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Saturday 01 December 2007 |
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It is revealed that Portuguese police are investigating a mobile
phone call from Russell O'Brien to Gerry McCann that was made on 10 June 2007. A team of telephone surveillance officers highlighted
the call as it is understood to have contained key words that aroused police suspicions.
Investigators are concentrating on the exact whereabouts of Dr O'Brien
when the call was made. It is understood Gerry McCann told detectives the call was made within a 4km radius of Praia da Luz
but technicians working on the mobile phone network have dismissed this after examining records. It is believed the call took
place 28km from Praia da Luz.
It also emerged that each member of the Tapas Nine were placed under
surveillance after British communications experts arrived in the resort at the end of May. Mobile phone records, which leave
a trail even when switched off, are believed to have been checked against statements made by guests and staff at the Ocean
Club complex.
The results of these tests are believed to have been handed to the
Portuguese prosecutors last week.
There is further press speculation about the 'Exeter connection', based around the fact that,
just prior to May 3rd, Robert Murat spent 10 days at his sister's home in Exeter. Her house is less than a mile
from the house where Jane Tanner and Russell O'Brien live. Tanner and O'Brien are neighbours of James and Charlotte Gorrod,
who were also in Praia da Luz, at the same time as the Tapas Nine.
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It is reported that Portuguese police are investigating a disused
barn in the south-east of Praia da Luz following the discovery of a blood stained towel which police believe may turn out
to be Madeleine's blood.
Fibres on the towel allegedly match fibres from the Renault Scenic
hire car the McCanns' hired 25 days after Madeleine's disappearance.
It is understood Portuguese detectives discussed the breakthrough
when they met British police and a Crown Prosecution Service official last week at a police station in Leicester.
The fresh information is believed to have come from mobile phone
surveillance police who tracked a signal to the remote and deserted barn. There they found a towel with an Aztec design, which
revealed three sites of blood deposits on the edge of the towel. Tests showed there was 'moderate' support to suggest
the blood deposits matched Madeleine's blood.
The results were not conclusive and are not regarded as being strong
enough to be presented as evidence in a court case. However, close analysis of the towel revealed fibres which were not
made of the towel material. The fibre fragments were microscopically examined against fibres found in the boot of the McCanns'
Renault Scenic hire car.
Portuguese police sources say there was 'strong support' that the
fibres found on the towel matched fibres found from the boot of the car.
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It is reported that Portuguese police have asked the FSS
to carry out further tests on forensic samples collected from the McCanns' apartment and hire car.
A source from Portugal's National Institute of Legal Medicine said:
"The tests the Policia Judiciaria are waiting for are on traces of blood and hairs. The samples are so small that it is very
unlikely a DNA link will be found. The tests being carried out are very complex. We're talking about procedures that require
special care, because there has to be a 'consensus'. The truth is that hasn't happened."
In a rare public pronouncement on the case, Guilhermino Encarnacao,
head of the PJ in the Algarve, said: "There's nothing new that enables us to move the case one way or another. The results
provide no surprises."
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Reports suggest that scientists have found just 17 cells on samples
taken from the boot lining of the McCanns' Renault Scenic hire car. However, this report is not even attributed to a 'source'
so it's reliability remains in question.
Independent forensic expert Dr Ronald Denny said: "It is not a hopeless
task. If they have 17 cells then they can carry it off very effectively in Birmingham, one of the leading labs in the world.
It is a minute sample, something which 20 years ago, or even ten years ago, could not have been worked on. But improving
DNA techniques mean detectives can re-open old cases. A cell is negligible – you can just about see it under a microscope.
It’s a sample someone would leave behind with the touch of a finger. But when placed with certain biochemicals a small
amount of DNA grows to a size that can be analysed.”
Kate and Gerry insist they are willing to return to Portugal
if detectives want to interview them there. Portuguese officers plan to come to Britain again next week to ask new questions
of the McCanns and their holiday friends - the Tapas Nine who were at a restaurant when Madeleine vanished on May 3. But some
or all of the group may then be asked to go back to Praia da Luz to take place in "face-to-face" meetings or identity parades,
say police sources.
