‘Sex obsessed' Night Stalker killer sent me twisted doodles from jail… but constant chilling request turned my stomach
And Alfie James was also taken aback when the
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Ramirez caused controversy in his trial, shouting 'Hail Satan'
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He sent amature criminologist Alfie a series of crude pictures
Credit: Alfie James
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Ramirez was convicted of 13 murders, five attempted murders and 11 sexual assaults
Credit: YouTube
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Ramirez and Alfie wrote to each other for six years until Ramirez died
Credit: Alfie James
Britain's top amateur criminologist began writing to Ramirez after he was given the death penalty in a bid to explore what made him tick.
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But Alfie never imagined the twisted requests that the sex attacker would make - and the sinister childlike drawings he would post to him from across the Atlantic.
He said: 'I looked at the drawing of his hand and it sent a chill down my spine.
'His hand was massive and had played a part in the many murders and rapes he had committed.
'But that wasn't the only shocking thing that arrived in the post from him.
'As well as his own drawings of women wearing very little, he actually asked me to take photographs of women in real life.
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'He wanted me to take my camera when I went swimming to capture pictures of women and girls in bikinis. It made me feel sick – and I obviously said no.'
After years of communicating with killers here in the UK – including Yorkshire Ripper
He said: 'We don't have the death penalty here, of course, so I was fascinated by what life on death row was like.
'What does it do to someone's mind sitting there in a cell day after day, knowing that the only way out is the executioner's chair?'
Netflix docu-series Night Stalker - The Hunt for a Serial Killer to track horrific murders of Richard Ramirez
In 2007 he wrote to Ramirez at
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Ramirez replied and they struck up a regular correspondence, swapping scores of letters over the next six years until the killer died of natural causes in 2013 before he could be executed.
During that time, Alfie – who turned part of his vast true crime library into the definitive biography of Sutcliffe, I'm the Yorkshire Ripper, written with Sun reporter Robin Perrie – gained a fascinating insight into the mind of a killer.
Violent upbringing
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Ramirez had a violent upbringing in El Paso with an abusive father
Credit: .
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He started attacking people when he was just 22 years old after moving to California
Credit: AP
Born in El Paso, Texas, in 1960, Ramirez grew up in an
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In 1982, when Ramirez was 22, he moved from Texas to California and two years later began attacking men, women and children, often breaking into their homes at night.
He used guns, knives and his bare hands to kill his victims, telling one woman to swear 'to Satan' that she wouldn't look at him as he sexually assaulted her.
He carved a satanic symbol into the wall of the home of another couple he attacked.
Ramirez was arrested in 1985 after his photo appeared on the front of newspapers as part of a police appeal.
Locals recognised him as he left a store and gave chase. He ran for six miles, trying to car jack vehicles to get away before a group of have-a-go-heroes surrounded him.
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What does it do to someone's mind sitting there in a cell day after day, knowing that the only way out is the executioner's chair?
Alfie James
In the latest instalment of The Sun's Meeting a Monster series, Alfie revealed that the killer took a sick pride in his escape bid.
Factory worker Alfie, 49, said: 'He was really proud of how far he had run.
'He ran for miles and miles away from a crowd that were after him after they recognised him in the newspaper. He was quite boastful about how far he ran.
'I first came across his story on a documentary and I thought being on death row is totally different to anything we have here.
'So I wrote to him and, just like the serial killers I had written to here in the UK, he replied.
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'He asked me as many questions as I was asking him. Where have you been, where are you going, how many are in your family? He sometimes wrote a list of questions for me to answer, and I'm thinking, 'Who's interviewing who here?'
'He would send a lot of drawings, mainly of females in bikinis, and he would say, 'Can you send some pictures of girls in underwear bikinis?'
'One time I said we'd been swimming he said, 'If you go again can you take some pictures poolside for me?' I thought, I'm not doing that."
Sick obsession
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Ramirez revealed his obsession with sex and scantily dressed women
Credit: Alfie James
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Despite his violent crimes against women, Doreen Lioy married him in 1996
Credit: AP Photo
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Alfie said Ramirez was "clearly sex obsessed", adding: "It was constant.
'He also once mentioned he liked the
'The girls he drew were always in stockings and suspenders or short skirts, and he said in one letter, 'Do you have any school yearbooks? If so send copy pages from the girls' sports section'.'
In another, Ramirez wrote: 'Send pics of girls. Make 'em in bikini thong or lingerie from head to toe,' and he also asked Alife: 'Do you have a favourite sport? Mine to watch is girls' volleyball.'
