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Irish Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Ian Bailey's ex to open up on who she thinks murdered Sophie Toscan du Plantier
Ian Bailey's former lover believes she knows who murdered Sophie Toscan du Plantier in a new book. Jules Thomas, whose ex was long considered a suspect in the brutal killing in December 1996, is writing her autobiography as she battles a life-threatening blood disease. While she and Mr Bailey were no longer a couple when he died last year, she told how the crime ruined their lives and she will never forgive the gardai for how they treated them. Although Ms Thomas, who is a painter, didn't name names, she said the killer is someone well connected with the forces of law and order. She also believes the culprit was involved in a relationship with the tragic French film producer who was battered to death, just 100 yards from her holiday home in Schull, Co Cork. Ms Thomas said: "I will tell my side of the story in this book. I want to get the truth out there while I am alive. "Ian Bailey may have been a lot of things but he did not kill Sophie. "He didn't have it in him to kill anyone – he couldn't kill a turkey for God's sake." Ian Bailey arrives at the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin with his partner Jules Thomas (Image: Collins Courts) The artist was Mr Bailey's alibi on the night Sophie was killed and detectives were hoping she would change her story after they split up three years ago. But she was having none of it. She recalled: "When gardai brought me in for questioning all those years ago they kept telling me my life was in danger and Ian would eventually kill me. Well here we are all these years later and guess what? Ian didn't kill me. "He has passed on and I am still here. He was never a danger to me or anyone else. Gardai, as far as I am concerned, tried to frame Ian for the murder and in doing so ruined our lives. "They never seriously looked at any other suspects. "In this book I will tell what actually went on and put the record straight. "Gardai did everything to get me to change my story but the truth is the truth. I kept telling them Ian did not kill Sophie but they wouldn't listen." Sophie Toscan du Plantier (Image: PATRICK ZIMMERMANN/AFP via Getty Images) Mr Bailey was arrested twice over the murder but never charged. He was then convicted in absentia by a French court of murder and sentenced to 25 years jail. But Irish authorities refused to extradite him because much of the evidence was based on hearsay and would never have been admissible in an Irish court. Ms Thomas' comments come as US forensic experts are using new technology to try and identify DNA from a blood sample found on the block used to kill Sophie. Her family in Paris are hoping for a breakthrough and are adamant the biological material will be that of Mr Bailey, who died of a heart attack. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
Sunday World
5 days ago
- Sunday World
Mum burned with blowtorch during three-hour torture by eight-man gang slams ‘animals'
'so cruel' | 'I was beaten, stabbed and burnt – tortured to confess to something I knew nothing about,' she said. During a three hour period in September last year in which she was put through 'unimaginable trauma', the woman was beaten to the head and body with metal poles. She was burned with a makeshift blow torch and a heated hammer head, cut with a knife, kicked and punched, had her hair cut off and was threatened with rape, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard. The men took running jumps at her during the assault in a one bedroom flat at Henrietta House, Dublin 7, threatened to make her drink ammonia and also threatened to rape her teenage daughter. She was terrified throughout and thought she was going to die, Caroline Cummings BL, prosecuting, told the sentence hearing today. Left to right: Sean Conroy (21), Mark McMahon (55), Mark Keogh (33), Kian Walshe (22), Braxton Rice (20). All five admitted to falsely imprisoning and assaulting the woman at Henrietta House in Bolton Street, Dublin 7, on September 26, 2024. News in 90 Seconds - July 25th The assault only ended when gardaí entered the flat with a search warrant, the court heard. All of the men, who have between one and 124 previous convictions respectively, were on bail at the time of the offence. In text messages read out in court, one of the men boasted to a friend during the incident that they had a 'hostage' and had 'cut her up', to which this unidentified man replied: 'quality'. Phone video footage taken inside the flat that day was also played in court, which showed the woman bloodied and distressed and a hammer being heated up on a hob. Read more The woman was left with a broken eye socket, broken cheekbone, broken nasal bone, broken elbow, burns, dislocated teeth, bruising and lacerations across her head and scalp among other injuries. She required skin grafts, staples to her scalp and later had surgery to remove a disc in her back, the court heard. She spent three weeks in hospital in the immediate aftermath of the assault. Five of the eight men present that day entered guilty pleas, while another man and a juvenile are still before the courts. The eighth person is not before the courts. Sean Conroy, from Silloge Road, Ballymun, Dublin pictured at the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ) on Parkgate Street. Photo: Mark Keogh (33), Mark McMahon (55) and Braxton Rice (21), all of Henrietta House, Henrietta Place, Dublin 7, along with Sean Conroy (21) of Sillogue Road, Ballymun and Kian Walshe (22) of Constitution Hill, Dublin 7, all pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and assault causing harm to the woman at Henrietta House on September 26, 2024. A number of other counts against each man relating to the production of articles in the course of an offence, were taken into consideration. In her victim impact statement, which was read out by the investigating officer, the 38-year-old woman said she was 'petrified' in the flat. 