It is unfortunate that neither Alfie nor Shirley gave interviews (and Ian Bailey gave so many).
Questions I would like to see answered are:
1. When Shirley found the body why didn't she lock the car doors (there was likely a killer close by) do a U-turn and go back to the house to make sure Alfie was OK. Even opening the car door, not mind running up a hill and by a house where a killer might be hiding, sounds implausible but I have never discovered a body.
2. How was she comfortable with her (reportedly) feeble husband heading out to check on Sophie (a women he had numerous run ins with) leaving her alone in the house with a murderer on the loose. . As others have said, locking the doors and phoning would have made much more sense.
Shirley quite conceivably didn't hear Alfie killing Sophie; she may have been asleep if, as forensic expert Bridget Chappuis maintains, the killing took place shortly after dawn. Also, the reluctance of the local gardai to look at Alfie as a serious suspect may have had less to do with his cannabis growing business than his popularity in the community; he was a benefactor of local sports clubs and charities, a great source of local information for the guards (and indeed his perfect patsy Ian Bailey), and an all-round likeable guy. I believe unconscious bias was to blame for their reluctance to suspect Alfie - and their kneejerk assumption that Ian Bailey was the killer. Anyone familiar with rural Ireland and cliquish communities will know exactly what I mean: the outsider is the default suspect. People believe what they want to believe.
Thanks for the comment. This explanation does fit. I added that final quote slightly later which does agree with you, i.e. Alfie was restless in the night and did leave the bedroom, just as Ian did.
Here's that French TV documentary I mentioned - it includes possibly the only interview with Shirley. I can't recall where I initially saw this, but it surfaces occasionally on YouTube and Reddit. Shirley appears at 2.25.
I'm really grateful for this, thanks. It's nice to put a face and a voice to the name of Shirley Foster. I wonder how many more people have blended into the background just because they were unwilling to appear in the more recent documentaries. It's also interesting to see a French perspective on the case. This week I got the ASSOPH booklet on Kindle and am practicing my French by working through that.
Everything that makes us doubt Alfie Lyons’s involvement applies pretty much to Ian Bailey also, other than Alfie’s reported physical incapacity. Also Ian Bailey had a lot further to travel to get there. The fact that Lyons knew Sophie, he was there that night and had had disputes with Sophie puts him points ahead of Bailey. Bailey’s history of violence points back to him and away from Lyons. The issue with Shirley Foster is the same as with Jules Thomas. The gate where Sophie’s body was found had been a bone of contention between Sophie and Alfie. Sophie wanted it always closed but usually it was left open unless Sophie was there. As she was only there a couple of times a year, it may have been hard for Alfie and Shirley to know and remember to close the gate. Sophie’s family have said she was quite confrontational so it’s possible there was an argument over the gate. I go round in circles thinking about this case - it’s such a conundrum. Having said this, I don’t think it was Lyons or Bailey - I would still be looking towards Sophie’s life at home for clues, or put it down as a random stranger - perhaps someone squatting in the vacant holiday house and being busted by Sophie. Seems like the cold case review might still be focusing on Bailey though and they say a result is still months away.
Thanks for commenting again, and happy Christmas! This case pulls me back in quite easily. There is so much to look into and reflect on. I often wish I could just accept that it was Ian, and sometimes I feel silly for not just accepting that, as so many people have. He seems to have put 95% of the locals against him, including the police. I keep coming back to the random stranger thought too, but it's just so unsatisfying. That would be a very simple explanation for a very impromptu crime scene. The lack of forensic help just adds to the frustration. Will we ever really know?
I don't believe forensics will find the killer if it was Alfie; he was all over the place that morning. He even touched Sophie' door... He also went back out to "warn" her that a murderer was on the loose - instead of phoning her from the safety of his cottage. The circumstantial evidence points strongly towards Alfie and no one else.
Actually the fact that they are going to test the clothes gives me hope that they will finally solve this. I didn't realise they still had her clothes.
Here's an example of the Irish media jumping to conclusions again...
The attached piece is written by one of the journalists who is convinced Ian Bailey was the killer.
Contrary to the narrative presented as fact in this piece, there is no evidence that the breeze block was used as a weapon. It might of course provide useful DNA as it was placed on Sophie's dressing gown, so it would have been touched with fingers / gloves (or something the killer used to cover his hands - a plastic bag / a sweater etc...Presume that after the frenzied attack the killer suddenly sobered up as the placing of the block on the dressing gown suggests an attempt to "stage" the scene for someone to find). Sophie's clothes will almost certainly provide useful DNA as the killer would certainly have had prolonged physical contact with her in the savage murder.
