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Sophie Toscan du Plantier
Born
28 July 1957
Paris, France
Died
23 December 1996 (aged 39)
Schull, Ireland
Cause of death
Beaten to death[1]
Nationality
French
Occupation
Television producer
Spouse(s)
Daniel Toscan du Plantier
Parent(s)
Marguerite Bouniol
Georges Bouniol[2]
Sophie Toscan du Plantier (28 July 1957 – 23 December 1996) was a French television producer[3] who was beaten to death outside her holiday home near Toormore, Schull, County Cork, Ireland, on the night of 23 December 1996. She was the wife of film producer, Daniel Toscan du Plantier.
Du Plantier's death remains unsolved.[2][4][5] Journalist Ian Bailey was arrested twice in relation to the murder, but maintains his innocence.[6] He was due to be tried in absentia in France after winning a legal battle against extradition.[7] On 31 May 2019 he was convicted of murder by the Cour d'Assises de Paris and sentenced to 25 years prison. France is hoping to secure an extradition from Ireland on basis of this sentence. [8]
Contents
Extradition case[edit]
The Sophie Toscan du Plantier incident was at the centre of an extradition case surrounding a prime suspect in the case, Ian Bailey, and the desire of the French authorities that he be brought to France to be questioned.[9]
In February 2010, a European Arrest Warrant was issued by a French magistrate which led to the High Court in Ireland granting an extradition order.[10] This was appealed to the Supreme Court by Mr Bailey.[11] In March 2012, the appeal was granted by the Irish Supreme Court.[12] All five judges upheld the appeal on the ground that the French authorities had no intention to try him at this stage; four of the judges also upheld the argument that the European Arrest Warrant prohibited surrendering Mr Bailey to France because the alleged offence occurred outside French territory and there was an absence of reciprocity.[13]
In March 2017, Bailey was arrested in Ireland on foot of a European Arrest Warrant issued by the French authorities. The warrant sought to extradite Bailey to France to stand trial for the voluntary homicide of Sophie Toscan du Plantier and the High Court of Ireland endorsed the warrant. Bailey immediately instructed his legal team to oppose the application.[14] Bailey was successful in avoiding extradition, and in 2018, a French court ruled there was "sufficient grounds" for Bailey to face trial in absentia.[7] As Bailey was convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison May 31, 2019 by a French court the conviction is expected to lead to a new French arrest warrant and renewed extradition attempts.[15]
Bandon phone recordings[edit]
In 2014, when it came to light that phone calls at Garda stations had been secretly recorded, there were claims that some recordings from Bandon Garda station had evidence of irregularities in the Toscan du Plantier investigation. The Fennelly Commission, a commission of investigation established in April 2014 by the then government of Ireland, includes within its terms of reference both the recordings generally and the Bandon allegations in particular. The sole member of the commission is Nial Fennelly, a retired justice of the Supreme Court.
In popular culture[edit]
The murder was the subject of a 2018 true-crime podcast miniseries titled West Cork,[16] produced by Audible and hosted by documentarian Jennifer Ford and investigative journalist Sam Bungey.[1
She is married to Daniel TOSCAN du PLANTIER.
They got married
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