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Wednesday 05 December 2007 |
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Three Policia Judiciaria detectives
are expected to leave for the UK in the next few days. They will not interview the Tapas Nine themselves but will be present
while British detectives ask questions. It is thought the questions will focus on apparent inconsistencies in the various
statements given by the McCanns and their friends about the night Madeleine vanished.
But if the interviews do not
yield results, some or all of the group will be asked to return to the Algarve, a Portuguese newspaper claims.
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Thursday 06 December 2007 |
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Kate and Gerry will find out within 48 hours if the British
Government will let them face a new grilling over their daughter’s disappearance.
The prosecutor in charge of the case was last night set to send
a letter asking for formal permission to re-interview them and their holiday dinner pals - the so-called Tapas Seven - to
the Home Office. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, 44, will then decide whether or not to allow the further questioning to take
place.
Detectives believe the secret to Madeleine’s fate lies within
the group and are relying on the new interviews to crack the case. They hope the Home Secretary will immediately give the
go ahead to the fresh round of interrogations.
But police in Portugal have long been suspicious about British Government
involvement in the investigation and fear further political interference.
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It is reported that Portuguese detectives could conclude their
inquiry as soon as January 3. Lawyer, Francisco Pagarete, said a public prosecutor would decide early in the New Year
whether to charge his client, Robert Murat, or Kate and Gerry McCann.
Under Portuguese law, at that point the evidence-gathering process
will end and the prosecutor will either formally accuse one or more of the three, or shelve the case, he said.
Mr Pagarete predicted this was most likely to happen on January
3, exactly eight months after Madeleine disappeared. The other possible date is January 14, eight months to the day after
Mr Murat was named the first arguido in the child's disappearance, he said.
Mr Pagarete said: "On that day we will know what is going to be
the public prosecutor's choice. He either accuses according to the evidence they have already gathered, or according to the
same evidence he files the case against my client."
He went on: "It is the end of the inquiry for all of the defendants
- the inquiry has to finish at the same time for everyone. At that time we will see all the decisions for all the defendants.
I'm certain it will be either the 3rd or the 14th."
The lawyer said he believed it was "not possible" for Algarve-based
prosecutor Jose Cunha de Magalhaes e Meneses to request additional time to gather evidence. "I think there is no legal way
to go around the situation and say we need more time," he said.
Mr Pagarete said Mr Murat was "not afraid of the result of the inquiry"
because there was "nothing against" him.
Tycoon Stephen Winyard, who donated £100,000 to help Kate and Gerry McCann clear their names, criticises the Prime
Minister for failing to publicly support the couple.
Winyard, who is worth about £30 million and has also offered a £1m reward for the four-year-old's return, said Gordon Brown
should have defended the couple after Portuguese police made them "arguidos" - or suspects in the case - three months ago.
The Monaco-based businessman urged Brown to hold a "ministerial level" meeting with Kate and Gerry, both 39, who have faced
a barrage of allegations since their return to the UK after Madeleine's disappearance from their holiday apartment in Praia
da Luz 220 days ago.
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Saturday 08 December 2007 |
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On a day of little news, Kirsty Maryan, 19, who has been described
by the McCann family's private investigators as a key witness in the case, is seen posing in a nurse's uniform and stockings
and suspenders.
In a series of photos, posted on the social networking website Facebook,
nannies from the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz are seen in provocative and sometimes lurid poses. Most disturbingly, one of the
nannies, Emma Wilding, 22, is snapped exposing her bottom while wearing one of the yellow wristbands sold to raise funds
for the Find Madeleine campaign.
The girls' antics were described last night by a friend of the McCann
family as "insensitive" and "inappropriate".
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It is reported that police questioning of the McCanns and
their group of friends could be delayed until after Christmas. Portuguese detectives are ready to fly to the UK and have
prepared letters with questions the couple and their seven holiday friends must answer. It had been thought the interviews
by British police with Portuguese officers sitting in could begin this week.
But the questions must be approved by the Portuguese public prosecutor,
who will spend a week considering possible changes.
