THE FIRST trailer for Netflix's upcoming documentary on one of Ireland's most notorious unsolved murders has been released.
Sophie: A Murder in West Cork tells the disturbing true story of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, a French native who was working in the town of Schull, West Cork as a producer when she was brutally murdered in December 1996.
Her lifeless body was discovered close to the holiday home where she was staying, having planned only a brief stay in Ireland before returning home to her child in France in time for Christmas.
However, on the morning of December 23, a neighbour discovered her body at the end of a pathway leading to her house.
French film producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier was killed in Co. Cork in 1996Du Plantier had been beaten beyond recognition; her right cheek, an eye socket and her fingers were broken, her lower lip was torn and there was a boot mark on her neck.
The case remains unsolved to this day, however English journalist Ian Bailey was arrested twice as part of the investigation after one witness claimed she saw him near Du Plantier's home on the night of the murder, and a teenager said the journalist had actually confessed the crime to him.
Despite these claims nobody was ever charged with the crime in Ireland.
Bailey was eventually convicted of the murder in France but Ireland has so far rebuffed calls for him to be extradited, and Bailey continues to maintain his innocence.
Netflix’s documentary is being made with the assistance of Ms Toscan du Plantier's cousin, Frederic Gazeau and is being directed by John Dower, who previously garnered acclaim for his 2008 documentary Thriller in Manilla.
The documentary will chart the circumstances of Sophie's death, unravelling the extraordinary story from its beginning, 24 years ago to the present day. With exclusive access to Sophie Toscan du Plantier’s family, the series will bring together, for the first time, the views of her family with Ian Bailey, the man at the centre of the investigation.
Sophie: A Murder in West Cork will air in three parts and be released on 30 June.
