One-time murder suspect Ian Bailey has died suddenly in Cork this afternoon.
The 66-year-old always denied being involved in the murder of French mother-of-one Sophie Toscan du Plantier.
Bailey is thought to have suffered a suspected heart attack and collapsing on a street in west Cork earlier today.
Last year, he told the Irish Independent he had been hoping his cardiac health would improve sufficiently to allow him to undergo bypass surgery which he required following a series of heart attacks.
He said his “hope and prayer” was to live long enough to see the person responsible for the brutal killing of French mother-of-one Sophie Toscan du Plantier (39) finally brought to justice.
Mr Bailey admitted he feared that the stress of being wrongly associated with the crime for 26 years had finally taken its toll on his health.
He was treated on the street by a number of pedestrians on Sunday, one of whom performed cardiac-pulmonary resuscitation on him until an ambulance arrived.
However, the Irish Independent reports that he has since died.
On three occasions the Irish courts 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.
Mr Bailey had vehemently protested his innocence and said he hoped to live long enough to see him exonerated with the true culprit brought to justice.