They will then go to the investigating judge for authorisation before
being translated.
Finally, the questions must be approved by Home Secretary Jacqui
Smith.
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It is revealed that the McCanns and other members of the tapas
group have met for the first time since May 3rd. This was actually reported as an 'exclusive' in November,
by Spanish TV station Antena3 but has only just been picked up by the British press.
It is said the 'Tapas Nine' had a highly emotional and "deeply sad"
reunion at a hotel near Kate and Gerry's home in Rothley, Leicestershire. It is believed to have taken place on Saturday 17
November, the week after news broke that two members of the tapas group wanted to change their statements.
A source close to the McCanns said the meeting was kept secret because
of the huge interest it would have generated. "It was a show of
solidarity under police claims that one or two had wanted to change their stories," said a source.
The McCanns are said to have used the reunion to, in part at least,
"talk tactics" in the search for Madeleine.
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It is reported that police are probing the secret summit between
the McCanns and their 'tapas group' friends at a hotel near their home.
The McCanns described the meeting as "highly emotional". But police
are reported to be probing whether the group had used it as a chance to get their stories straight. If they suspect a
conspiracy to obstruct justice, the group of friends could each face up to two years in jail.
Under English law such
a meeting between the McCanns, who are both suspects, and their key witness friends would be banned during a criminal investigation.
The details of last month's meeting emerged as the prosecutor sent a letter to the Home Office asking for permission
to re-interview the McCanns and their friends.
The McCanns will be particularly disappointed at reports that Jose
Manuel Pacheco, the Roman Catholic priest who befriended them, has ordered every trace of the Madeleine appeal removed from
his church of Our Lady of the Light.
The tiny white-washed building became a focal point of the Find
Madeleine campaign, and was later searched by police looking for the body. But Friends of Fr Pacheco said he could no longer
bear to discuss the case.
"Even when his friends broach the subject he immediately changes
it," said one. He says it is an extremely unpleasant situation and the McCann family only ever brought him problems. He even
told one friend they ruined his life. There are two completely different Pachecos, the one before the McCanns and this shell
of a man after the McCanns. He is a nervous wreck."
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Wednesday 12 December 2007 |
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The mother of Robert Murat today launched a scathing attack
on the girl's parents. Jenny Murat claimed her family was being punished simply because Kate and Gerry McCann left their daughter
alone in their holiday apartment.
In an interview today, Mrs Murat, 71, also accused the private detective
agency hired by the McCanns of allegedly bribing witnesses into changing their stories.
Mrs Murat also said friends of the McCanns, who claim to have seen
Mr Murat outside the apartment on the night Madeleine vanished seven months ago, were lying. Her allegations have all been
vehemently denied.
She said the Metodo 3 agency had hired detectives to follow her for
a week. "Metodo were getting people to change their statements; following everybody everywhere. They were certainly following
me."
It is also claimed today that British diplomats were ordered to "avoid
offering support" to Robert Murat.
The Foreign Office sent a memo to staff with the instruction three
days after the 34-year-old was named a formal suspect in the case, it was said. The treatment expat Murat received contrasts
starkly with the support Gerry and Kate McCann were offered by the British authorities, Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported.
Murat's lawyer Francisco Pagarete said: "He feels he has been abandoned
by his own government. This extremely serious order confirms the lack of support which the family has felt since the beginning."
El Mundo claims a Foreign Office document, dated May 17, justified
the order because of "the specific nature of the case" and because British diplomats "were already helping Madeleine McCann's
parents."
The paper reported: "An internal document, sent by the Foreign Office
of the United Kingdom, orders British diplomats 'to avoid offering support' to Robert Murat, one of the suspects in the Maddie
case, unless charges are presented against him."
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Thursday 13 December 2007 |
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The backlash against Madeleine McCann's parents gathered pace as
the mayor of Praia da Luz described the unresolved case as 'a stain' on his community. Manuel Domingues Borba, a former
policeman, said Kate and Gerry McCann were "guilty at least" of abandoning their daughter.
