Netflix is known for leading the way when it comes to true crime documentaries, so it’s no surprise that its newest series is shaping up to be a smash-hit.
Sophie: A Murder in West Cork is a three-part documentary film series that takes a look at the life of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, as well as an investigation into her death in 1996 after her murder – which became a national obsession in Ireland and France.
On the morning of 23 December 1996, the Gardaí – or Irish police – discovered French producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier dead in the coastal outpost of West Cork.
Toscan du Plantier had been residing in her holiday home in Ireland before she was murdered, and the police looked into a handful of suspects, including her husband, Daniel Toscan du Plantier, and former lover, Bruno Carbonnet.
But for decades, the prime suspect in this tragic case – who was never tried in Ireland but has since faced the court of public opinion – has boiled down to one man.
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And that prime suspect is from right here in Manchester.
The murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier became national obsession in 1996 / Credit: Netflix UK & Ireland
Who is Ian Bailey?
Born in Manchester, Ian Bailey moved to Ireland in 1991 with his partner, Jules Thomas, and settled in the remote West Cork village of Schull from 1992 onwards.
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He worked as a freelance journalist, fish farmer, poet, and held a market stall selling pizzas.
Bailey was known for previous incidents of domestic violence towards Thomas, which had resulted in her hospitalisation, and in 2001 he was convicted of assault in Skibbereen District Court.
A psychiatrist’s report prepared for the murder trial of Sophie Toscan du Plantier concluded he had a “personality constructed on narcissism, psycho-rigidity, violence, impulsiveness, egocentricity, with an intolerance to frustration and a great need for recognition” and also had a tendency to become violent “under the liberating effects of alcohol”.
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The judge stated that “Mr Bailey is a man who likes a certain amount of notoriety, that he likes perhaps to be in the limelight, that he likes a bit of self-publicity”.
How did he become the prime suspect?
Ian Bailey has denied ever officially meeting Toscan du Plantier.
Several witnesses have contradicted this, and a report by the Irish Times claims that the late producer’s friends recalled her mentioning a meeting for a writing project with Bailey.
While Bailey initially presented himself as a helpful local journalist for out-of-town reporters, he soon became the centre of the murder investigation, with the most damning evidence against him coming from a shopkeeper named Marie Farrell, who said that she had seen a man in a long coat at Kealfadda Bridge the night that Toscan du Plantier was murdered.
Farrell later retracted her statement, and claimed that Bailey threatened her after she initially identified him.
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Despite Farrell’s testimony, other signs such as scratches on Bailey’s head, hands, and arms days after the murder were also identified and according to a report from the Irish Independent, neighbours also saw Bailey burn a mattress among other belongings.
On top of that, Bailey also confessed to Schull residents that he killed Toscan du Plantier – but he later claimed he was only joking.
Did he ever get convicted?
The Director of Public Prosecutions in Ireland said that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to try Bailey.
Although he wasn’t convicted in Ireland for the murder, his legal battle continued in France, as according to French law, the country has extraterritorial jurisdiction when a French citizen is murdered, so Bailey was tried in absentia, and in 2019, the three-judge Cour d’Assises in France officially convicted Bailey of murder, sentencing him to 25 years.
However, the Irish High Court ruled in Oct 2020 that Bailey, then 63, could not be extradited.
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Bailey himself has also pursued legal action twice – once against the media for libel, and another time against the Irish state for wrongful arrest.
He lost both cases.
According to a 2021 report in The Irish Post, Bailey is getting ready to sue Netflix for using his interview in the true crime documentary, alleging in a letter: “At no time did I agree to it being used in a finished documentary.”
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You can find more information about Sophie: A Murder in West Cork, and watch the series in full on Netflix here.
Featured Image – Netflix UK & Ireland
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Rúben Amorim outlines the three key things Manchester United need to work on
Danny Jones
Rúben Amorim has conducted his first full press conference as Manchester United manager and has outlined the three key things he wants to address when it comes to his new team.
Amorim officially joined Man United on Monday, 11 November after being given a ‘now or never’ which meant he had to leave his former club Sporting CP in the middle of the season.
Replacing Erik ten Hag, who was sacked less than 24 hours after a 2-1 defeat to West Ham and had overseen a run of bad results, the contract extension he was given in the summer ultimately proved obsolete and now the Portuguese head coach must lift his new side from a measly 13th in the table.
That being said, speaking to the media in his first full pre-match presser ahead of his maiden Premier League outing against Ipswich Town this weekend, Amorim has already highlighted three key areas in which he wants United to improve as a matter of priority.
