Killers Tom and Molly Martens can now live and travel freely as parole terms come to end
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The Irish Sun
3 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Fresh Sophie Toscan murder breakthrough hopes as US experts ‘praying' DNA tests on bloodstains will solve killer mystery
FORENSIC experts are 'praying' new DNA tests will help solve the 29-year murder mystery of Sophie Toscan du Plantier. A specialist team from the Advertisement 5 Sophie was battered and left to die at the gateway to her holiday home Credit: AFP - Getty 5 The murder took place on December 23, 1996, at this house near Schull in Cork Credit: AFP - Getty 5 Self-proclaimed suspect Ian Bailey died last year Credit: AFP or licensors The mum-of-one was battered and left to die at the gateway to her holiday home on December 23, 1996, near Schull in Co Although self-proclaimed suspect Ian Bailey was arrested, he was never charged and always denied any involvement. Bailey died last year. The Advertisement READ MORE IN IRISH NEWS It is understood Mr Bradley's team carried out extensive new testing with members of Forensic Science Ireland after travelling from its headquarters in Their new M-Vac system works using wet vacuum principles to release and capture cells. A substance is sprayed directly onto the surface while vacuum pressure is simultaneously applied around the pattern, to collect the buffer and suspended particles in a collection bottle. Before travelling over to Advertisement MOST READ IN THE IRISH SUN 'If what I believe will happen actually does, it will be massive for us in a host of ways. 'Please pray for us.' VALUE OF THE EQUIPMENT They include the killing of teenager Krystal Beslanowitch in Utah 28 years ago which was similar in detail to that of the savage and brutal Advertisement Both local gardai and the cold case unit have been working on the case since 2022. Head of the Serious Crime Review Team DS Des McTiernan explained in a recent interview how detectives were trying to develop the forensic aspect further. Speaking to The Irish Sun earlier this year, Sophie's uncle Jean Pierre Gazeau told how they still have faith in the gardai. But Jean Pierre explained that for him and his relatives, Bailey is the killer after he was convicted in absentia in Advertisement ONGOING INVESTIGATIONS Jean Pierre told The Irish Sun: 'The investigation team is, I would say, extremely motivated and committed to the investigation. 'There are six people, there are two big rooms and so on. 'And of course, they are in constant contact with the team, the cold case team in Dublin. 'And one of the most important aspects of the investigation is the Advertisement He added: 'We are satisfied by the fact that Ireland, the Irish 'So the only thing which would be really satisfying for us would be Ireland solving the problem, the case. On our side, to some extent, the case was solved.' Professor of forensic science at the She said: 'Based on the articles I have read and seen and the assumption that swabbing [was tried] on the flat rock and the concrete block used to murder Sophie, it is difficult to say any other collection method would be appropriate.' Advertisement REFUSAL TO EXTRADITE Bailey was arrested twice over the murder but never charged due to what the DPP ruled was a lack of evidence. A French But the Irish courts refused to extradite him because most of the evidence produced at the French trial was based on hearsay and would never have been admissible in an Irish court of law. After decades relying on circumstantial evidence, the cold case unit said that it hoped sophisticated new equipment will help them extract the real killer's profile from items. Advertisement This includes the concrete block used to brutally kill her, as well as clothing. At the annual gathering of ASSOPH — The Association for the Truth of the Murder of Sophie — last year, it was revealed that the Garda cold case was now focusing on extracting DNA from the concrete block and the blood covered rock that was used to kill her. It is widely believed that the killer had to leave his own blood on these. ASSOPH hoped that the latest technology will help to provide DNA that may finally see her killer brought to justice. Advertisement Last December, Georges Bouniol, the elderly father of Sophie, passed away in This followed nearly three decades of seeking justice. 5 The murder scene of Sophie, outside her holiday home 5 Jared Bradley, chief executive of M-Vac Systems Credit: Journalist Collect Advertisement
Irish Examiner
6 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Kinahan crime boss ordered to pay back £1m or face more jail time
A UK boss of the Kinahan organised crime group has been ordered to pay back more than £1m or face more jail time, prosecutors have said. Irish national Thomas Kavanagh, 57, of Mile Oak in Tamworth, Staffordshire, will have three months to pay the sum or face another 12 years in prison, the UK's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Friday. Prosecutors estimate the Kinahan organised criminal group, of which Kavanagh was the head, smuggled drugs from Europe with a street value of around £30m by hiding the products inside machinery. Kavanagh was sentenced in March 2022 to 21 years in prison after pleading guilty to drugs and money laundering offences. A judge sitting at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday estimated that Kavanagh and his associate Gary Vickery, 42, of Boundary Road in Solihull, West Midlands, gained £12,235,047 and £10,966,619 respectively from their criminal lifestyle, the CPS said. The judge ordered Kavanagh to pay £1,123,096 based on his current assets, which include 'his 50% share of his fortified family mansion in Tamworth, money from the sale of various other properties in the UK and a villa in Spain, and approximately £150,000 of high-end bags, clothes and accessories which were discovered when Kavanagh's house was searched following his initial arrest in 2019', a spokesperson for the NCA added. Vickery was ordered to pay a sum of £109,312 within three months, or face another two years in prison, prosecutors said. At previous court hearings, orders were made to forfeit an Audemars Piguet watch worth £75,000, as well as just over 100,000 euros that was seized from a hotel room when Vickery was arrested, the NCA added. Kay Mellor, head of Operations HQ at the NCA, said: 'Thomas Kavanagh was the head of the UK's arm of the Kinahan organised crime group, responsible for the importation and distribution of drugs and firearms, making millions of pounds in the process. 