One time I said we'd been swimming he said, 'If you go again can you take some pictures poolside for me?' I thought, I'm not doing that
Alfie James
In yet another, he begged: 'Send pictures of naked girls. You can try covering naked spots by drawing a bikini.'
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As well as his near X-rated drawings, he also sent more childlike sketches of cars and transformers.
Alfie said: 'He came across as very young in many ways, sending drawings of things like transformers or the Green Goblin.
'I quizzed him about death row. You always think it is really noisy in prison, but he said death row was quiet because they had proper steel doors.
'He didn't seem scared about his execution, he seemed quite relaxed.'
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Ramirez sent Alfie a series of childlike drawings with his letters
Credit: Alfie James
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All of the paintings were signed by the serial killer
Credit: Alfie James
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Ramirez didn't demonstrate any remorse in his letters to Alfie
Credit: AP
Richard Ramirez's victims
During his violent crime spree, Ramirez committed 13 murders, five attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults and 14 burglaries. Here we list his murder victims.
Mei Leung, nine, was murdered on April 10th, 1984 in the basement of her family apartment building. He proceeded to beat, strangle and then rape Mei before stabbing her to death. He was only linked to her murder by DNA in 2009.
Jennie Vincow, 79, was murdered by Ramirez in her flat in Glassell Park, Los Angeles on June 28th 1984. Ramirez repeatedly stabbed her in the head, chest, and neck and then slashed her neck so deeply it nearly decapitated her.
Dayle Yoshie Okazaki, 34, was shot in the head by Ramirez when fleeing his attempted murder of her roommate Maria Hernandez, 22, on March 17th, 1985.
Tsai-Lian "Veronica" Yu, 30, was attacked by Ramirez an hour later on March 17th, 1985. He dragged her out of her car in Monterey Park, and shot her twice with a .22 caliber handgun.
Vincent Charles Zazzara, 64, and his wife Maxine Levenia Zazzara, 44. Ramirez shot Vincent in the head on March 27th, 1985, then proceeded to beat and shoot Maxine in the head three times. He mutilated her dead body by carving an inverted cross into her chest, then removed her eyes and placed them in a jewellery box which he took with him.
Bill Doi, 66, on May 14th, 1985. Ramirez shot Bill in the face with a .22 semi-automatic pistol and then beat him unconscious. He then raped Bill's disabled wife Lillian Doi, 56. Bill died in hospital from his injuries.
Mabel "Ma" Bell, 83, and her disabled sister, Florence "Nettie" Lan, 81, were attacked at their home on May 29th 1985. He bludgeoned Florence with a hammer and then raped her. He then bludgeoned Mabel before electrocuting her. He used lipstick to draw a pentagram on Mabel's leg and the walls of the room. Both women were found alive and comatose. Mabel died on July 15 in hospital from her injuries. Florence died in August from hers.
Mary Louise Cannon, 75, was stabbed to death by Ramirez in her home in Arcadia on July 2nd 1985. He bludgeoned her with a lamp until she was unconscious, then stabbed her to death with her own kitchen knife.
Lela Kneiding, 66, and her husband Maxon Kneiding, 68, were shot dead and hacked with a machete by Ramirez while they were still alive on July 20th 1985.
Chainarong Khovananth, 32, was shot dead by Ramirez the same night in Sun Valley, Los Angeles. He then repeatedly raped and beat Somkid Khovananth, 32.
Elyas Abowath, 31, was fatally shot while asleep by Ramirez on August 8th 1985. He then attacked Elyas's wife Sakina Abowath, 27, and repeatedly raped her in front of the couple's three-year-old son.
Peter Pan, 66, and Barbara Pan, 62, were shot by Ramirez at their home in Mission Viejo, on August 24th 1985. He raped Barbara before shooting her in the head.
No regrets
Unlike some of the killers Alife has corresponded with, Ramirez was reluctant to discuss the details of his crimes.
But like almost all of them, he didn't express any remorse, and suggested he didn't have many regrets, only in the way his arrest had affected his own life.
Alife said: 'The only time he ever hinted at any regret was when he said he 'came to California on a whim and as you can see, didn't turn out too good'.
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'It was like he was brushing off all of his crimes and was suggesting they only happened because had moved to California.
'It is typical of the self-absorption that a lot of serial killers exhibit.
'It was as if it was nothing, as if he had moved to LA for work and the job didn't work out. He was massively trivialising a lot of very serious crimes.
'And when I pushed him again on whether he had any regrets, he didn't mention murdering and raping all those people.
'He said the one regret that came to mind was not asking out more girls on dates when he was at school, which was incredible.'
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Mei Leung, 9 was beaten, raped, and stabbed by Ramirez in April 1984
Credit: .
