Madeleine McCann: Watching The Parents
MORE no news on the Madeleine McCann case.
It is now a week since the three-year-old girl was snatched from a Portugal holiday resort.
The story has been distressing to watch on our TV screens. What it must like for the parents of Madeleine only a few can know.
BLAME
But their misery is far from complete. With no news of Madeleine, and the Portuguese police having no need to indulge the British tabloids with speculation and theory, Madeleine’s parents are the central characters.
And today’s front-page news, as reported by the caring Mirror, is: “THEY KNOW LEAVING KIDS WAS WRONG.”
Does the Mirror mean to say that Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry, now think they did the wrong thing in nipping out for a bite to eat and leaving the children in the apartment on what they thought was a secure resort?
Does the Mirror mean that the McCanns know that popping back regularly to look at their children and checking on their well being was less than perfect?
Does the Mirror mean that the McCanns realise they should not have left their children alone, just like it is wrong to leave a child in a hotel under the auspices of a baby monitoring service, to leave a child in the car while mum goes to pay for petrol, to talk to a neighbour over a garden fence while the children are indoors?
Of course this is not the Mirror’s view. Oh, no. This is Madeleine’s grandmother, Susan Healy, saying: “They know this was a mistake. But it wasn’t child neglect, it wasn’t not caring for your children.”
That she feels the need to say this is wrong. That the Mirror can lead with Madeleine’s grief-worn parents is pathetic and misguided. That the paper can talk of “people are asking why they didn’t make use of the crèche” at the resort or take the children out to dinner with them is wrong.
But the Mirror has news to write. And the police aren’t playing the game.
THEORIES
So the Mirror produces: “THE 6 THEORIES.”
Only six! Why this cautious approach? But it is all the Mirror has. And readers hear of the “PAEDOPHILE GANG”, the “LONE PAEDOPHILE”, the “JEALOUS MOTHER”, Madeleine wandering off and “DROWNED”, the “OPPORTUNIST PAEDOPHILE”, the “CHILDLESS COUPLE”.
But the Sun has more. It has 130 more. As the front-page headline screams: “MADDIE COPS HUNT 130 BRIT PAEDOS.”
The paper says “at least” 130 British paedophiles “might” have taken Madeleine McCann.
In “ALGARVE IS ‘HAVEN’ FOR PERVS”, readers learn that Portugal is a “magnet for sun-seeking perverts from Britain and the rest of Europe”.
Who knew that perverts get off on watching children at the beach?
Us And Them
But help is on its way. The Sun lists the British coppers who will go out there and see to it that justice is done. We, says the paper, are the only country with a sex offenders’ register.
All convicted perverts must inform the police of their desire to go abroad. At least 130 have. And the police are looking for them.
But – and whisper this – might it be that convicted sexual deviants don’t all tell the police what they plan to do? They are not monitored while overseas. And might it be that not all sexual predators are caught and make it to the list?
Among the policemans’ names is Detective Superintendent Graham Hill, attached to theChild Exploitation and Protection Centre. Hill is on the case. He has flown to Portugal.
Hill worked on the case of Milly Dowler. She was snatched from near Walton railway station, Surrey, in 2002. Her body was found six months later. Her killer or killers have never been caught.
Perhaps Hill’s experiences can help. Perhaps he’ll have more luck. Perhaps not.
Meanwhile, a family is distraught, and bearing up incredibly well under the strain and the merciless gaze of the newspapers…
Posted: 10th, May 2007 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (2,260) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
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September 19th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
The explanation for the DNA in the car boot now seems to be that it was transferred there when the McCanns placed Madeleine’s belongings there when they moved from the apartment to the villa. I assume they had that particular car by then.
I have also heard a BBC news report that the McCanns were advised not to show emotion during interviews in case the abductor(s) “got off” on seeing them distressed.
I’m looking forward to reading what’s in their “defence dossier” and to hearing the Portuguese judge’s decision tomorrow. I reckon there’s more twists and turns to come.
