Sophie Toscan du Pantier. Netflix & Sky crime.

[Chinese_whispers]

I genuinely think that even if he’s innocent he’d still act up for the camera because he loves the attention and the notoriety that comes with it.

why wasn’t Marie Farrell prosecuted for perverting the course of justice if nothing else? There’s definitely something with her that goes beyond attention seeking. Who was she with on Kealfadda bridge? Why did she lie under oath to protect him?

 

[BigMavis]

Something very off about Marie, she matched her glasses to her hairband and shirt.

 

[Zoe88]

Why would Ian say those things to people round the town, like what he said to the guy who came to see if he was ok?
Why would he burn certain clothes and random things. And boots?
How did he know about the murder before it was 'known'?
Why was he soaking a big coat in a bucket in December?
Why did he mention going up to Sophie's house on that night before she was murdered?
Why did he say he'd never met her or knew much about her, just knew of her when Sophie had received a letter from him and had told her friends in France about it?
It happened 3 miles down the road from him, 1 mile as the crow flies and it's farm land/fields etc and he takes regular walks and knew Sophie's neighbour. Just seems like he could easily get to those houses.
He is definitely a narcissist. Like how it's ok for him to write articles about the husband hiring a hitman or it was the husband and other theories but articles on suspicion of him are slander and he takes them to court... And how he can just walk up to her house and peer in the window like he has a right to for a story. And all this everyone listen to me recite my poetry. And just blows past the fact that he beat his wife up regularly.
I want to know more about the daughters, they must have more info on his actions after the murder and more things he blurted out when drunk.
Sometimes I think he probably did do it out of rage and then thought to himself hmm I could make money off of this case and be a great journalist again.

Why did Marie Farrell lie? And when was she lying? All the time, the first times or the last? She rang from pay phones using a different name to start off with and didn't have Ian Bailey in mind... So what would be the point in her lying then? Why all those years later say she made it up and she didn't give a reason, and go through all the news, courts and misery for all that time just to say out of the blue yeah no I was lying.. none of that makes sense, if she was or wasn't lying.

Why didn't the husband go to Ireland after the murder? Or make any appearance or effort to find out what happened to Sophie?
Why was she worried about going by herself this time? (Was it to do with maybe meeting Ian? Or meeting someone else?)

How did the neighbour not hear anything? Wouldn't Sophie be screaming?

Why do the gaurdi not prevent the crime scene from being trampled all over?
And how do you 'lose' a gate?
And why didn't they keep DNA samples that could've been checked now? Like the big breeze block? Of course it would mainly be Sophie's blood but it didn't pick itself up.

Just a few things I've been thinking don't make sense if Ian isn't guilty and a few if he is. And just general wondering.

 

[AlanBanan]

I wanted to rewrite the post as I didn’t like how I had wrote it.

As much as he is a prick, an abuser and a strange man. I don’t think Bailey did it. There is no credible evidence that Bailey did it.

She was found at the front of the house, why didn’t she run towards the back and try to alert her neighbours, why did no one hear her scream? If it was a situation where she had been frightened there would’ve been signs of a struggle and she would have probably scared her killer off. I think she was having an affair with a Guard and they have been protecting him ever since. That is why they’re using Bailey as a scape goat as he’s a British man who has beaten his wife. They thought it would be the perfect person to pin this on as any Irish person in 1990s rural Ireland would immediately agree that he done it.

Two wine glasses were found, she was found in her pyjamas,I think an argument escalated between the couple and he hit her with something. Hence why it was first described as a crime of passion as it did not look premeditated. Also, it had happened around Christmas time. Why would a mother and a wife leave her family in France at Christmas to be alone in Ireland? She was obviously spending Christmas with her affair partner.

Her house was also located in an area that only locals would know how to get to. How in the world would a blow in like Bailey who was also supposedly piss drunk at the time managed to get there and not get lost?

Bailey’s DNA or fingerprints weren’t found at the scene, but they did find an unidentified print on a gate that was proven not to be Bailey’s. But somehow the Gardaí lost the gate.

Isn’t it quite strange how everything that could go wrong could go wrong? Like it was deliberately done to destroy evidence and to stall the investigation as much as possible.

Also Marie Farrelly has been proven to not be a credible witness and to be honest she seems like an attention seeking liar.

I can’t believe that a drunk Ian Bailey would be smart enough to clean her house, remove any evidence from her nails, prevent any fingerprints or any DNA to be evident in her house and then clean her house and wipe two wine glasses. But a guard would know what to do avoid detection that they were there.

If anyone is from Ireland they should know Guards don’t give a fuck about anything other than themselves they’re self serving and will do anything to protect their own.

