I thought that telling this sad tale over 5 episodes might be stretching it too far, but Jim Sheridan proved me wrong. Some might think his decision to make the series about his own quest for the truth makes him as narcissistic as Ian Bailey, the chief suspect, but that too would be wrong: the approach worked.
Initially the police had 50 suspects, but soon focused on Bailey and, some would say, tried to stitch him up. Bailey did himself no favours, A freelance journalist, he was the first journo to visit the scene. His assertion that the victim had not been sexually assaulted, before the police had released that fact, naturally aroused suspicion. He allegedly told a boy to whom he gave a lift that he'd done it, but as Sheridan said, that could just have been him being English, saying the opposite of what he meant in a sarcastic fashion. He'd viciously attacked his partner in a drunken rage, and why she stayed with him for decades was a mystery (it seemed to have worn her down.) Being British in Ireland no doubt prejudiced many against him, and then there were the scratches on his arm.
However, the DPP refused to prosecute him because the evidence was too flimsy. He wouldn't confess to the police, and despite the savagery of the attack and the amount of bloodshed there was no trace of his fingerprints or DNA at the scene. The blood under the victim's nails wasn't his. Then the only witness against him, who alleged she'd seen him stalking Sophie outside her shop and again at night near the road leading to the cottage, retracted her evidence. This led to a scandal, as she asserted the police had pressured and bribed her to make the original statement. The victim's family, certain that Bailey was the killer, managed to get a French court to hear the case, though how such a court had jurisdiction is beyond me.
The hearing was a farce. I love French farce: 55 years on from when I saw the National Theatre production of Feydeau's " A Flea in her Ear", directed by Jacques Charon of the Comedie Francaise, it's still the funniest play I've ever seen, but there was nothing funny about that court case, as the only thing ever in doubt was the length of the sentence. Bailey clear expected a home town decision and didn't attend, and no lawyer presented his side of the story. The witness's original statement was presented as gospel truth, and her subsequent retraction and allegations weren't mentioned. The boy's mother told of Bailey's alleged confession to her son (double hearsay!) and Bailey was duly found guilty. The Irish State refuses to extradite him.
This series was gripping throughout, with Sophie's grieving parents and son, the police and local residents all having their say, and Mr. Sheridan has done a great job of story-telling. I read that Netflix will soon stream its own documentary on the case. It will have to be very good to stand up against this series for Sky.
Initially the police had 50 suspects, but soon focused on Bailey and, some would say, tried to stitch him up. Bailey did himself no favours, A freelance journalist, he was the first journo to visit the scene. His assertion that the victim had not been sexually assaulted, before the police had released that fact, naturally aroused suspicion. He allegedly told a boy to whom he gave a lift that he'd done it, but as Sheridan said, that could just have been him being English, saying the opposite of what he meant in a sarcastic fashion. He'd viciously attacked his partner in a drunken rage, and why she stayed with him for decades was a mystery (it seemed to have worn her down.) Being British in Ireland no doubt prejudiced many against him, and then there were the scratches on his arm.
However, the DPP refused to prosecute him because the evidence was too flimsy. He wouldn't confess to the police, and despite the savagery of the attack and the amount of bloodshed there was no trace of his fingerprints or DNA at the scene. The blood under the victim's nails wasn't his. Then the only witness against him, who alleged she'd seen him stalking Sophie outside her shop and again at night near the road leading to the cottage, retracted her evidence. This led to a scandal, as she asserted the police had pressured and bribed her to make the original statement. The victim's family, certain that Bailey was the killer, managed to get a French court to hear the case, though how such a court had jurisdiction is beyond me.
The hearing was a farce. I love French farce: 55 years on from when I saw the National Theatre production of Feydeau's " A Flea in her Ear", directed by Jacques Charon of the Comedie Francaise, it's still the funniest play I've ever seen, but there was nothing funny about that court case, as the only thing ever in doubt was the length of the sentence. Bailey clear expected a home town decision and didn't attend, and no lawyer presented his side of the story. The witness's original statement was presented as gospel truth, and her subsequent retraction and allegations weren't mentioned. The boy's mother told of Bailey's alleged confession to her son (double hearsay!) and Bailey was duly found guilty. The Irish State refuses to extradite him.
This series was gripping throughout, with Sophie's grieving parents and son, the police and local residents all having their say, and Mr. Sheridan has done a great job of story-telling. I read that Netflix will soon stream its own documentary on the case. It will have to be very good to stand up against this series for Sky.