case, Mr Buttimer said that "before he was even obliged to do so" that Mr Bailey had voluntarily provided DNA to establish his innocence.
Speaking on RTÉ's This Week programme, he said: "Where it to be extraordinarily now 28 years or whatever it is later that there was some alleged link or connection being proposed then I would have regarded that as being something extraordinary.
"Second of all, somewhat worrying, bearing in mind the passage of time and, of course, thirdly, Mr Bailey is deceased and is not around to defend his name."
Investigators are hoping that any DNA evidence obtained will enable Forensic Science Ireland to make comparisons with DNA samples obtained from some 10 people identified as suspects during the initial garda investigation, including Mr Bailey.
Mr Buttimer said that if the DNA points towards the involvement of another suspect, then this is something that should be kept in mind by the French courts.
Mr Bailey was convicted of Ms du Plantier's murder by a court in France in 2019 in a case that he did not attend.
"Insofar as Ian Bailey is concerned, we have this thing in Irish law called the presumption of innocence," he said, adding "Ian Bailey is presumed innocent by the State of Ireland".
Mr Buttimer said Mr Bailey was "never prosecuted, except for a completely spurious case that was taken against him in France, where he was found guilty - but that was a predictable event".
"Where it to be the case that DNA points the finger in some other quarter, perhaps the French who were so vigorous in their pursuit of them, might take time to reflect upon that and what had happened badly during his life," he said.
He added that Mr Bailey had been "pursued for over 27 or 28 years from the time of that dreadful crime to the time of his death", adding "it destroyed his life".
The new DNA testing, from the US, has helped solve decade old cases, including the 1995 case of Crystal Lynn in Utah.
She was 17 years old when she was killed with granite rocks and her death remained a cold case for 18 years.
After the traditional methods of swabbing failed to deliver answers, M-VAC was applied to the bloodied rock.
It got 42 times more than needed to generate a full profile, and subsequently led to the arrest and prosecution of a suspect in the case.
Mr Buttimer said he was not familiar with M-VAC DNA testing method, adding it is important to remember that while DNA testing can assist a cold case, it has to be properly tested in court.
"I do not think that it has been tested in the Irish courts," he said.
"It seems to have had some success in the United States," he added.
Regarding Mr Bailey, he said: "The one thing that would be of concern to me is that he is not around to defend himself.
"I would have to say that DNA evidence in certain circumstances has also been challenged.
"So, it is not the be all and end all of criminal investigation and forensic assessment."
Mr Buttimer added such evidence can "be challenged, but absolutely every avenue should be pursued of any inquiry to get to the truth of this appalling crime",
When asked if Mr Bailey's DNA is found, should that information be made public, Mr Buttimer said: "I am sure that in certain quarters there would be a rush to provide such information because in my belief, and certainly you know in my experience, within certain sections of the police, there is still this ongoing belief that there is a link or connection between Mr Bailey and the crime, which he has denied throughout his life".
"Ian Bailey was identified as the suspect even while he was in Bandon police station in February 1997, there was a rush at that point in trying to expose him," he said.
"There's always been a rush to put Mr Bailey's name out there as being connected with this offence," he added.
In a statement to RTÉ's This Week programme, gardaí said the investigation into the murder of Ms du Plantier remains active and ongoing.
It added that An Garda Síochána makes operational decisions on the release of information on a case-by-case basis.