"I truly believe that I'm the right guy in the right moment" 👊
Ruben Amorim says he does not think managing Manchester United is the impossible job.#MUFC#bbcfootball 🇵🇹
What did Amorim say in his first full Man United press conference?
Although the 39-year-old coach – who is only three years older than resurgent centre-back Johnny Evans – started off by assuring that his main focus at its core is to win the next match (and the one after that, as the football cliché goes), he boiled the current squad issues down to a troublesome trio.
In his eyes, a lot of it just comes down to pure physical effort.
Improve possession
First and foremost, Amorim was quick to point out that United “lose the ball too often” and simply have to retain it more throughout the 90 minutes.
Although they have enjoyed spells of greater control in games, their average possessions stats in the Premier League not only under ten Hag but Ole Gunnar Solskjær and even short-lived interim boss Ralf Rangnick never flirted too far above 50-53%.
While that might sound like the signs of nothing more than a well-contested game, the club need to be looking at much higher numbers if they want to start being a dominant force again.
Track back more
The second area he said that the team desperately needs to improve in is the distances covered per match, especially when it comes to running back towards their own goal and tracking back during defensive phases.
Addressing it in a rather matter-of-fact manner, he told reporters: “We have to be better at running back, I think that is clear for everybody [to see].” He told Gary Neville something very similar in his other recent interview with Sky Sports.
"This is my place" ❤️
The smile on both Gary Neville and Ruben Amorim's face when the Manchester United head coach said this ☺ pic.twitter.com/dpKnnE69Nm
He said it with a smile on his face but it’s clear that he knows there is a narrative surrounding United in recent years that they just don’t work hard enough, both on and off the ball. Having played mainly in the middle of the park for Belenenses, Benfica and SC Braga, running is a non-negotiable.
Focus on the ‘details’ first
Lastly, Amorim said he believes one of the big things he can do for these players is to help them fine-tune the small things. He added that although there is a feeling that fans want there to be “a lot of change” and pressure to make “big” decisions, he reiterated that “it’s the small things.”
The former utility player knows a thing or two about playing in lots of positions and going back to the opening point of his press conference in which he discussed getting the team to believe in “one thing”, he believes that the minute differences can contribute to changing how they approach the game.
There is understandably lots of talk surrounding his trademark 3-4-3 formation and whether these details refer to tactical tweaks, we will see, but he insists that so long as they put in the effort and pay attention to the little stuff, those on the pitch will start to play in the same way that he wants them to.
You can watch his press conference ahead of the Ipswich away this Sunday in full down below:
Amorim was also happy to casually call out those who ‘don’t believe in’ his new players in his first press conference as Man United coach.
Featured Images — BeanymanSports (via YouTube screenshot)
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Posters around Manchester city centre spark serious rumours Charli XCX is set to headline Parklife 2025
Danny Jones
Some pretty big, green posters are popping up around town and, not to get ahead of ourselves, but it looks like they’re hinting at Charli XCX headlining Parklife 2025…
Feel free to lose your bratting minds.
A number of tall, let’s call it ‘apple’ green posters have been sighted in various places across Manchester city centre this Friday, 22 November and the last time we saw this slightly low-resolution, plain black Arial font and colour combo we got a reworked version of Charli XCX’s brat album.
Listen, all we can tell you is that this is almost exactly the same marketing and the letters on the poster simply read, “PL25”. Come on… you do the math(s).
Spotting at least two of the posters for ourselves around both Newton and Thomas Street in and around the Northern Quarter, plenty of people have been double-taking at the simple but bold and undeniably eye-catching portrait posters.
Trust us, we weren’t the only ones stopping to take a picture and frantically send them to half of our phonebook either.
Charli herself hasn’t given us any other clues on social media thus far – to be fair, this one feels fairly obvious to us – but it’s well worth keeping your eyes peeled on her stories as she did plenty of teasing before dropping Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat.
Still can’t get over that actually being the title, by the way.
It’s also worth noting that Parklife themselves recently confirmed that festival fans can expect to find out their headliners and the full 2025 lineup very soon. Check out that colour…
Oh, who are we kidding? That’s not apple green it’s straight-up BRAT green, b*tch. We’re fully getting carried away and you’ll just have to deal with it.
Even if it somehow turns out she’s not headlining it’s certainly looking like she’s going to be there and it wouldn’t be the first time.
Better yet, fans of the pop sensation won’t have to wait too long to see her right here in Greater Manchester because Charli is bringing her already smash-hit tour to Co-op Live next Wednesday, 27 November and in case you couldn’t tell by all the shouting in capitals, we’re very excited.
Roll on ‘PL25’. Other than Charli XCX, who else would you like to see as your Parklife headliners next summer?
Emily Sergeant -
5th July 2021 
