Old thread seems to be permanently locked. It will be interesting if anything can come of this at last.
Threadbanned Posters:
I watched a Netflix series about the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 that vanished a decade ago.
Even though the series was well made it were some crazy theories about what happened to the flight made by what I would describe as otherwise rational individuals who were experienced in aviation.
Stuff about spies getting into the comms cabinets under the floor of first class and turning off sat receivers, stuff like the Inmarsat data that was used to give an indication of where the plane might be being manipulated.
All making for interesting viewing, but equally far fetched rubbish.
I think anything that Sheridan does about this case will be the same.
or one theory is as poor as the next here in the absence of proof....
... I think it was aliens, even if it wasn't aliens, it was aliens.
What difference does it make whether they met at the gate or the house anyway?
Im just not buying the rage killing at the gate in the morning
I'd also go with bjscs belief that an unknown/random caller is unlikely due to location
Could be
One theory is as good as the next here in the absence of proof
No, that one I don't agree with.
If she was so spooked that she panicked and made a run for the gate, I don't think she would have stopped to put her walikg boots on.
If she walked to gate
The garda theory is that she was chased to the gate from the house and i believe this is the correct theory
I read somewhere she was very curt even cruel in put downs.
Whoever came she walked down to gate might have said your pathetic etc man goes into rage she runs he goes after her..
Worth noting that bjsc stated she believes a random caller to the house that morning is unlikely
If correct the killer would have known her or had some reason to drive there
Yes, even the 2 tyre marks on the gravel appear to be mis-matched. Would Ms Vito be able to tell if they were braking marks coming down the lane, or acceleration marks from taking off up the lane?
The one in the mud appears to me to be a braking mark. @bjsc cropped the photo as the uncovered body was still in situ a few feet downhill.
A few months or a couple of months ?
That's quite a long time for circumstances to have changed prior to murder
Also I didn't state that he physically knew her but that he may have had an emotional connection from knowing of her or seeing her.
Alternatively he may he have simply lied and been low balling his knowledge of Sophie which I believe he did anyway subsequent to the murder
Again all speculation and supposition
Why would he lie about knowing Sophie to some random at a party sometime BEFORE the murder?
That's the thing imo or one of them that leads me to suspect Bailey
I believe he's a liar and not a very convincing one
Again all speculation on my part
May I remind you of another poster on this forum who alleged she was at a party at Alfie's a few months before the murder? She said that Bailey stated that he did not know Sophie. If true, why would Bailey lie about knowing Sophie a couple of months before the murder?
Bsileys distancing himself from knowledge of Sophie was never convincing
I believe the most he acceded to was seeing her from Alfie's window ?
That never rang true and was suggestive of a stronger connection
Again all supposition on my part
Already been done but I would term this a "rage killing "
To use baileys own word when he put forward the "bantry garda theory" there was a "connect"
Maybe a Freudian slip on baileys part i believed
A prior emotional or a physical connection and a rebuff sparking a murder
That doesn't mean she simply refused sex so he killed her
She could have told him to fukk off with his poetry and she's not interested in him
All supposition of course on my part and not necessarily correct
I'm no Ms Vito but it looks to me like the skid mark in the mud and the mark on the gravel are too close to be made by the same car at the same time
I don't believe that's ever been said by the gardai
As discussed before this wasn't a sex crime as no rape or sexual assault took place
If the late nite caller is the correct theory the motive for the call may have been sex or not sex at all.
Men can be simply drunk and infatuated and not driven by sex primarily.
Are they though? I know its been suggested that the focus remains on Bailey but, when they report, they will have to show that all possibilities were explored. I doubt that the case will ever be solved but something new may emerge.
…and yet it seems our police force remain focused on a late night attack because she wouldnt sleep with Bailey 🙄
Just as likely as any other theory.
I think Sophie intentionally went down to the gate…….the donning of the boots indicates that.
I cannot see any evidence that supports the sexual motive so that leaves the husband/hit theory and the sudden conflict proposition, as per your scenario. Of the two, the row at the gate is the more plausible.
Another thought, someone had come in through the gate in the morning leaving it open, Sophie, having breakfast sees this, throws on boots to go and close it. As the car returns down the lane, unexpectedly sees the gate shut and comes to an abrupt halt . Confrontation then takes place by the gate?
There wasn't really any "someone" TO drive down the lane, though; there was only one permanently occupied house up there.
I mean, obviously, there was a person there that night or early morning who committed a horrible crime; it might have been more than one, I suppose - a pair of criminals…even would-be burglars, perhaps. For the moment I'm going with the supposition that the criminal was NOT Alfie Lyons or Shirley Foster.
After all, two of the three houses were holiday homes, only occasionally used. Breaking into holiday homes was, and is, unfortunately quite common. (As I know to my cost - our own little holiday cottage, also down a remote lane but much nearer to Dublin, was repeatedly broken into until we put a solid steel door on it.)
Re: the skid marks, it looks as if someone was driving down the lane and saw an altercation taking place at the gate and abruptly came to a halt?
Skid marks on the lane by the gate into Sophie's lawn.
Gardaí attributed them to Shirley Foster when she first saw the body, but Shirley never mentions stopping at this point, She said she drove past the body and through the gate before she stopped. It's unlikely she would skid to a halt there and then continue on another 10-20 yards before stopping again to investigate. Those skid marks could as easily be accounted for by a car taking off at speed up the lane to turn, as skidding to a halt going down the lane.
Did someone, a regular visitor perhaps, open the gate in the lane, drive through and park where the tyre marks are and enter Sophie's lawn through the gate just visible on the right?
Edited to add 2 photos by @bjsc back in March.
The red circle in photo 2 below is roughly where Sophie's body was, edited out
.
This is, of course, equally true of anyone else living within a 5K radius, too.
My point about the car still stands, however; why was the lane gate pushed open as wide as it would go?
And there WAS mention of some faint trace of a tyre mark…which was probably driven over by the lady who found the body.
Someone posted they're hoping sheridan might solve it
Sure he's only on the stdp gravy train
He'll have an angle to get the interest up
He's supposedly doing a mock Irish trial of Bailey
No doubt there'll be a big cliffhanger at the end while the country awaits the verdict that might have been
If Bailey had been the killer he would not have required the use of a car to travel to Sophie's house and then exit the murder scene. Not at all. His then residence, The Prairee, is, at most, a four kilometre walk from the DuPlantier house. The long striding Ian could have accomplished the round trip in two and a half hours or so taking into account his supposedly inebriated condition and the possibility of a detour to Kealfadda Bridge to wash off any bloody evidence. If you know the road leading to Sophie's it's so narrow as to make it extremely difficult to stop, do an about turn and then park up somewhere with a view to making a quick escape afterwards. In fact, you would have to drive up the hill from the gate to Sophie's back yard to accomplish this. To my knowledge, no extra tyre marks were found at the scene that might belong to a vehicle other than those that were already parked up there for the night.
I haven't quite lost hope of the car.
A car must have been used in this crime; the place is miles from anywhere, down grassy lanes. The gate was pushed back, wide open against the hedge; you only do that for a car.
The crime was so brutal that the killer MUST have had blood on his shoes, sleeves etc.
By the way, the cars of all the local possible suspects were checked, as far as I know; and no blood was found.
So that car has never been located. But it must have existed! And if it is still around and not compressed for scrap, the evidence could be still on the floor mats.
A very faint, long-shot hope, like all the other hopes. But still, just possible.
yes it seems like grasping at straws at this stage. The only thing I have hope for is to the dna on the boot & possibly the fingerprints in the house which weren’t identified.
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