Cause of death Beaten to death Role Film producer Name Death Sophie | Occupation Film producer | |
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Parents Georges Bouniol, Marguerite Bouniol Similar People Daniel Toscan du Plantier, Marie‑Christine Barrault, Isabelle Huppert, Isabella Rossellini, Francesca Comencini | ||
Sophie Toscan du Plantier (28 July 1957 – 23 December 1996) was a French film producer 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 another film producer, Daniel Toscan du Plantier.
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Her death remains unsolved. Journalist Ian Bailey was arrested twice in relation to the murder. However, he was not prosecuted for the crime and has always protested his innocence.
Extradition case
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.
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. This was appealed to the Supreme Court by Mr Bailey. In March 2012 the appeal was granted by the Irish Supreme Court. 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.
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.
Bandon phone recordings
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.
