Sophie Toscan du Plantier: The Unusual Suspects

Another popular article from the Crime Guy archive about the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier in West Cork, Ireland.

I have been through all of my notes on the Sophie Toscan du Plantier cold case and come up with some open questions. Questions that I still have, after reviewing all of the evidence and gossip that is in the public domain. Perhaps the first thing to stress is that, this being a live case, there is much that never made it out of the corridors of power. But, thanks to various civil cases, there is much that in a normal case would be secret which is now ‘semi public’ and out with various journalists to look over. So even if you have read all the books, the newspapers, heard the podcast and watched the documentaries, you are still quite a bit less informed than many others. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as you are aware of it.

The next thing to get out of the way is the presumption of innocence. Everyone knows and expects the police to collect more information than they can share, to keep any future trial a fair one. At some point in an investigation, though, a strong narrative or two might develop. It’s the point of most danger in an investigation. Do the police keep an open mind, or do they pursue their blossoming narrative? I…