September 19th, 2007 at 8:45 am
[...] Madeleine McCann - Madeleine McCann: Call Off The Dogs, Kate McCann’s Tears And Fatima - Madeleine McCann: Kate And Gerry’s Blood, Threat And Tears - Madeleine McCann Not In Malta Or Morocco - Going Dutch On Madeleine McCann Reward - Madeleine McCann: Gerry On The Telly And It Could Be U - Madeleine McCann: Crimewatch And Just Another Day - Madeleine McCann: Blown Out Of All Proportion - Madeleine McCann: The Full Picture - Madeleine McCann: Robert Murat And More Questions - Madeleine McCann: Watching The Parents [...]
September 19th, 2007 at 2:52 am
Oh i see, so someone is saying they moved from apartment to apartment and carried the dirty diapers with them, in the trunk? IMO they would of said it was urine. I read some where they said body fluids, NOT blood. A person will pass some urine at death. This whole thing is so confusing. I had hoped once things started moving along with the evidence and such that we would hear something. There is no NEW news to speak of…..
September 19th, 2007 at 2:47 am
The preschool and dance place that i use, your child had to be potty trained to attend at age 3. Mine are 10 and 13 now, BUT i recall almost all the activities they did at a early age (2-1/2 to 3 years)that HAD to be potty trained or they would not let them attend.
I guess all kids are different, and some parents have more time to spend potty train than others i guess.
(Off topic, but since the diapers/nappies were mentioned, i hate to see a child or 4 or more walkin around with a pacifier in their mouth. Dont know why…)
I totally missed the nappy bit, i guess i best keep reading…
September 19th, 2007 at 2:32 am
A Person - Era? what on this earth are you talking about. I thought kids today were well in advance!! Yes I am a mother -= my son was out of nappies at 18 months - and out of them at night at 2 years old. I am a grandmother, and my granddaughter was not in nappies during the day at 2 and by 2 and a half was out of them altogether. If your kids are still in nappies at 2 years old then they have not had the training to be out of them - OK - its easier to stick on a nappy and let them pee in it than take the time to talk to them and explain the feelings and reason why it is good to tell mummy when they want to go - your choice - but even parents who are reluctant to toilet train surely would not take a soiled nappy from one place to another? or would they - may they would if they are from A Persons “era”
September 19th, 2007 at 2:23 am
Kiwi - of course Kate McCann is a grieving parent - but that does not discount the possibility that she is grieving for a child who was accidentally killed, does it? Nobody is even suggesting that anything that has happened, happened deliberately - and the grief and the upset and the tears and the weight loss and the general strained and whatever would be there however your child went away - BUT the awful part is IF and I say IF with not a jot of proof - but if there has been a cover up about the circumstances surrounding Madeleines disappearance, then I would think that the strain would be 10 fold at least. Imagine having to cope with the accidental loss of a child AND trying to cover up the knowledge of how it happened. Nobody could cope with either of these circumstances, let alone both without showing strain
September 19th, 2007 at 1:39 am
After watching the vid again….i think Gerry looks much more upset about Maddie. Kate looks like she gets a bit perturbed a few times. Also they say if they thought leaving the kids was unsafe they would not of done it…OVER AND OVER.
She still does not have much to say given the chance to speak to her daughter.
No real news on the Mccann front…I guess we may never know what happen to lil Maddie!!
September 19th, 2007 at 1:02 am
KiWi…..i have tried to find that vid for a while now…i dont know if it was removed from the net or not. It was a woman reporter and Kate and Gerry were being interviewed. I will have to go thru my posts here to see if i can find it again.
September 19th, 2007 at 12:41 am
Well the whole of 3 mother and toddler groups i go to are doing it wrong then all 2 year olds should be potty trained what era are you both from.
September 19th, 2007 at 12:33 am
I just watched that clip of kate about the what would you say to Maddy.
What i saw was her smile yes because she was speaking about her love for her child and she also drew back a breath to hold back the tears, i see a grieving parent not a person hiding something.