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60-year-old Joyce Nelson was murdered by Ramirez in July 1985
Credit: Netflix
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Lela and Maxon Kneiding were murdered by Ramirez in Glendale, California in 1989
Credit: Netflix
Ramirez was found guilty on all charges - 13 murders, five attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults and 14 burglaries - in 1989 and given 19 death penalties.
He died before he could be executed, from complications from health issues including
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Alife and Ramirez swapped their last letters just weeks before his death.
He said: 'You always want to find out more about a serial killer. The next letter might finally contain that one nugget which explains why they did what they did.
'But with Ramirez, as with some of the others I have corresponded with, it wasn't easy to read their letters.
'I certainly didn't miss his non-stop requests for disturbing pictures of women and the stream of strange drawings he sent me.
'Or, like with so many others, his sense of self-importance.
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When I pushed him again on whether he had any regrets, he didn't mention murdering and raping all those people. He said the one regret that came to mind was not asking out more girls on dates when he was at school, which was incredible
Alfie James
'There are many complex reasons why anyone becomes a serial killer, but that is one common factor I have discovered.
'A lot of them have a massively over-inflated sense of their own importance, they think the world revolves around them.
'Whether it is a case of them enjoying the publicity that their crimes have afforded them or whether they were always like that, who knows?
'But they do tend to feel that conversations should always be about them and their feelings, as if they are always the most important person in the room, as if they are the celebrity of their hospital or prison.
'A lack of remorse is another common factor. Not one of them that I got to know expressed full and genuine remorse for their crimes and the terrible heartache they had caused their families.
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'In their minds, their cases involved another victim – and that was them.'
'I'm The Yorkshire Ripper' by Robin Perrie and Alfie James is published by Mirror Books and is available in paperback and as an ebook. Buy it on
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Maria Hernandez survived Ramirez's attempt to murder her with a revolver
Credit: .
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Ramirez has never shown remorse for his catalogue of violent crimes
Credit: Getty Images - Getty
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Ramirez was held in the same prison that Charles Manson was incarcerated in
Credit: AP:Associated Press
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Richard Ramirez murdered sisters Mabel "Ma" Bell, 83, and her sister Florence "Nettie" Lang in their beds
Credit: .
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The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- The Irish Sun
‘Sex obsessed' Night Stalker killer sent me twisted doodles from jail… but constant chilling request turned my stomach
RICHARD Ramirez shocked America when he displayed a pentagram on his palm during his trial for 13 murders and declared 'Hail Satan'. And Alfie James was also taken aback when the Advertisement 18 Ramirez caused controversy in his trial, shouting 'Hail Satan' 18 He sent amature criminologist Alfie a series of crude pictures Credit: Alfie James 18 Ramirez was convicted of 13 murders, five attempted murders and 11 sexual assaults Credit: YouTube 18 Ramirez and Alfie wrote to each other for six years until Ramirez died Credit: Alfie James Britain's top amateur criminologist began writing to Ramirez after he was given the death penalty in a bid to explore what made him tick. Advertisement But Alfie never imagined the twisted requests that the sex attacker would make - and the sinister childlike drawings he would post to him from across the Atlantic. He said: 'I looked at the drawing of his hand and it sent a chill down my spine. 'His hand was massive and had played a part in the many murders and rapes he had committed. 'But that wasn't the only shocking thing that arrived in the post from him. 'As well as his own drawings of women wearing very little, he actually asked me to take photographs of women in real life. Advertisement 'He wanted me to take my camera when I went swimming to capture pictures of women and girls in bikinis. It made me feel sick – and I obviously said no.' After years of communicating with killers here in the UK – including Yorkshire Ripper He said: 'We don't have the death penalty here, of course, so I was fascinated by what life on death row was like. 