'He and his gang believed they were untouchable, but that proved to be their downfall. 'Kavanagh and Vickery will be behind bars for many years to come and now have to pay back more than £1m to the state.' Adrian Foster, chief Crown prosecutor, said: 'Thomas Kavanagh and Gary Vickery are dangerous criminals in the organised gang world, importing millions of pounds worth of dangerous drugs on an industrial scale to the UK. 'This successful £1m Confiscation Order demonstrates the prosecution team's commitment to work across borders to strip organised criminals of their illegal gains. 'We continue to pursue the proceeds of crime robustly and will return them back to court to serve an additional sentence of imprisonment if they fail to pay their orders.' In October 2024, Kavanagh was sentenced to another six years in jail after he and associates plotted to lead NCA officers to a buried stash of 11 weapons in a bid to secure himself a lighter prison sentence for his multimillion-pound drug enterprise. Running the conspiracy from prison, Kavanagh enlisted the help of his brother-in-law, 44-year-old Liam Byrne, and associate Shaun Kent, 38, in the plan to deceive the NCA. Byrne – who fled to Majorca after the events – was jailed for five years while Kent was handed a six-year prison sentence for their roles in the plot.
Extra.ie
7 hours ago
- Extra.ie
Irish viewers gripped by Amy Bradley doc — Here are the 3 theories everyone's talking about
When Netflix premiered Amy Bradley Is Missing on July 16, 2025, it reignited global interest in one of the most perplexing cold cases of the past three decades. The three-part docuseries, a #1 hit in Ireland, delves into the baffling disappearance of 23‑year‑old Amy Lynn Bradley, who vanished in the early hours of March 24, 1998, from her family's cruise cabin balcony aboard Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas while en route to Curaçao. Nearly 27 years later, the mystery endures, and the series reframes the case through fresh interviews, previously unseen footage, and new leads. When Netflix premiered Amy Bradley Is Missing on July 16, 2025, it reignited global interest in one of the most perplexing cold cases of the past three Netflix From port-access logs suggesting IP activity around Barbados on family anniversaries to rare firsthand accounts from witnesses who believe they saw Amy living under duress, the theories explored are as chilling as they are varied. The gripping series has turned Irish viewers into armchair detectives almost overnight, flooding social media with theories, timelines, and map analyses. However, these top three theories have sparked the most debate and speculation. Amy Bradley and her brother Brad. Pic: Netflix One of the most widely discussed and disturbing theories is that Amy Bradley was abducted and forced into human trafficking—a suspicion that's only intensified due to multiple reported sightings over the years. Just months after her disappearance, US Navy petty officer William Hefner claimed he saw a woman resembling Amy in a Curaçao brothel, who told him she was in need of help. Later sightings placed her in shopping malls and hotels, often with men who appeared to be controlling her. While none of these accounts were ever officially confirmed, the consistency and urgency in the witnesses' descriptions have led many to believe Amy may have been sold into a trafficking ring operating in the Caribbean—a theory that the Netflix series treats with sobering seriousness. Nearly 27 years later, the mystery endures, and the series reframes the case through fresh interviews, previously unseen footage, and new leads. Pic: Netflix Another theory gaining traction is that Amy was murdered aboard the Rhapsody of the Seas and her body disposed of at sea, a chilling possibility, especially given the ship's limited security and surveillance in 1998. Supporters of this theory point to her sudden disappearance from her private balcony, just hours after being seen dancing with a member of the ship's band. Some speculate a violent confrontation may have occurred in the early hours, and that the perpetrator, possibly a crew member, threw her overboard to cover it up. The most tangible piece of potential evidence came years later, when a human jawbone washed ashore in Aruba in 2010. Though never officially linked to Amy, experts featured in the Netflix documentary claim its dental structure closely resembles hers, and criticize the FBI's refusal to allow a full DNA comparison. For many viewers, that unresolved lead adds weight to the theory of an onboard murder, and to the sense that justice may have been obstructed. Amy Bradley and her father Ron. Pic: Netflix A third, more unconventional theory explored in the documentary is that Amy left the ship voluntarily and has been living abroad in secret ever since. While this idea has long been dismissed by investigators, fresh digital evidence has reignited interest. The series reveals a startling pattern of IP addresses traced to Barbados that accessed the forum on key family dates—Amy's birthday, the anniversary of her disappearance, and even on the night her brother got married. These log-ins occurred over several years and originated from the same narrow location range, leading some to speculate that Amy might have fled the pressures of her old life and chosen anonymity. While critics argue this theory lacks motive and dismiss the log-ins as coincidence or manipulation, it remains one of the most talked-about possibilities among amateur sleuths, especially those who believe Amy may still be alive, watching from the shadows.