The whole time both Gerry and Kate’s voices were shaky because they were trying to keep from breaking down, you could see the pain that they were in.
September 19th, 2007 at 12:20 am
Alice: you are right, by this age no more nappies, I can tell from my kids, unless the twins are a little late in that issue…but the two ? Couldn’t she say which one needed a nappie ? And sure they could ask to weee…. I also think that the forensic lab knows the difference between body fluids and urine. I have been reading about the hair that was found, some papers now say it was not valid, not roots, etc. but in the begining I read “clumps” . I believe the all issue of the hair might bring some more hints on this case. It is scientificaly prooved that if hair is from a corpse it will present, just following the root, a dark line called postmortem root band, I don’t know how they will explain that … and the forensics lad did not deliver all the results… so, we will have to wait. And as for the nappies surely they would use disposable … I can’t imagine someone going on vacation and have to wash tissue nappies, let alone the Mccanns. And IF nappies are used, and are disposable you don’t take them when you move… you put them away in the waste bags. So, I am totally with you…:)
September 19th, 2007 at 12:14 am
Alice do you have children? i have a 2 yr old son well to be picky 2 and a half year old son and he is still in nappys, my 4 year old son was in Nappies still at night untill recently. So why would the McCanns be any diffrent my sons talks clearly and asks questions quite alot but just because the mouth works does not mean that he has control of his bladder well enough to be out of nappies, also all of the toddlers that go to the parent groups i go to around the same age are in Nappies does that make all of us bad parents aswell.
I tend to put the nappies when we are out into a bag or area in the boot of our car aswell, i dont like to leave them for someone to pick up from shops or cafes and some places also ask you to take your nappies home with you.
September 18th, 2007 at 11:47 pm
Dont you also think it odd that the ONE and probably ONLY person who by his own admission was with them constantly - visiting Famita - 14 hours a day with them etc. etc. in, I might add, a Government capacity is now EMPLOYED by them!!! That alone stinks in my opinion. Who is gonna grass on someone who is paying you a huge salary not to? Especially if you have burned your career bridges. When asked on the TV today how he got the job he said the McCanns approached him - There has to be some legal questions surely as this key witness to the movements of the McCanns at the crucial times - ie visiting Fatima and other trips out in the “car”, is now “in their pockets” as it were
Also I read on the Times site that one of the explainations given by the McCanns for the body fluid was that the twins nappies were put in the car when they moved apartments - I read earlier in the saga that the twins were asking “where is Maddie” and on the plane “this is Maddies seat” for ones so eloquent they would be able to say “Mommy - I want a weeee” - no need for nappies - and I would have thought that at night time the disposable kind would be used - cant imagine Kate washing nappies - can you? These kids are more than two years old - Nappies?? I dont think so….
September 18th, 2007 at 11:28 pm
1794 Kiwi: I have been reading this forum for a while and I was neutral in all this case, although I am starting to move more to the “guilty”, I know it is not fair because everybody is innocent until guilt is proved. I saw your question about the “famous interview”
and I Googled it like this “Gerry Kate Mccann Full interview video skynews” .
I saw it and I must say that I do not know what to think, I can only think if it would be me, with a TV channel like Sky News, offering me the entire screen to comunicate with my daughter or even the “abductor”….GOD ! I would talk, cry, tell so many things, appeal on my knees, but no….in the end she just says…oh, er, I mean….er….I love her, but in a very shy way. It is a totally different Kate from the one we can see when Gerry went nervous in Spain TV about the blood…Gerry almost exploded, but Kate, no…she was the one controlling the scene, she talked open and loud to the interview, to escuse Gerry, to much pressure, etc, etc.
You all have pointed many unexplained things, some contradicting, and I am starting to form an idea that maybe they really know much more and are trying everything they can so that the investigations do not continue this way. My feeling is that Gerry ended up caught in this and has to protect his family and wife. Maybe if later something will appear about Kate’s depressions and that she was not the “old” Kate anymore, some friends and work colleagues refused to comment.
