Netflix 'Sophie: A Murder in West Cork': Where is Ian Bailey? Journo wants interviews deleted
In 1996, two days before Christmas, french documentary filmmaker Sophie Toscan Du Plantier was bludgeoned to death outside of her holiday cottage in Schull, Ireland. The shocking murder sent shockwaves across the country and beyond. It's been 25 years since the tragic killing. Over the years, the case has been examined and investigated but the murder remains unsolved. In a gap of weeks, two documentaries were scheduled for release to understand where the case stands currently. While 'Murder at the Cottage: The Search for Justice for Sophie' premiered on Sky Crime on June 20, Sunday, Netflix's 'Sophie: A Murder in West Cork' releases on June 30.
Ian Bailey, who has been arrested twice in connection with the murder, was one of the first to arrive on the crime scene. Even though he has rejected any and all accusations leveled against him, he continues to be at the center of the investigation. While you wait for the three-part docu-series to drop, you can catch up on 'The Sons of Sam', 'Audrie & Daisy', 'Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez' and 'Making a Murderer.'
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Where is Ian Bailey?
At the time of Sophie's murder, Manchester-born Bailey was working as a journalist for the local newspapers. Based on circumstantial evidence against him, he quickly became a suspect in the case. A local resident claimed to have seen him on a bridge near which the victim was found.
In 2019, Bailey was convicted in France following a four-day trial. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. However, the Irish High Court ruled against it. Bailey has lived in Schull since 1992. He was married to Jules Thomas. The couple announced their split in early 2021.
Recently, Bailey spoke with The Journal to express his concerns about the Netflix documentary. "I always suspected. I was hoping I might be wrong, but I suspected that it would be a piece of self-serving unobjective demonising propaganda," he said. That explains why he wrote letters to the bosses at the streaming giant hoping they'd delete his interviews.
“I haven’t had any replies and if they don’t, they don’t – then que-sera-sera. Maybe my team of solicitors and barristers that I have to call on and I’ll possibly refer it to them," he told the site and added: “And in the meantime, everybody’s lives down here have been really messed up by this dirty rotten stinking lie that was perpetuated from day one that I had something to do with it, it’s affected so many people in [sic] so many victims at different levels, Jules (Thomas his former partner), the victim’s family, myself, Maria Farrell (a State witness who claimed gardaí forced her to identify Bailey), the community."
'Sophie: A Murder in West Cork' is currently streaming on Netflix.