IAN BAILEY claims he knows what happened to the blood-stained gate removed from Sophie Toscan du Plantier's driveway.
Sophie, a French film-maker, was murdered outside her home near the town of Schull, Co. Cork on December 23, 1996, and to this day the case remains unsolved, despite an extensive 25-year investigation.
Bailey, the self-confessed prime suspect in the murder case, was arrested twice by gardaí shortly after Sophie's death, but was never charged.
The case has been thrust back into the spotlight this month following the release of two documentary series about the murder, on Netflix and on Sky.
Viewers were astonished to hear that a metal gate outside Sophie's home, which had blood-staines all over it, mysteriously disappeared, despite being seized by gardaí.
However, Manchester-born Bailey rubbished claims that the gate simply vanished, insisting instead that it was "destroyed" because it had "no evidential benefit" to the investigation.
Taking to Twitter, Bailey said the gate "did not go missing, it was destroyed by National Forensic Lab on basis it was of no evidential benefit."
Breaking nuacht...what is being called "Gate Gate" in whest cark...Sean Maloney has revealed the missing blood splattered Six Bar Gate...did not go missing it was destroyed by National Forensic Lab on basis it was of no evidential benefit...the plot thickens like a Busy GraveyTBC
— Ian Kenneth Bailey (@IanKennethBail1) July 13, 2021
Some have speculated that the gate may have had traces of the killer's blood on it, given that Sophie's body was found partially tangled in nearby thorns.
Sophie was discovered by her neighbour on Christmas Eve, 1996. The 39-year-old had been badly beaten with a concrete slab and had died due to multiple head injuries.
Bailey, who lived a stone's throw away from Sophie's house at the time, has always professed his innocence, despite a significant amount of evidence suggesting otherwise.