I know from my own experience that a friendly adorable person can become neurotic and very dangerous, as it happened with my ex-husband.
No one would say that business man, so good looking and friendly (outside) could turn out to be so dangerous to his family…so, sometimes what we see in the pictures is not real life. It is fabricated and then there are persons suffering at home, wives, children, at first nobody believes us, but when things get worse, finally we get help, sometimes when we are real close to death.
I am sorry for Madeleine and…for Gerry a little bit too, since I feel he is suffering hell and maybe regreted already… But now there is no turning back, if this is to go to the bottom he will go along. Maybe they are so used to tell this sad story that they started to believe it. Down in the bottom they know it was wrong, but there is no turning back and as time goes by they keep involving more and more people. They surround themselves with people who believe what they say, so it is easer to believe it too. These last week made me really think, if they would be innocent, they would have only one way of behaviour…wait…and all would be cleared. Instead they searched the best help in Government, lawers, and all to refute anything the police has to point them. They will find a simple explanation to every evidence the police will claim… that says too much about the way they think.
September 18th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
does anyone know where that video clip of kate when she was asked what she would to Maddy if she could hear her now? someone on here mentioned it but i have not been able to find it.
September 18th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
Tell me does that make me a bad parent aswell now ?
September 18th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
I’ve seen a press report that the Portuguese judge has decided not to recall the McCanns for further questioning but to have any further interviews carried out by British police. I’ve not seen the report repeated elsewhere so I don’t how accurate it is, and I didn’t expect any form of decision until tomorrow.
After all the speculation in the media and the sheer number of people who are totally convinced one way or another about the McCanns’ guilt or innocence, it does make you wonder if they could receive a fair trial should they be charged.
If the McCann’s allegation of abduction turns out to be true, I wonder if they will ever admit that leaving the children alone in an unlocked room was at least a contributory factor.
September 18th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
Tommygun
I dont leave my kids with people i dont know but if i knew them then, yes i would leave my kids with them, from what friends have said about them and from what i have seen although they were wrong for leaving the kids that night they did not before and will not ever harm their children knowingly.
They did Neglect Madeleine and the twins that night yes but i have seen this happen many times while on holidays and nothing like what happened on the 3rd of may happened,they were unlucky others were lucky, But that does not prove that they murdered Madeliene or that they neglected the children before and what was said about them as a family shows that they were good parents up untill madeliene disapeared.
How would this have been any diffrent if they had of used the hotel baby listening service, from what it said they went around to check the children every 30 minutes aswell and listened from outside a door.
September 18th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
Sorry to appear like a “troll” in some type of way but…. here’s the link to the response to aunty philly’s petition. It’s gained a fair bit of support from us free thinking types, and of course attracted attention from “Team Mcann”
If you haven’t already had your say, take a look at
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/GuiltyOrNot/index.html
Your opinion counts. This is a democrative voting system whereby you choose whether the McCanns were possibly guilty of neglect or not, or whether theyt were possibly involved in madeleines disappearance
All comments are left intact, which is more than can be said for the McCann’s petition where the only option is “innocent”
Thanks for taking the time out to take an interest.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
I think the McCanns also contribute with (sometimes false) statements. Through themselves and through their relatives.
I read that the offered “deal” from the police in Portugal was not true but a misunderstanding, but still especially Philomena with her colourful Glasweckgeian vocabulary told the press about it.
From the early days the McCanns were allowed to set the rules for the press. They decided what happened and when. No word about feeling guilty and doing something wrong. They sold themselves as very responsible people denying any fault in their behavior.
I remember this german journalist who was attacked because he dared to ask a critical question about the McCanns. But why not, why not following all possibilities in that case?
September 18th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting the whole marketing campaign for the McCanns.
I feel very sorry for the portogese police not beeing able to justify their decisions and not beeing allowed to talk about the case. Because the McCanns DO TALK about it through their relatives. Very smartly they get their family to cry out: “They forced me to confess…..” which is not true. The police according to some insiders didn´t offer this deal.