HI there, I've been wondering for a long time where to write what i know about Sophie.
I had never heard of Sophie or the case until November last year. I live in England and have no idea about the geography of Ireland.
One night in November 2024 I had a vivid dream where I was in a beautiful old Irish town that has a bay (or two bays?). I go to visit a house but don't go inside because I'm told that the daughter of the house has died in tragic circumstances and there is terrible grief.
Outside the front of the house there is a big red (blood) arrow pointing to the house next door (right hand side), as if to say the person living next door is the culprit.
Two nights later I dream i'm in Ireland again. This time i'm travelling over the south west of Ireland on a hang glider, and I can see the names of the towns I'm passing by. I stop above a castle on the SW coast with 3 flags waving from turrets and the name begins with D - and ends in 'lough'. The castle sits right on the top of a steep cliff.
So the next day I'm wondering what do these dreams mean? I looked up the map of Ireland and found the castle straight away, right on the SW coast - 'Dunlough' - Three castles head!
I felt so excited by this as my dream was spot on. When I read further about this place i found out about the white lady and how if anyone see's her they end up dead within 24 hours. I then read about a lady called Sophie Toscan du plantier who was murdered the day after seeing a what she thought was the white lady.
I then started reading more about Sophie and I watched the documentaries. I was sure it was Ian Bailey for a long time, but then I remembered about the dream with the red arrow pointing to next door, and got a funny feeling all over me. I do believe it was her neighbour Alfie Lyons.
I've felt a push to share this for a while now and have just come across the notes I made from the dreams again tonight. I felt I just have to share this somewhere so I can get it out and like i've done my part - for whatever it's worth.
It is unfortunate that neither Alfie nor Shirley gave interviews (and Ian Bailey gave so many).
Questions I would like to see answered are:
1. When Shirley found the body why didn't she lock the car doors (there was likely a killer close by) do a U-turn and go back to the house to make sure Alfie was OK. Even opening the car door, not mind running up a hill and by a house where a killer might be hiding, sounds implausible but I have never discovered a body.
2. How was she comfortable with her (reportedly) feeble husband heading out to check on Sophie (a women he had numerous run ins with) leaving her alone in the house with a murderer on the loose. . As others have said, locking the doors and phoning would have made much more sense.
All I can say is that you make very good points. Take a look at some comments on other posts by another member Geraldine Comiskey.
Shirley quite conceivably didn't hear Alfie killing Sophie; she may have been asleep if, as forensic expert Bridget Chappuis maintains, the killing took place shortly after dawn. Also, the reluctance of the local gardai to look at Alfie as a serious suspect may have had less to do with his cannabis growing business than his popularity in the community; he was a benefactor of local sports clubs and charities, a great source of local information for the guards (and indeed his perfect patsy Ian Bailey), and an all-round likeable guy. I believe unconscious bias was to blame for their reluctance to suspect Alfie - and their kneejerk assumption that Ian Bailey was the killer. Anyone familiar with rural Ireland and cliquish communities will know exactly what I mean: the outsider is the default suspect. People believe what they want to believe.
Thanks for the comment. This explanation does fit. I added that final quote slightly later which does agree with you, i.e. Alfie was restless in the night and did leave the bedroom, just as Ian did.
Here's that French TV documentary I mentioned - it includes possibly the only interview with Shirley. I can't recall where I initially saw this, but it surfaces occasionally on YouTube and Reddit. Shirley appears at 2.25.
https://youtu.be/UxVfe-t_rc0?si=xEfojHiYmsUg3lxd
I'm really grateful for this, thanks. It's nice to put a face and a voice to the name of Shirley Foster. I wonder how many more people have blended into the background just because they were unwilling to appear in the more recent documentaries. It's also interesting to see a French perspective on the case. This week I got the ASSOPH booklet on Kindle and am practicing my French by working through that.
Everything that makes us doubt Alfie Lyons’s involvement applies pretty much to Ian Bailey also, other than Alfie’s reported physical incapacity. Also Ian Bailey had a lot further to travel to get there. The fact that Lyons knew Sophie, he was there that night and had had disputes with Sophie puts him points ahead of Bailey. Bailey’s history of violence points back to him and away from Lyons. The issue with Shirley Foster is the same as with Jules Thomas. The gate where Sophie’s body was found had been a bone of contention between Sophie and Alfie. Sophie wanted it always closed but usually it was left open unless Sophie was there. As she was only there a couple of times a year, it may have been hard for Alfie and Shirley to know and remember to close the gate. Sophie’s family have said she was quite confrontational so it’s possible there was an argument over the gate. I go round in circles thinking about this case - it’s such a conundrum. Having said this, I don’t think it was Lyons or Bailey - I would still be looking towards Sophie’s life at home for clues, or put it down as a random stranger - perhaps someone squatting in the vacant holiday house and being busted by Sophie. Seems like the cold case review might still be focusing on Bailey though and they say a result is still months away.