'What does it do to someone's mind sitting there in a cell day after day, knowing that the only way out is the executioner's chair?' Netflix docu-series Night Stalker - The Hunt for a Serial Killer to track horrific murders of Richard Ramirez In 2007 he wrote to Ramirez at Advertisement Ramirez replied and they struck up a regular correspondence, swapping scores of letters over the next six years until the killer died of natural causes in 2013 before he could be executed. During that time, Alfie – who turned part of his vast true crime library into the definitive biography of Sutcliffe, I'm the Yorkshire Ripper, written with Sun reporter Robin Perrie – gained a fascinating insight into the mind of a killer. Violent upbringing 18 Ramirez had a violent upbringing in El Paso with an abusive father Credit: . 18 He started attacking people when he was just 22 years old after moving to California Credit: AP Born in El Paso, Texas, in 1960, Ramirez grew up in an Advertisement In 1982, when Ramirez was 22, he moved from Texas to California and two years later began attacking men, women and children, often breaking into their homes at night. He used guns, knives and his bare hands to kill his victims, telling one woman to swear 'to Satan' that she wouldn't look at him as he sexually assaulted her. He carved a satanic symbol into the wall of the home of another couple he attacked. Ramirez was arrested in 1985 after his photo appeared on the front of newspapers as part of a police appeal. Locals recognised him as he left a store and gave chase. He ran for six miles, trying to car jack vehicles to get away before a group of have-a-go-heroes surrounded him. Advertisement What does it do to someone's mind sitting there in a cell day after day, knowing that the only way out is the executioner's chair? Alfie James In the latest instalment of The Sun's Meeting a Monster series, Alfie revealed that the killer took a sick pride in his escape bid. Factory worker Alfie, 49, said: 'He was really proud of how far he had run. 'He ran for miles and miles away from a crowd that were after him after they recognised him in the newspaper. He was quite boastful about how far he ran. 'I first came across his story on a documentary and I thought being on death row is totally different to anything we have here. 'So I wrote to him and, just like the serial killers I had written to here in the UK, he replied. Advertisement 'He asked me as many questions as I was asking him. Where have you been, where are you going, how many are in your family? He sometimes wrote a list of questions for me to answer, and I'm thinking, 'Who's interviewing who here?' 'He would send a lot of drawings, mainly of females in bikinis, and he would say, 'Can you send some pictures of girls in underwear bikinis?' 'One time I said we'd been swimming he said, 'If you go again can you take some pictures poolside for me?' I thought, I'm not doing that." Sick obsession 18 Ramirez revealed his obsession with sex and scantily dressed women Credit: Alfie James 18 Despite his violent crimes against women, Doreen Lioy married him in 1996 Credit: AP Photo Advertisement Alfie said Ramirez was "clearly sex obsessed", adding: "It was constant. 'He also once mentioned he liked the 'The girls he drew were always in stockings and suspenders or short skirts, and he said in one letter, 'Do you have any school yearbooks? If so send copy pages from the girls' sports section'.' In another, Ramirez wrote: 'Send pics of girls. Make 'em in bikini thong or lingerie from head to toe,' and he also asked Alife: 'Do you have a favourite sport? Mine to watch is girls' volleyball.' One time I said we'd been swimming he said, 'If you go again can you take some pictures poolside for me?' I thought, I'm not doing that Alfie James In yet another, he begged: 'Send pictures of naked girls. You can try covering naked spots by drawing a bikini.' Advertisement As well as his near X-rated drawings, he also sent more childlike sketches of cars and transformers. Alfie said: 'He came across as very young in many ways, sending drawings of things like transformers or the Green Goblin. 'I quizzed him about death row. You always think it is really noisy in prison, but he said death row was quiet because they had proper steel doors. 'He didn't seem scared about his execution, he seemed quite relaxed.' 18 Ramirez sent Alfie a series of childlike drawings with his letters Credit: Alfie James Advertisement 18 All of the paintings were signed by the serial killer Credit: Alfie James 18 Ramirez didn't demonstrate any remorse in his letters to Alfie Credit: AP Richard Ramirez's victims During his violent crime spree, Ramirez committed 13 murders, five attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults and 14 burglaries. Here we list his murder victims. Mei Leung, nine, was murdered on April 10th, 1984 in the basement of her family apartment building. He proceeded to beat, strangle and then rape Mei before stabbing her to death. He was only linked to her murder by DNA in 2009. Jennie Vincow, 79, was murdered by Ramirez in her flat in Glassell Park, Los Angeles on June 28th 1984. Ramirez repeatedly stabbed her in the head, chest, and neck and then slashed her neck so deeply it nearly decapitated her. Dayle Yoshie Okazaki, 34, was shot in the head by Ramirez when fleeing his attempted murder of her roommate Maria Hernandez, 22, on March 17th, 1985. Tsai-Lian "Veronica" Yu, 30, was attacked by Ramirez an hour later on March 17th, 