Gardaí uncover 133 taped calls from du Plantier case

Garda searches have uncovered a much larger number of secretly recorded phone calls relating to the investigation of the Sophie Toscan du Plantier murder than were previously believed to exist.

The case is at the centre of the controversy around the Garda’s practice, dating back to the 1980s, of recording non-emergency calls in and out of Garda stations.

Late last year, during a discovery process relating to a civil action being taken by Ian Bailey and his partner Jules Thomas for wrongful arrest, tapes of calls linked to the case were found in Bandon Garda station and their existence emerged at a court hearing.

Garda sources have confirmed 133 recorded calls have been identified.

Some 36 are of conversations between Garda members and Marie Farrell. She gave incriminating evidence placing Mr Bailey close to the murder scene only to withdraw it, saying she had been pressured by gardaí. Thirty- seven recordings are of conversations between Garda members, including a conference call between those in Bandon and a Dublin-based group of senior gardaí. Forty-four of the tapes are of conversations about the case between gardaí and journalists.

Ms Toscan du Plantier was murdered in Toormore near Schull, west Cork, in December 1996. Mr Bailey was arrested twice and released without charge. He has always maintained his innocence.