Ian Bailey dies aged 66 after suffering suspected heart attack on busy Cork street as locals rush to help him
IAN Bailey, who was convicted of murdering Sophie Tuscan Du Plantier in 1996 in West Cork by a French Court, died this afternoon following a suspected heart attack.
The former journalist collapsed in the street in Bantry, close to the flat where he lived on Barrack Street.
His collapse at 1:30pm was seen by a number of people who immediately rushed to provide assistance to the Englishman, who would have celebrated his 67th birthday on January 27.
According to onlookers, a local man experienced in first aid attempted to revive him with CPR until the emergency services arrived at the scene.
At that stage the Good Samaritan had been working on Bailey, who was unresponsive for 20 minutes.
He handed over to first responders who took over, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The man, who from the very start has been the main suspect in the brutal murder of the Frenchwoman on December 23, 1996, has previously suffered up to three heart attacks and was hospitalised.
He was admitted to both Bantry Hospital and Cork University Hospital where in the latter he had a procedure done on his heart.
However, it was deemed he was too unwell to have a required by-pass operation done at that time.
He has always denied any involvement in the horrendous Christmas 1996 murder of Sophie in west Cork.
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Her battered body was discovered by a neighbour in the laneway leading to her isolated holiday home near Schull.
He was arrested twice and questioned about the murder which horrified the country.
He met Garda Commission Drew Harris and asked him to open a cold case review of the case, which was done in 2022.
Mr Bailey was found guilty of Sophie’s brutal killing by a French court in absentia in 2019.
Sophie’s family have always been convinced that he murdered Sophie and were successful in getting him criminally convicted of her killing in a French court.
But Irish courts have refused to extradite him to France and the Director of Public Prosecutions ruled over 20 years ago that he did not have a case to answer here.
Last month, Bailey told how he hoped the "truth" about Sophie's murder emerged before his death.
He said: “For the past 27 years my life has been haunted and damaged by a false accusation and allegation that I was the murderer of Sophie Toscan du Plantier.
“The false allegation has resulted in me losing my career, my partner, my health, and I have always been sympathetic to the family of the victim.
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“There is now a cold case review under way which I am awaiting to assist and my hope and prayer is that the truth emerges before I die.
“The stress and strains imposed on me have ultimately resulted in a double heart attack from which I am recovering.”