1985. He dragged her out of her car in Monterey Park, and shot her twice with a .22 caliber handgun. Vincent Charles Zazzara, 64, and his wife Maxine Levenia Zazzara, 44. Ramirez shot Vincent in the head on March 27th, 1985, then proceeded to beat and shoot Maxine in the head three times. He mutilated her dead body by carving an inverted cross into her chest, then removed her eyes and placed them in a jewellery box which he took with him. Bill Doi, 66, on May 14th, 1985. Ramirez shot Bill in the face with a .22 semi-automatic pistol and then beat him unconscious. He then raped Bill's disabled wife Lillian Doi, 56. Bill died in hospital from his injuries. Mabel "Ma" Bell, 83, and her disabled sister, Florence "Nettie" Lan, 81, were attacked at their home on May 29th 1985. He bludgeoned Florence with a hammer and then raped her. He then bludgeoned Mabel before electrocuting her. He used lipstick to draw a pentagram on Mabel's leg and the walls of the room. Both women were found alive and comatose. Mabel died on July 15 in hospital from her injuries. Florence died in August from hers. Mary Louise Cannon, 75, was stabbed to death by Ramirez in her home in Arcadia on July 2nd 1985. He bludgeoned her with a lamp until she was unconscious, then stabbed her to death with her own kitchen knife. Lela Kneiding, 66, and her husband Maxon Kneiding, 68, were shot dead and hacked with a machete by Ramirez while they were still alive on July 20th 1985. Chainarong Khovananth, 32, was shot dead by Ramirez the same night in Sun Valley, Los Angeles. He then repeatedly raped and beat Somkid Khovananth, 32. Elyas Abowath, 31, was fatally shot while asleep by Ramirez on August 8th 1985. He then attacked Elyas's wife Sakina Abowath, 27, and repeatedly raped her in front of the couple's three-year-old son. Peter Pan, 66, and Barbara Pan, 62, were shot by Ramirez at their home in Mission Viejo, on August 24th 1985. He raped Barbara before shooting her in the head. No regrets Unlike some of the killers Alife has corresponded with, Ramirez was reluctant to discuss the details of his crimes. But like almost all of them, he didn't express any remorse, and suggested he didn't have many regrets, only in the way his arrest had affected his own life. Alife said: 'The only time he ever hinted at any regret was when he said he 'came to California on a whim and as you can see, didn't turn out too good'. Advertisement 'It was like he was brushing off all of his crimes and was suggesting they only happened because had moved to California. 'It is typical of the self-absorption that a lot of serial killers exhibit. 'It was as if it was nothing, as if he had moved to LA for work and the job didn't work out. He was massively trivialising a lot of very serious crimes. 'And when I pushed him again on whether he had any regrets, he didn't mention murdering and raping all those people. 'He said the one regret that came to mind was not asking out more girls on dates when he was at school, which was incredible.' Advertisement 18 Mei Leung, 9 was beaten, raped, and stabbed by Ramirez in April 1984 Credit: . 18 60-year-old Joyce Nelson was murdered by Ramirez in July 1985 Credit: Netflix 18 Lela and Maxon Kneiding were murdered by Ramirez in Glendale, California in 1989 Credit: Netflix Ramirez was found guilty on all charges - 13 murders, five attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults and 14 burglaries - in 1989 and given 19 death penalties. He died before he could be executed, from complications from health issues including Advertisement Alife and Ramirez swapped their last letters just weeks before his death. He said: 'You always want to find out more about a serial killer. The next letter might finally contain that one nugget which explains why they did what they did. 'But with Ramirez, as with some of the others I have corresponded with, it wasn't easy to read their letters. 'I certainly didn't miss his non-stop requests for disturbing pictures of women and the stream of strange drawings he sent me. 'Or, like with so many others, his sense of self-importance. Advertisement When I pushed him again on whether he had any regrets, he didn't mention murdering and raping all those people. He said the one regret that came to mind was not asking out more girls on dates when he was at school, which was incredible Alfie James 'There are many complex reasons why anyone becomes a serial killer, but that is one common factor I have discovered. 'A lot of them have a massively over-inflated sense of their own importance, they think the world revolves around them. 'Whether it is a case of them enjoying the publicity that their crimes have afforded them or whether they were always like that, who knows? 'But they do tend to feel that conversations should always be about them and their feelings, as if they are always the most important person in the room, as if they are the celebrity of their hospital or prison. 'A lack of remorse is another common factor. Not one of them that I got to know expressed full and genuine remorse for their crimes and the terrible heartache they had caused their families. Advertisement 'In their minds, their cases involved another victim – and that was them.' 'I'm The Yorkshire Ripper' by Robin Perrie and Alfie James is published by Mirror Books and is available in paperback and as an ebook. Buy it on 18 Maria Hernandez survived Ramirez's attempt to murder her with a revolver Credit: . 18 Ramirez has never shown remorse for his catalogue of violent crimes Credit: Getty Images - Getty 18 Ramirez was held in the same prison that Charles Manson was incarcerated in Credit: AP:Associated Press 18 Richard Ramirez murdered sisters Mabel "Ma" Bell, 83, and her sister Florence "Nettie" Lang in their beds Credit: . Advertisement
