I was often considering that she didn't lace up the boots herself, but possibly the killer did, after she was killed. It's not impossible. However it is odd that she was not dressed warmly for a walk outside but still found time to lace up the boots, - and didn't consider slipping into her wellingtons. Also, if the killer did put her boots on and lace them up, he would have run the risk of leaving DNA on them. Maybe she was also dressed differently, like a warm coat, but then again, the injuries lead to suggest that she wore the clothes she was found in. Another riddle.....
The crime scene photo's are interesting.
Two wine glasses & two coffee cups on the draining board along with a silver coffee pot...
I would assume a French person of Sophie's stature would be particular about their coffee..??
Surely the coffee pot would have to be washed out before making a fresh brew? So would one not rinse the cups out as well whilst you're at it?
The point I'm making is, given the low volume of cutlery & vessels to wash, would you not do them at the same time as washing the coffee pot?
The obvious suggesting being there was two washed cups on the draining board along with the washed coffee pot..?? Two people had coffee, Sophie had a guest, there was somebody else there.
Her bed suggests it wasn't slept in to me... More like somebody sitting up, maybe reading a book trying to keep warm?
The jam acting as a bookmark suggest that Sophie may have been unexpectedly interrupted by something whilst she was reading?
Did I read correctly that there was a bottle of Champagne on the table top?? Champagne is traditionally a celebration drink is it not? Was Sophie not talking to some man who previously owned a sex slave and was an artist with an interest in bondage and depicting women in painful poses..? Was there not some talk of joining up in some joint future artistic enterprise with him, cause for celebration maybe..??
Her laced up boots tell me something else.. She already had them on before she met her demise.. If she had been startled by something outside, there was multiple pairs of wellington boots at the back door, she could have slipped these on in a matter of seconds, no need to be messing with laces..
Yeah.. The photo's are interesting.
Perhaps.
But perhaps it was on his way home?
I wouldn't say easily. It's more rugged uncultivated marginal hillside land with heather and rock outcrops than fields. Possible, but I wouldn't fancy trying to walk it in the dark.
Do you know the path/direction the killer went when leaving the scene? It's already been established that going from the gate past the house and over some fields to the dunmanus bay road could easily be done.
Unless there was something other than small traces of blood in the field and by the back door e.g. footprints, direction grass deflected by walking, direction of blood drops, etc. all that the blood drops can indicate is that Sophie or her attacker or both or possibly even a third party went through the field in one direction or the other.
I'm pretty sure the light was off? That door was locked from the inside I think.
Maybe they tried the door and realised it was locked.
The different doors, keys, latches in general is one of the most confusing parts of this case, alongside the fact everyone seemed to drive a fiesta!
To turn the house lights off not to draw attention or close the house door for the same reason as the keys were left in the door so perhaps she had this ajar. Or to remove any incriminating evidence from the house that would link them to a motive for the murder e.g. one of her diaries that went missing or reclaim bottle of wine? Who knows but plenty of possibilities.
Why would the killer take the time and trouble to walk from the gate back to the house ?
I think most of what you say is the most plausible lead up to the murder, that she went down to the gate (early morning) to confront/meet somebody. All blood traces are between the gate and the house so a car would seem to me to be the only way there wouldn't be anything on the road leading away from the house. But if somebody did come to meet her in a car why would they go up to the house after the murder? I don't think the idea of an attack at the house and a chase is credible nor that the wine is relevant.
There were some small traces of blood in the field, and outside the back door, from the house to the gate which led to the chase theory. But the killer travelling the opposite direction, leaving very small traces behind, is far more plausible. Even with a lot of blood on their clothes there is no reason to believe it was dripping but the bloodstain on the door indicates a bloodstained/ bloody gloved hand that may have been unnoticed by the person who left it there even though they were being careful.
Ah yes, have that one. It's a brilliant resource.
Forgot there was photos on there. Cheers 👍
You'll find all the crimescene/house photo's in this link;
Wow, good finds. Are these from MATC?