Thanks for commenting again, and happy Christmas! This case pulls me back in quite easily. There is so much to look into and reflect on. I often wish I could just accept that it was Ian, and sometimes I feel silly for not just accepting that, as so many people have. He seems to have put 95% of the locals against him, including the police. I keep coming back to the random stranger thought too, but it's just so unsatisfying. That would be a very simple explanation for a very impromptu crime scene. The lack of forensic help just adds to the frustration. Will we ever really know?
I don't believe forensics will find the killer if it was Alfie; he was all over the place that morning. He even touched Sophie' door... He also went back out to "warn" her that a murderer was on the loose - instead of phoning her from the safety of his cottage. The circumstantial evidence points strongly towards Alfie and no one else.
Maybe it was Shirley ?
I did think of this too , could she have possibly knocked her down by accident with the car ,it's all so puzzling
Please add more! Did the killer need to be strong? What was the weapon? What the motive? Some think Sophie was stabbed.
Reportedly there was a small hatchet kept by the door in Sophie's which was missing.Never found.
Actually the fact that they are going to test the clothes gives me hope that they will finally solve this. I didn't realise they still had her clothes.
Here's an example of the Irish media jumping to conclusions again...
The attached piece is written by one of the journalists who is convinced Ian Bailey was the killer.
Contrary to the narrative presented as fact in this piece, there is no evidence that the breeze block was used as a weapon. It might of course provide useful DNA as it was placed on Sophie's dressing gown, so it would have been touched with fingers / gloves (or something the killer used to cover his hands - a plastic bag / a sweater etc...Presume that after the frenzied attack the killer suddenly sobered up as the placing of the block on the dressing gown suggests an attempt to "stage" the scene for someone to find). Sophie's clothes will almost certainly provide useful DNA as the killer would certainly have had prolonged physical contact with her in the savage murder.
https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/clothes-worn-by-sophie-toscan-du-plantier-sent-to-fbi-for-new-analysis/a1848032106.html?hConversionEventId=AQEAAZQF2gAmdjYwMDAwMDE5NC01NDYxLWViZjAtOGRlMS1jZTBmOGM4MzdlMDnaACRjNmI2NTIyNS0xNjI3LTRkNzktMDAwMC0wMjFlZjNhMGJjYzTaACQ5N2M2YTRkYi1iNzg4LTQ4ZjctYmZlMS1iMmEzNjYyNjcxZGT2bMgS-XlmP3HuwIh_z9yNq13S2RFyMsnku2CgWwkR9w&utm_campaign=IN:Daily&utm_content=zone_name&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=independent&utm_term=0-0&utm_testfeature=playvideo-202501110758
HI there, I've been wondering for a long time where to write what i know about Sophie.
I had never heard of Sophie or the case until November last year. I live in England and have no idea about the geography of Ireland.
One night in November 2024 I had a vivid dream where I was in a beautiful old Irish town that has a bay (or two bays?). I go to visit a house but don't go inside because I'm told that the daughter of the house has died in tragic circumstances and there is terrible grief.
Outside the front of the house there is a big red (blood) arrow pointing to the house next door (right hand side), as if to say the person living next door is the culprit.
Two nights later I dream i'm in Ireland again. This time i'm travelling over the south west of Ireland on a hang glider, and I can see the names of the towns I'm passing by. I stop above a castle on the SW coast with 3 flags waving from turrets and the name begins with D - and ends in 'lough'. The castle sits right on the top of a steep cliff.
So the next day I'm wondering what do these dreams mean? I looked up the map of Ireland and found the castle straight away, right on the SW coast - 'Dunlough' - Three castles head!
I felt so excited by this as my dream was spot on. When I read further about this place i found out about the white lady and how if anyone see's her they end up dead within 24 hours. I then read about a lady called Sophie Toscan du plantier who was murdered the day after seeing a what she thought was the white lady.
I then started reading more about Sophie and I watched the documentaries. I was sure it was Ian Bailey for a long time, but then I remembered about the dream with the red arrow pointing to next door, and got a funny feeling all over me. I do believe it was her neighbour Alfie Lyons.
I've felt a push to share this for a while now and have just come across the notes I made from the dreams again tonight. I felt I just have to share this somewhere so I can get it out and like i've done my part - for whatever it's worth.
Is it possible that Shirley could have murdered Sophie?