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- The Irish Sun
How Brigitte Macron fell for ‘crazy boy' in daughter's class as kids reveal why they backed her… & slam ‘born male' slur
WHEN Brigitte Macron first fell for the French President she was his teacher - and he was a schoolboy in the same class as her daughter. Their affair sparked a huge scandal and even now, decades later, an army of vicious trolls and conspiracy theorists are still set on making her life hell. 13 Brigitte and Emmanuel have been forced to deny rumours she was born male Credit: Rex 13 The future French president (second row, middle) was at school with Brigitte's children 13 Brigitte admitted she fell for Emmanuel when he was a schoolboy as he was 'exceptionally intelligent' Credit: France 5 13 Brigitte's children Tiphaine Auziere, Laurence Auziere-Jourdan (who was in the same class as her future stepdad), and Sebastien Auziere with her husband Emmanuel A torrent of fresh online abuse has ramped up in recent days following a shock court ruling in which judges made the startling decision to allow outlandish claims that Brigitte, 72, was "born a man" and had "sexually abused" her future husband when he was a boy. Brigitte and her husband, Their marriage was already under pressure as the First Lady was recently seen But the couple had hoped the end of this long-running and increasingly bitter legal wrangle would finally bring a close to the years of torment they have endured. Features Instead the new ruling this week led to a fresh wave of hate, and sources say Madame Macron is "absolutely devastated". The Paris Appeal Court sensationally cleared two of her biggest critics - Amandine Roy, a 53-year-old clairvoyant, and blogger Natacha Rey, 49. The pair had posted a video on YouTube in December 2021 making a series of poisonous claims which led to them initially being found guilty of libel when Brigitte first took action against them. But the pair fought back and won their latest challenge, with the court deciding the claims were "made in good faith" and were already in the public domain. Most read in The Sun Throughout the agonising ordeal, Brigitte has had the loyal support of the three children she shares with her first husband, banker André-Louis Auzière, who died in 2019. Her daughter Tiphaine furiously laid into the women at the centre of the row, who claimed that her mother was a trans woman whose name at birth was Jean-Michel - the name of Brigitte's brother. Bizarre moment Emmanuel Macron is SLAPPED by his wife Brigitte while 'bickering' as they got off plane in Vietnam 13 Clairvoyant Amandine Roy has pedalled slurs about the French First Lady Credit: supplied 13 Blogger Natacha Rey won her latest legal battle against Brigitte Credit: supplied 13 Tiphaine is close to her mother Brigitte and has spoken out in her defence Credit: Getty Tiphaine said at the time: 'I don't feel any pain, just anger at the misinformation. "I worry about the level of society when I hear what is circulating on social networks about my mother being a man. 'Anyone can say anything about anyone, and it takes time to get it withdrawn.' Tiphaine likened her mum's fight for justice to Kate Middleton's brave cancer battle when arguing she was right to use the law to challenge the relentless onslaught of online misinformation about her. Last year Tiphaine praised the way Kate had handled intense pressure from the public to reveal the reason she underwent surgery. I worry about the level of society when I hear what is circulating on social networks about my mother being a man Tiphaine Auziere Tiphaine said: "You have the really clear victims like my mother and the Princess of Wales, and then you have others who have been whipped up and muddled by the misinformation. "I was so incredibly touched by Kate's video. I found it so moving. "There she is, asking people to leave her alone so that she can get on with her medical treatment in peace. 