 

[BashmentLady]

I would go as far as doubting whether Marie Farrell was even out that night, whether with a man or anyone at all. Absolute fantasist trying to insert herself into news and unfortunately has been very successful doing so. Nothing she says can or should be considered. She has done a world of damage into truth and fairness ever being done for poor Sophie and her family.

 

[BigMavis]

People are defending Ian Bailey, personally I get big red flags, how he spoke to Jules was really frightening. I'm glad to hear they've broken up.

 

[Chinese_whispers]

I’m sorry lads but who loses a big fucking gate? Bailey is a violent, alcoholic eccentric but there isn’t a shred of physical proof he actually did it. Him being unlikeable isn’t proof. I think he did do it, purely on gut instinct which is uncharacteristically unscientific of me but there’s a part of me wonders if it’s a cover up for a fellow gard.

 

[Chinese_whispers]

I wouldn’t put too much weight on the two glasses. Does nobody else not put their stuff away straight away?

 

[hobbitbobbit]

Marie Farrell should hang her head in shame.

 

[bolimepipi]

i just finished the netflix one and read this thread, the story really upset me i haven't watched the sky one or listened to the podcast but i 100% will. can't say who did it but i can say that: 1. ian bailey should be behind bars simply for what he did to jules, when that kind man was describing how the daughters were asking for help and how useless he felt it broke my heart; and 2. marie farrell is more annoying than dolores umbridge

 

[Columbo]

Watched this on Netflix last night and I don’t know what to think. There’s a lot that points to Bailey but I can also see why he’d be a good scapegoat.
I feel like Sophie must’ve known her murderer, no sign of a struggle inside the house and the keys in the door suggest that she answered the door to someone and willingly walked those few yards down the road with them before being attacked. According to the documentary, she had met Bailey and he asked to meet with her regarding something he was writing.
The coat soaking in the bucket? The burning of the mattress? Is it possible Sophie had been in his bed some time before she was killed?
Didn’t Jules tell the court that the scratch on his head appeared overnight or did I pick that up wrong? He said he broke the turkeys necks and strung them up their feet but one of the dead turkey’s still managed to scratch him on the head?
The whole Marie Farrell thing is a head fuck, I don’t know what’s going on there. Could a guard have seen her with another man and threatened to tell her husband unless she made a statement against Bailey who was already disliked and seen as weird by the locals so nobody would really question his guilt once the seed was planted?

The missing gate?? It can’t have gone missing, it was obviously disposed of but why? A Guard was involved in the murder? The guards discovered the evidence from the gate would vindicate Bailey so better to dispose of it than be seen to have no suspect given the huge public interest in the case? Bailey, being an investigative journalist, knew something about a guard (an affair,dodgy dealings etc) and blackmailed the guard into getting rid of the gate because he knew it would link him to the murder?

I really hope the family get justice, my heart broke seeing her poor parents and son

ETA let’s not discount the fact that Bailey is violent and a blatant liar. Jules had pretty severe injuries and was hospitalised after he attacked her and in the documentary he said oh she was hitting me so I pushed her and she got hurt in the process no mate you don’t get those injuries from being pushed, her eye was “the size of a grapefruit” and her lip severed from her gum. He should’ve been jailed for that attack on Jules in the first instance.

 

[doawheelie]

What I don’t get is Marie Farrell taking it back saying she lied because she was with another man but like come on you didn’t have to tell them in the first place u were even out that night ffs that woman annoyed me

 

[torontoon]

I seen this on MN the other day on the thread for the sky doc. It’s the 2001 DDP file case, it makes an interesting read particularly when you’ve seen both docs.

DocumentCloud

www.documentcloud.org

I felt uncomfortable with the way he spoke to Jules too, when she said she couldn’t leave him back then because people would have thought he did it. You can only imagine the mind games he played on her. He’s an absolute piece of shit but I still don’t think he killed Sophie. I dread to think what he has done though, them drawings were creepy as fuck!

Thanks for this! I'm two episodes into the Jim Sheridan version and finished the Netfllix one already. I'm looking forward to reading this once I'm through both.

