In West Cork, it’s simply known as ‘the murder’. In 1996 French film producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier is found dead near her holiday home. There are no witnesses and no known motive. The police suspect one man in this community but they can’t make a charge stick and he refuses to leave, becoming the embodiment of everyone's unsettled nerves. Reported and hosted by Jennifer Forde and Sam Bungey. West Cork has been named an Apple Podcasts Series Essential. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Latest episodes

Blow-ins

March 29, 2021 · 28 min

West Cork, Ireland is an outpost at the edge of Europe, the jumping-off point for America. Rugged windswept and coastal, it was a place of farmers and fisherman until the 1960’s, when it was discovered by the ‘blow-in’s.’ People who drove…
The Back of Beyond

March 29, 2021 · 27 min

A body is found at the end of a path leading to three houses. In West Cork, the police, known in Ireland as ‘the guards,’ have little experience with serious crime, and the victim—a French woman with a holiday home in the area—is a…
Sophie Bouniol

March 29, 2021 · 34 min

Sophie Buoniol, commonly referred to by her married name, Sophie Toscan du Plantier, was 39 years old when she was murdered, a well-connected French film producer. In a place where there had been no murder that anyone can remember, locals…
Killer Among Us

March 29, 2021 · 36 min

In the weeks following the murder, Schull, the jewel-box vacation town closest to Sophie’s home, becomes a very different kind of place to live. With no answers, and the police focusing on locals, the townspeople start watching their…
A Good Suspect

March 29, 2021 · 33 min

The guards have a suspect—one who has spent the last 20 years trying to convince Ireland that he is not a murderer. We begin on the first day of the investigation, tracing the suspects’ behavior over the six weeks following the murder, up…
The Englishman

March 29, 2021 · 39 min

A blow-in from Manchester, England, the suspect has been grating on locals ever since he first arrived in West Cork. He has been accused of inserting himself into the investigation and delighting in his notoriety, at the expense of…
The Arrest

March 29, 2021 · 38 min

On February 10th, 1997, the guards make an arrest in a well-orchestrated plan to snare their chief suspect. There’s an interrogation, a question of coercion, and an alibi that doesn’t quite hold up—but no confession. The charge doesn’t…
The Game Is On

March 29, 2021 · 38 min

After the guards fail to get a confession, a game of cat and mouse ensues; the guards need more evidence, but worry that they are being outsmarted. In this episode, secret recordings of the guards give an insight into the lengths they were…