'But it really touched me. I thought she was so brave to do that. Because in the end she was forced to do it; there was so much pressure. "This, despite her having so many more important things to think about, yet everything was polluted with fake news, each piece of misinformation worse than the one before." Colourful love life The age gap between Brigitte and her second husband continues to raise eyebrows, but Tiphaine, 41, has a pretty colourful love life of her own. It emerged in March that she is allegedly dating a "bearded bad boy" who blames her stepfather for axing his controversial TV show that peddled conspiracy theories. Tiphaine's rumoured lover, Cyril Hanouna, 50, is the former host of Don't Touch My TV Set, a sensationalist hard right talk show which was cancelled earlier this year. But Hanouna, whose nickname is Baba, railed against Macron after the French media watchdog Arcom decided not to renew the licence for Channel C8, which broadcast his shock-jock show. 13 Brigitte's daughter Tiphaine Auziere is said to be dating hard right shock jock Cyril Hanouna Credit: Getty 13 Cyril Hanouna's show have included homophobic and racial insults 13 Tiphaine and her ex-husband Antoine Choteau with their two children Credit: Getty Some cynical commentators have even suggested he is only dating Tiphaine out of a desire for revenge. News of the couple's whirlwind romance is said to have shocked the Presidential Palace. Tiphaine, a lawyer and writer, is the mother of two children, aged eight and nine, with consultant physician Antoine Choteau, although it is thought the couple broke things off in January this year. La Pointe magazine said the timing of the romance was too suspicious for it to be authentic, and quoted a source close to Hanouna, who cast doubt on the relationship after they were spotted at a restaurant together. They said: "There are no revealing photos in the report. And frankly, Cyril very often invites certain members of the team to dinner in the evening, after the show, it's his habit. It's nothing new." Another source pointed out that the pair left the restaurant separately and said that the TV personality seemed "more intent on eating his pasta" than showing any signs of affection to his date. Users on social media have also floated the theory that the entire relationship was made up to distract viewers' attention away from a newly-released 2023 recording of Cyril allegedly insulting and threatening violence towards a columnist on his show. The show had already come under fire for homophobia, racial insults and out of control political brawls. Scandalous affair 13 Loyal Tiphaine visited a French polling station with her mother in 2017 Credit: AFP 13 Emmanuel Macron was in the same class as Brigitte's daughter Laurence 13 When they met Brigitte was still married to André-Louis Auzière, left Back in 1974, long before any of today's controversies, Brigitte married Tiphaine's father. At first Brigitte appeared to be every inch the picture perfect wife and mother, with three children and a prestigious job at a local private school. But their idyllic family life was blown apart when she had a scandalous affair with a pupil. Her children - Laurence, now a cardiologist, Sebastian, an engineer, and Tiphaine - had their life rocked to the core when Brigitte, then a literature teacher at La Providence school in the city of Amiens, fell for Emmanuel. She was 42 and he was just 15 years old. They met when he was a member of her French and Latin classes and grew closer when Emmanuel joined Brigitte's drama club. Tiphaine was just nine years old when she made the startling discovery that her mother was having a fling with a schoolboy. She recalled Laurence coming home from school one day and announcing: "Mummy, there is a crazy boy in our class who knows everything about everything." Brigitte was said to be instantly captivated by that boy's "exceptional intelligence". She gushed that Emmanuel was so gifted that it was as though "I was working with Mozart". Instantly captivated But it was a tough time for the kids - Tiphaine later revealed how she had to endure judgement and "backbiting" as news of the scandalous romance spread like wildfire around their local community. She recalled: "The attacks, the backbiting, the judgements. It was not yet the era of social networks, but we were in a small provincial town. Everything is known." Years later Paris Match magazine reported: "Young Emmanuel often rang the bell at the Auzière home and the rumours grew. "Rumours which naturally had an impact on the three children of the household." The attacks, the backbiting, the judgements. Everything is known Tiphaine Auziere In a bid to quash the budding romance, Emmanuel's alarmed parents took drastic action. He was sent away to study in Paris by his concerned parents – both doctors – but he always told Brigitte: "Whatever you do, I will marry you." The couple finally wed in 2007, a decade before Mr Macron sensationally came from nowhere to win the French presidency as an independent candidate. His sexuality became an attack point for political enemies, with some claiming his wife was a "cover" for a secret gay life. Brigitte revealed in November 2023 that she had put off marrying Emmanuel for ten years out of concern for her children, adding that she suspected he would 'fall in love with someone his own age". 'The only obstacle was my children,' she told Paris Match. 'I took time so I would not wreck their lives. That lasted 10 years, the time to put them on the rails. "You can imagine what they were hearing. But I didn't want to miss out on my life.' But Tiphaine has never held a grudge against her mother or stepfather for their age gap relationship. She said previously: 'A family break-up can be both a heartbreak and an opportunity. Mixing families together can be enriching. "I have an adored mother and stepfather."
