[6] Toscan du Plantier was found dead by a neighbour at 10 am, her body clad in nightwear and boots, in a laneway beside her house.
[6] The Gardaí have been criticised for mishandling evidence, with several items including the bloodstained gate going missing in their custody,.
[13] A Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission report concluded that while there was a lack of administration and management in the investigation, there was no evidence of high-level corruption.
[15] He worked variously as a freelance journalist, sometimes published under the name Eoin Bailey,[16] as a fish farm worker, and held a market stall selling pizzas and poems.
Bailey, who lived near Toscan du Plantier's home in Ireland, was a suspect arrested twice by the Garda Síochána, yet no charges were laid as the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) found there was insufficient evidence to proceed to trial.
A psychiatrist's report prepared for the murder trial concluded he had a "personality constructed on narcissism, psycho-rigidity, violence, impulsiveness, egocentricity, with an intolerance to frustration and a great need for recognition.
[18] While under investigation, he continued to write news articles alleging the victim had "multiple male companions" and steering suspicion for the murder away from West Cork toward France.
Bailey wrote to the Director of Public Prosectutions, while being sought by French authorities, to ask for a trial in Ireland as he wished to clear his name.
[22] Bailey died after collapsing, due to a suspected cardiac arrest, outside his residence in Bantry, on 21 January 2024, aged 66.
[23] In January 2024, after Bailey's death, Gardaí conducted a search of his flat with a warrant, taking a laptop, memory sticks, notebooks and personal items which could be used for a DNA profile.
[24] On 11 January 1997, a woman who lived in Schull rang the Gardaí from a payphone using an alias to state she saw a man on Kealfadda Bridge at 3 am on the night of the murder.
[28] In 2007, the Association for the Truth on the Murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier née Bouniol was founded by her family in order to advance the investigation.
[29] In February 2010, a European Arrest Warrant was issued by a French magistrate which led to the High Court in Ireland granting an extradition order.
[32] All five judges upheld the appeal on the ground that the French authorities had no intention to try him at this stage; four of the judges also upheld the argument that the European Arrest Warrant prohibited surrendering Bailey to France because the alleged offence occurred outside French territory and there was an absence of reciprocity.
[citation needed] On 12 October 2020, the judge Paul Burns in Ireland's High Court ruled that Bailey could not be extradited.
[37] Later that same month, the Irish State decided not to appeal the High Court's finding,[38] effectively ending all attempts to extradite Bailey.
During a French state visit to Dublin in August 2021, President Macron suggested that a new trial for Bailey could be arranged should he wish to travel to France.