Mr Domingues Borba, 70, said: "For the parents to have left Maddie
who was not yet four years old, with her twin brother and sister who were barely two -just babies - all alone in a foreign
country. They left their children sleeping alone in the resort. I, personally, would never leave my children sleeping alone
and go to dinner in a foreign country.
I consider the parents guilty of negligence at the very least. There
was a total abuse of trust and extreme negligence. The parents are arguidos for a reason. If they are suspects it's because
there are suspicions upon them. They are guilty of at least abandonment - in the least."
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The Guardian publishes an article by Bridget O'Donnell, the partner
of Jeremy Wilkins, in which she talks about the events leading up to, and after, Madeleine's disappearance.
Kate and Gerry McCann would be behind bars by now if they were Portuguese,
says the host of the country’s version of Crimewatch. Hernani Carvalho said the couple had been given "scandalously
privileged treatment" over the disappearance of daughter Madeleine.
Mr Carvalho, who fronts Portugal’s top TV crime show, added:
"If they were Portuguese they would be in jail by now. There are lots of people up in arms with the scandalously privileged
treatment that was given to the McCanns. Any Portuguese couple in these circumstances would have been jailed a long time ago."
The TV host believes that the McCanns should have been put
in custody while the investigation continues and that they are guilty of leaving their children alone at the very least.
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Saturday 15 December 2007 |
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It is reported that Kate
and Gerry McCann are preparing for a quiet family Christmas for the sake of their two-year-old twins, Sean and Amelie. The
family are yet to decide where they will spend their first Christmas without Madeleine.
Clarence Mitchell told
the Leicester Mercury they were hoping to make the most of a "difficult" situation, and make this year as normal as possible
for the twins.
He said: "Christmas will be a private time for Kate and Gerry and they will spend it with relatives
somewhere in the UK. They have not yet decided if they will be staying in Rothley or not, but will be with their family. It
will clearly be difficult for them without Madeleine, but they are very aware that Sean and Amelie are entitled to a normal
family Christmas. They are also grateful for everybody remembering them at this time of year."
He spoke after detectives
working for the family in Portugal were reported as saying they wanted the missing four-year-old found and back with her family
by Christmas Day. Francisco Marco - director general of Metodo 3, the detective agency which has been employed by the family
to find Madeleine - was quoted yesterday as saying they were closing in on the four-year-old's abductor and preparing to hand
over "evidence" to police.
Mr Marco was also said to have told the Spanish newspaper Metro that Madeleine, who was
snatched from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, in the Algarve in May, might not have left Portugal. He said: "God willing,
I hope she will be back with her parents before Christmas."
Asked if Mr Marco had spoken out of turn, Mr Mitchell said:
"We retain confidence in them. They are doing a good job and we are pleased they are confident they will find her. The sooner
she comes home, the better. Metodo 3 is continuing to follow leads. Information is still coming in all the time."
Mr
Mitchell also said the family was aware of media reports suggesting the Portuguese police still intended to talk to the family
about their daughter's disappearance, but had not been formally notified of any plan to do so.
He said: "We've heard
nothing from the Portuguese end as to whether the police are coming over here. We would not expect that to happen before Christmas.
We are not expecting anything of real importance in the run-up to Christmas, unless of course Metodo 3 comes good and finds
her. We are well aware of what the papers are saying but we have heard nothing official from the
Portuguese police. If it does happen, no-one has anything to hide and they will happily tell the police what they want to
hear over timings and anything else they are not sure about."
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The Times runs an article by David James Smith, which gives details
of the events of May 3rd.
The Sunday Express reports that the FBI has been asked to examine
CCTV footage of three men acting suspiciously near the Algarve apartment that Madeleine McCann disappeared from. The night
before she vanished, two men were seen acting nervously near the complex and on the evening she went, the same men were seen
with a third man. One of the men captured on camera on both nights bears a strong resemblance to a man with long, dark hair
seen carrying a child, as reported by the McCanns’ friend Jane Tanner.
They also reveal that sniffer
dogs taken to a disused barn 30 miles from Praia da Luz have shown strong interest in two sites. One is what appears to be
a 14ft mineshaft opening to an underground cavity, and the other is where earth h
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