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Mick Clifford: Sophie Toscan du Plantier case still haunts Ireland's legal and political system
Nearly 30 years after the brutal murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, the fall-out continues apace. In June, a new docudrama made by Jim Sheridan about the case premiered at the Tribeca film festival in New York. It portrays what a trial of Ian Bailey, the chief suspect in the murder, would have looked like. This follows from a documentary made a few years ago by Mr Sheridan and another produced by Netflix. There has been the West Cork podcast, a highly regarded series on the case and various books. One of the latter was the focus of a new departure in the case this week – an application to bring a private prosecution against its author, Senan Molony, and also the person who launched the book, Taoiseach Micheál Martin. Frenchwoman Ms Du Plantier's body was found outside her holiday home in Schull in December 1996. Ian Bailey was twice arrested for the murder. He was never charged. In 2019, a French court convicted Ian Bailey in absentia of the murder and sentencing him to 20 years in prison. File picture: Dan Linehan In 2019, a French court convicted him in absentia of the murder and sentencing him to 20 years in prison. The Irish courts refused to extradite him. Mr Bailey continued to live in West Cork until he collapsed and died in Bantry in January 2024. There has, over the years, been two prevailing narratives about Mr Bailey and whether or not he was responsible for the murder. One has been the perception among large swathes of the public that Mr Bailey must have been the murderer. This has been based on the various strands of circumstantial evidence against him. A number of accounts, including the Netflix documentary, and the book at issue in the private prosecution, have veered towards this conclusion. At the other end of the spectrum has been the relatively boring but absolutely vital business of actual evidence and whether or not it amounted to a realistic chance of prosecution of Ian Bailey for murder. One central figure in that respect was Robert Sheehan, a prosecutor who spent most of his career in the office of the DPP. In 2001, he wrote an analysis of the garda investigation into Mr Bailey and what evidence existed that could be used in a prosecution. The document went through each facet of the case in detail, from the complete absence of forensics, to Mr Bailey's statements and behaviour, circumstantial evidence, and the character of the chief witness on whom much of the case against Mr Bailey would hang, Marie Farrell. Former DPP Robert Sheehan (pictured) concluded that there was no case to prosecute Mr Bailey and in a few places he even suggested that evidence pointed to the suspect's innocence. File picture: Courtpix Mr Sheehan concluded that there was no case to prosecute Mr Bailey and in a few places he even suggested that evidence pointed to the suspect's innocence. That document did not see the light of day for over 10 years. Then in 2011, the incumbent DPP Jim Hamilton made available Mr Sheehan's analysis ahead of an extradition request from the French government. Mr Hamilton felt that the document was vital evidence for the Supreme Court to consider. The court subsequently declined to extradite Mr Bailey. Fast forward to last September and the launch of another book on the case, Sophie: The Final Verdict. The Taoiseach did the honours for author and journalist Senan Molony. At the event, Mr Martin mused that he couldn't understand the 'legal principles' that were applied which concluded Mr Bailey should not be prosecuted. 'The simple fact is that we failed in our duty to find and convict a bloody murderer — and our system blocked alternative routes when others were not willing to accept our failures,' he said. In the book Sophie: The final verdict, Senan Molony is critical of Sheehan's analysis, suggesting that the solicitor acted as a 'one man jury' in arriving at his conclusions. In the book itself, Mr Molony is critical of Sheehan's analysis, suggesting that the solicitor acted as a 'one man jury' in arriving at his conclusions. Mr Sheehan interpreted passages in the book, along with public comments from both the Taoiseach and Mr Maloney, as impinging on his professionalism. He could have sued for defamation. He told the Irish Examiner he didn't go down this route because 'the financial cost of losing a case would leave you ruined'. It is a moot point as to how strong any such case would be. One way or the other, his conclusion in that respect is entirely valid. A defamation action can be ruinous. In the recent Gerry Adams libel action against the BBC he was awarded €100,000 by the jury. The costs for which the BBC now falls liable are estimated to be north of €2m. Instead of seeking resolution in the civil courts, Mr Sheehan corresponded with the DPP and set out his intention of applying for permission to take a private prosecution against the two individuals. As the alleged offences are indictable, the DPP would have to be involved. Ian Bailey was twice arrested for Sophie Toscan du Plantier's murder. He was never charged. File picture: Dan Linehan Then last Monday he applied to Dun Laoghaire District Court for the issuing of the summons, but his request was turned down. He says he may now appeal to the circuit court or bring his case to the European Court of Human Rights. More than anything the affair highlights once more the gulf in this case between what has been determined in the court of public opinion and the decision that Mr Bailey did not have a case to answer in a criminal court. Mr Sheehan's analysis was detailed and clear headed but crucially he was not an outlier. His boss at the time, Eamon Barnes, concurred with his conclusions. So did Mr Barnes successor, Mr Hamilton. Experienced senior counsel, one of whom has gone on to be a high court judge, were retained for opinions and they all reached the same conclusion. 'There was certainly no lack of enthusiasm to prosecute him if the facts suggested that there was evidence against him,' Supreme Court judge Adrian Hardiman noted when the case was before him. One recurring line from the barstool opinion was that Mr Bailey should have just been put on trial and let a jury decide on his guilt or innocence. That implies that there is no need for a prima facie case to be established before somebody should be charged and tried with an offence. In other words, if he looks like he might have done it, if he – as Mr Bailey had – displays a personality that is extremely unattractive, let a jury decide whether or not he did it. If the day comes when that passes for due process in a liberal democracy, we're all in trouble. Read More Mick Clifford: Tánaiste makes uncharacteristic lapse with Ian Bailey comments