'If police didn't come in through that door that day, I was sure I was dead,' she said, describing the men as 'animals'. 'I was beaten, stabbed and burnt – tortured to confess to something I knew nothing about,' she said. '...The smell of my skin burning, I will never get that smell out of my mind again,' she said, adding that she was 'completely helpless' and outnumbered by the eight men. 'I never knew humanity could be so cruel,' she said. Detective Garda Peter Guyett told the court that at the time of the incident, the woman and her then partner were staying with one of the men whose case is still before the court. While there, the woman became aware this man was holding drugs in his house. On the day in question, this man and another person approached the woman in the house and told her: 'Come on, we've to go', before she was put into an Audi containing two other men and driven to Henrietta House. There were eight men in the flat and a 'baby-faced' man, who later emerged to be Rice, started interrogating her about a €90k batch of cocaine that had gone missing from the home she was staying in. Rice accessed the woman's Facebook account and demanded her mother's address, threatening to rape her teenage daughter who was staying there. He started hitting her across the head with a metal pole before he 'lost control' and started hitting her all over her body, the court heard. An older man, later identified as McMahon, whose flat it was, held a hatchet up to her face while his son Keogh, referred to in court as 'Sparky' hit her across the head with a pole. Conroy kicked her face. 'Every person there hit her,' Ms Cummings said. 'Not one of them didn't get involved'. She said the men would walk into the next room so they had more space in order to run at the woman with speed while assaulting her. While she was being hit and kicked, Braxton heated the head of a hammer up and pressed it 'over and over' against her bare legs, the court heard. They cut her hair which the woman later described as 'the ultimate humiliation'. At one point, she heard the men on the phone to their 'boss' who said: 'Strip her off and get her into bed and bugger her.' They didn't do this but they told her a 'black man' was coming to rape her, the court heard. The man whose house she was staying in was told by the others to get involved and he cut her legs with some sort of blade. They used an aerosol can and a lighter as a makeshift blowtorch to burn her. The woman thought the incident lasted for an hour and a half, but CCTV footage showed she was in the flat for three hours before gardaí entered, the court heard. The woman was visibly bloodied and bruised, extremely distressed and there was blood on the chair under her as well as clumps of hair scattered around the flat. The men tried to pretend that she had been injured outside by a third party and they were helping to clean her up, but the woman was taken to another room where she disclosed that they had been torturing her. 'I was being beaten to a pulp by all these men for absolutely no reason,' she later told gardaí. 'They used steel poles, hammers, makeshift blowtorches and lighters to torture me.' The woman was present in court for the sentence hearing and after lunch, Ms Cummings informed Judge Pauline Codd that it was suspected that someone in court had been recording her. A device had been seized, the court heard. Prosecution counsel said people had been staring at the woman and moving closer to her in court. Judge Codd ordered that there be no recording in court, reminding those in the public gallery that this is in contempt of court. In her victim impact statement, the woman said that the men had tortured her family information out of her and the threat of rape against her daughter had destroyed her. She said she now isolates herself from her family so they will never be in danger again. She said the torture she endured was the longest three hours of her life and she continues to suffer from flashbacks, constant headaches, pain all over her body 'from all the hits I took that day'. She is still waiting on a psychological appointment, she said. 'What happened to me is something I will never forget,' she said. 'I will never forgive those sick human beings for what they have done to me.' Concluding her statement, she said: 'To the people who did this to me: I hope you can sleep well at night, because I most certainly can't.' Judge Codd thanked the woman for attending court. 'She has been through unimaginable trauma,' she said. The court heard McMahon has 27 previous convictions, including drug dealing and possession, burglary, robbery and malicious damage. Keogh has 124 previous convictions, including drug dealing and possession, possession of knives, assault causing harm and escaping custody. Conroy has 89 previous convictions including drug dealing and possession, burglary and possession of knives. Rice has 12 previous convictions including drug dealing and possession while Walshe has one previous conviction. The maximum sentences for false imprisonment and assault causing harm are life and 10 years respectively. Judge Codd adjourned the case to next Wednesday, when defence counsel will give their pleas of mitigation.