Why would Ian say those things to people round the town, like what he said to the guy who came to see if he was ok?
Why would he burn certain clothes and random things. And boots?
How did he know about the murder before it was 'known'?
Why was he soaking a big coat in a bucket in December?
Why did he mention going up to Sophie's house on that night before she was murdered?
Why did he say he'd never met her or knew much about her, just knew of her when Sophie had received a letter from him and had told her friends in France about it?
It happened 3 miles down the road from him, 1 mile as the crow flies and it's farm land/fields etc and he takes regular walks and knew Sophie's neighbour. Just seems like he could easily get to those houses.
He is definitely a narcissist. Like how it's ok for him to write articles about the husband hiring a hitman or it was the husband and other theories but articles on suspicion of him are slander and he takes them to court... And how he can just walk up to her house and peer in the window like he has a right to for a story. And all this everyone listen to me recite my poetry. And just blows past the fact that he beat his wife up regularly.
I want to know more about the daughters, they must have more info on his actions after the murder and more things he blurted out when drunk.
Sometimes I think he probably did do it out of rage and then thought to himself hmm I could make money off of this case and be a great journalist again.

Why did Marie Farrell lie? And when was she lying? All the time, the first times or the last? She rang from pay phones using a different name to start off with and didn't have Ian Bailey in mind... So what would be the point in her lying then? Why all those years later say she made it up and she didn't give a reason, and go through all the news, courts and misery for all that time just to say out of the blue yeah no I was lying.. none of that makes sense, if she was or wasn't lying.

Why didn't the husband go to Ireland after the murder? Or make any appearance or effort to find out what happened to Sophie?
Why was she worried about going by herself this time? (Was it to do with maybe meeting Ian? Or meeting someone else?)

How did the neighbour not hear anything? Wouldn't Sophie be screaming?

Why do the gaurdi not prevent the crime scene from being trampled all over?
And how do you 'lose' a gate?
And why didn't they keep DNA samples that could've been checked now? Like the big breeze block? Of course it would mainly be Sophie's blood but it didn't pick itself up.

Just a few things I've been thinking don't make sense if Ian isn't guilty and a few if he is. And just general wondering.

These are excellent questions! I've been wondering some of them myself - can't believe the neighbour didn't hear anything, can't believe they couldn't get hold of the pathologist for half a day, can't understand how they lose a gate, and I really don't get the DNA thing - surely there has to be some somewhere? I think she went willingly down the lane, knew her killer but was taken unawares. And I think Marie is a lying sack of shit, whichever way you look at it. Fucking busybody.

 

[hypoharpy]

I think whomever killed Sophie had to be a resident. Her house was so remote and it was midwinter so it had to be someone who knew it well. She had been in bed , had boots on which weren't laced properly and left her keys in the door. Maybe someone had come to the house and had tried to assault her and she'd run off but was then caught. RIP Sophie.

 

[Chinese_whispers]

What I don’t get is Marie Farrell taking it back saying she lied because she was with another man but like come on you didn’t have to tell them in the first place u were even out that night ffs that woman annoyed me

This bothered me too. But it’s been 25 years, I’m sure her husband has forgiven her by now for having an affair considering they’re still together. Just tell the truth and be done with it. Sophie has a son who has lived longer without her than he had with her, she owes it to him at least. She went to the police first, it’s not like they went specifically to her.

do you think Ian threatened her?

 

[RedRosed]

Two wine glasses were found, she was found in her pyjamas,I think an argument escalated between the couple and he hit her with something. Hence why it was first described as a crime of passion as it did not look premeditated. Also, it had happened around Christmas time. Why would a mother and a wife leave her family in France at Christmas to be alone in Ireland? She was obviously spending Christmas with her affair partner.

I agree with everything you said. I don’t think it was Ian. Surely Jules daughter’s wouldn’t have confirmed the Xmas tree and turkey story if not true. IB abused Jules and that would have been a perfect chance for the daughters to talk to the guards, who definitely would have listened.

Just on the Christmas comment you made though, Sophie did apparently have a flight booked to go home on Christmas Eve. She did intend on spending Christmas with her family. It’s an incredibly sad case and I can’t stop thinking about it if I’m honest. Her poor family and son are so focused on IB, I can’t imagine their pain.

 

[Bomfi]

But there’s also evidence that there’s pages missing from the book of evidence. They were torn out of it

Like why would someone in the guards do that. There’s way too much focus on Ian Bailey and not enough on the fact that crucial evidence went missing…… the guards were recorded over the phone in the station bribing witnesses…

 

[Trinacheile]

I hope they solve this case, it’s desperately sad for her family.

 

[jackolantern]

Didn't realise there was a thread for this but fascinated to read everyone's take. I too am not fully convinced Ian did it tbh. I mean don't get me wrong, he comes across as a complete narcissitic arsehole and not a good guy, but the whole time I was watching it, it just felt off for me. Will have to try and find the Sky version as I've only seen the Netflix one.

 

[Fairyqueen]

Jesus don't talk to me about that gate I could never understand it!! Irish gardai like