Yes she most definitely intended to go outside then.
It seemed she had plenty of footwear;
Boots left at bottom of stairs as she never wore shoes/boots upstairs
Wellies & gardening shoes left in the porch;
Already mentioned slipper type footwear left beside bath;
Boots she was wearing when found;
[Removed distasteful photo of murder victim]
These were her walking boots and the I find the Guards assumption that she put these on to leave the house as the only reasonable explanation. She had other options just to answer the door. So having to walk down to the driveway and attend to the gate seems more plausible than wearing these around the house to keep her feet warm.
Has it turned up though??
Is it with the gate?!
Now that the wine bottle has turned up and may be re-tested with new forensics I will go back to what I suggested may have happened. Sophie sees a person at her gate or coming up the her house (carrying the bottle of wine as a peace offering/present) which suggests they knew each other. She is angry and wants to let them know it, goes out to confront them and arms herself with the poker/axe. There is a fight and she is overpowered/disarmed and the bottle may have been used to hit her first. The items are thrown out of the car soon after.
For clarifaction purposes only.
These are the boots Sophie was wearing at the time of death.
I'm pretty sure that the premise with crime scene photos is you photograph what is there.
We know that sophies boots were retested several times and that there's an unknown DNA on them, as revealed after the French trial.
I've no idea about anything else
And since the boots she was wearing are still under forensic investigation, it's highly unlikely that they are the same ones.
that is true if it was a garda photo
I believe Jim did use crime scene photos taken by gardai yes.
Did he use ALL garda photos?
I believe Jim did use crime scene photos taken by gardai yes. And since the boots she was wearing are still under forensic investigation, it's highly unlikely that they are the same ones.
I can't remember the boots exactly either, but they from memory they were walking style ones.
tracking murderers is no place for the sensitive
I don't know if all the photos are garda photos.
i did say
"I think they were the shoes she had on outside"
but i cannot find the doc shoe clip now to compare
They cannot be the shoes Sophie was wearing when murdered as they would have been taken to the post mortem. It's likely that while waiting for Harbison to arrive, the house photos were taken, no?
if they are all garda shots yes. why would she leave her house shoes by the bath if she had had a bath the night before. Would she not have put them back on again after the bath to walk to the bedroom?
I am sensitive, actually.
Your words were "I think they were the shoes she had on outside", I don't quote in italics I'm afraid, but my further comments to you were based on this comment.
you're very sensitive
i'm not telling you anything. i uploaded the photos in response to the person who was saying it might have been a concrete floor just to show the floor
i don't know if the bathroom shot is a garda shot?
Yknow, when you edit your comments after posting which you frequently do, it's quite frustrating.
Are you telling me that you think the boots sophie was wearing when she was murdered have now found their way back into the bathroom to be photographed?? Am I reading this correctly? The boots with the mystery DNA sample on?
I was replying to the person who said it would likely be stone flloors
So what's the point about the floors?
Related to the shoes?
here is another floor shot
There's no way they were the ones in the house as they were taken for forensic testing.
would have been photographed first.
I remember from docu they were beige walking style ones, with a fairly chunky heel if I recall. There's no way they were the ones in the house as they were taken for forensic testing. Obviously we don't know when the house photos were taken but I very much doubt the gardai plonked them back beside the bath. The house scene photos had to be exactly what they found after the murder.
The ones in bathroom are soft shoes, they would be ideal for indoor, especially in a house with cold floors.
here is a wider one. I think they are the shoes she had on outside. can anyone find the shot of her feet at the scene from one of the docs?
flagstone? aren't they tiles?
Looks to me like flagstone floors with many mats. Shoes look like slip ons?
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://wa.vanillicon.com/v2/a04babac7ef9d681628a280d81c51a1e.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://wb.vanillicon.com/v2/b1891d95e9e926c005ad3f5c153aacc5.svg)