Sunday World
22-07-2025
- Sunday World
Man (70s) arrested after extradition from US
The man landed in Ireland around 5am on Tuesday morning The man will appear before the Criminal Courts of Justice this morning. A man in his 70s will appear in court to face criminal charges in Dublin today after he was extradited from the US this morning. The man landed in Ireland around 5am on Tuesday morning after being extradited from the US after a request by gardaí and was brought to a garda station in the capital. He will appear before the Criminal Courts of Justice at 10:30am this morning. "Following an extradition from the United States of America at the request of the Irish authorities, a male (70s) was arrested by Gardaí attached to the Garda National Protective Services Bureau this morning, Tuesday 22nd July 2025 and is being brought before a sitting at the Criminal Courts of Justice at approximately 10:30am,' a garda spokesperson confirmed. More to follow..
Sunday World
22-07-2025
- Sunday World
Former prominent sports figure charged over 79 alleged sexual offences against minors
The 77-year-old appeared before Dublin District Court this morning A former prominent sports industry figure has appeared in court charged with over 70 sexual offences against minors in south Dublin spanning over a decade. The 77-year-old appeared before Dublin District Court this morning after being extradited from the United States overnight. He was remanded in custody with a judge told he 'urgently' needs dentures as he cannot eat without them. Wearing a green jumper and shorts, the accused was in a wheelchair and was pushed into court by a prison officer. The defendant cannot be identified as he has a legal right to anonymity once he is charged and appears before a court. Garda Sergeant Amy Kelly said she arrested the accused at 5.56am at Dublin Airport Terminal 2 following his extradition from the United States and conveyed him to Ballymun Garda station. She said the accused was charged with 79 offences and made some replies when cautioned, but these were not read out in court. The accused faces 78 charges of indecent assault, and one count of attempted rape, relating to alleged offences committed in Dublin between 1971 and 1981. The complainants in the case were all juveniles at the time of the alleged incidents. Sergeant Kelly applied for a remand in custody until next week, with the court told that there was no application for bail at this time. The Criminal Courts of Justice. News in 90 Seconds - July 22nd Judge Michelle Finan was also informed that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has directed that the accused should face trial on indictment before the Central Criminal Court. Legal aid was also granted to the accused after the court was told he is not working and has no assets. The defence also applied for medical assistance to be given to the defendant in custody, saying he has no dentures or hearing aid after being returned from the United States. The defence said the accused 'can't eat' as he has no dentures, and requested that he 'urgently' needs these to eat. The former sports figure will appear before Cloverhill district court next Tuesday, July 29, at 10.30 am. The defendant was charged following a lengthy investigation by the Garda National Protective Services Bureau. In a statement gardai said: 'Following an extradition from the United States of America at the request of the Irish authorities, a male (70s) was arrested by Gardaí attached to the Garda National Protective Services Bureau this morning, Tuesday 22nd July 2025 and is being brought before a sitting at the Criminal Courts of Justice at approximately 10:30am,' a garda spokesperson confirmed.'
The Journal
22-07-2025
- The Journal
George Gibney arrives back in Ireland after extradition from the US
FORMER OLYMPIC SWIMMING coach George Gibney has arrived back in Ireland after an extradition from the US. It is understood he was taken to a garda station following his return. Advertisement In a statement this morning, the Garda Press Office outlined that a man in his 70s is currently being detained at a garda station in Dublin. A Garda spokesperson said the man will appear at the Criminal Courts of Justice later this morning. The man was arrested by gardaí attached to the Garda National Protective Services Bureau this morning. The division investigates allegations including sexual offences. 'Following an extradition from the United States of America at the request of the Irish authorities, a male (70s) was arrested by Gardaí attached to the Garda National Protective Services Bureau this morning, Tuesday 22nd July 2025 and is being brought before a sitting at the Criminal Courts of Justice at approximately 10:30am,' the Garda spokesperson said. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
