THE murdered Frenchwoman Sophie Toscan du Plantier was in the early stages of pregnancy at the time of her brutal death.

An Englishman who has been shunned in West Cork and referred to as “the murderer” has commenced a defamation action against seven different newspapers.

The defamation trial taken by a man who was once described as a suspect in the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier opened at Cork Circuit Court today.