Pierre-Louis Baudey-Vignaud, the son of French woman Sophie Toscan du Plantier, has said that he feels free again in Ireland following the death of Ian Bailey.
Mr Bailey was the main suspect in the murder of Ms Toscan du Plantier, whose body was found outside her home in Schull, west Cork in December 1996.
He has always denied any involvement with the murder.
On 21 January, Mr Bailey died suddenly in Bantry at the age of 66.
Speaking on RTÉ’s The Late Late Show, Mr Baudey-Vignaud said that when he found out that Mr Bailey had died, he was completely shocked.
“I was fighting for 27 years,” he said “and it’s like a game over. Finally, this is a game over. There is no happy ending but it’s a game over.”
Mr Baudey-Vignaud mentioned how Mr Bailey was convicted in absentia in France for the murder, a ruling which imposed a 25-year prison sentence on Mr Bailey.
However, the High Court in Ireland ruled that Mr Bailey should not be extradited to France to face that jail term.
“I am 100% sure that Ian Bailey was a convicted murder,” Mr Baudey-Vignaud said.
“For me it’s important that at least he’s [Ian Bailey] been convicted for murder once.”
He said that he would like his mother to be remembered as a free spirit in Ireland.
“She was French and when she was 31, she decided to buy a house in Ireland. She had no money at the time … and she succeeded. She made her dream to have a house in Ireland, just to be alone, to be free.
“Maybe her mind and her legend can be free again. So this is game over of this case.”
Mr Baudey-Vignaud said that he still visits his mother’s house in Schull and that for him, it is not the place where his mother was killed but rather her “paradise”.
“It’s a very good way for my kids to meet their grandmother and even for me to be in the cocoon she created.
“I feel so good there.”
Mr Baudey-Vignaud said that during his time in Schull, he saw Ian Bailey three times.
“The first two times, he didn’t recognise me because we crossed him on the street or in the supermarket.
“And the last time I was with my kids at Schull harbour having tea and ice cream and I felt a look on me. I saw someone and he was looking at me with a dark look. With no empathy.
“I was under shock, it was before the Paris criminal case. I felt so much violence in this look.”
When asked if Mr Bailey’s death represents closure for him, Mr Baudey-Vignaud said it does and that he wants to “turn the page”.
“I am free again here in Ireland and I don’t want any more interviews, I don’t want any more pressure…
“It’s the end of this story. Another story now … a peaceful story.”
Bailey’s name associated with murder case for two decades