I think the police in Partugal did a good job and tried to be as professional as possible. What can they do in the end against a fleed of lawers and helpers and against the british press?
It looks that the whole family has formed a big company “the McCann Company” and they all blossom.
But I have to say that I find the British press also very irritating. And why does somebody from the government need to stand by McCanns side and give testimonials. Just weird.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
If all we read about the Mccanns is NOT true. How can we be sure of anything? The Mccanns know if they are involved. They arent gonna tell us yes, we overmedicated Maddie and she died and we hid her body, are they?
I just read that the Mccanns want to talk to a US lawyer to try and get the scent sniffing dog evidence tossed out. If there is NO evidence…what are they gettin a lawyer for? Well, then again…they are busy spending like tons of the fund money on a NEW campaign to find Maddie. I can safely say…we all want Maddie to be found alive and well. I dont think there is another lil girl in the world with so many people praying for her. I guess after everything we have heard, some of us think she will never be found and some seem to think she is alive and well and will return.
I hate to admit, if half of what is in the news about the Mccanns is true…they will need all the help money can buy.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Well i guess that shows how smart the Mccanns really are…leaving 3 small children under 5, in an unlocked, ground floor apartment, in a strange country all alone whlile they go out and drink with friends is like eating in the garden at home while they sleep in the house? That is one of the dumbest things i have ever heard.
What gets me is they keep defending what they did by saying they are responsible parents. Well, if you were being responsible on the night of May 3rd, how did someone go into the apartment and take your daughter?
September 18th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Hey A Person would you leave your kids with them?
September 18th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
Just realized that not one of you on here are even bothered about how and where and when, dosnt matter if the evidence dosnt run true, or even if the DNA was Madelienes as long as the McCanns are guilty your all be happy.
There has been plenty of news report stating that things that the Portugaul Media have said is untrue, but instead when its been put to you in here instead of thinking about it, you sweep it under the carpet and go back on the witch hunt for the McCanns.
What if they are innocent and they get charged for this and the real abductor goes free, then one day down the line another small child gets taken!
I dont care about the McCanns, i care about other children that are not safe because somewhere out there is a criminal waiting to take another child, maybe next time it could be a member of your family. So instead of looking at condeming the McCanns look into what the truth is.
September 18th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Big house big garden I should imagine!!
Bet they kept the front door locked at all times!
September 18th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
a person…Oh now the neighbor upstairs did not say children were crying? This is like a bad movie on the tv. I had read that she stated a few different times she heard a child crying and then calling Daddy and also someone from the apartments talked to the Mccanns about using the babysitting service? Maybe after this is when the Mccanns used sedatives, to keep them quiet. I dont know. It just seems like their good times came before the welfare and safety of their children. Why do the police talk about sleeping pills? I dont know what is true and what is not, even when i read the news.
I agree…this case needs to be solved. For Maddie’s sake!! If the Mccanns are quilty in her disappearance and maybe her death, then God help them. If they are innocent, then the truth needs to come out. I believe they are hiding something.
September 18th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
oh and in reference to Kate and Gerry leaving 3 small children alone in a ground floor, unlocked apartment, in a strange country, while they were out drinking with friends…..One of the Mccanns said something to the affect that it would of happen regardless if they were there or not? (i would have to look up the words they used) That makes no sense. How would someone get in there and get Maddie with mom and dad there? I know when my kids were little and we went away…most of the time they ended up sleepin with us. They didnt want to be far from us.
The other thing that i dont understand is when Gerry was checking them, he would listen at the door? or went in and didnt see Maddie but thought she had gone to their bed? That is crazy…..
September 18th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
star the neighbour said she did not tell people that she heard the children crying, and anyway if they were drugged as you all say then how were they drugged so they sleep aswell as crying.
It makes me so mad that you all think that you know it all because you read it in the papers. I read about 2 years ago that Elvis was alive still! so is this true.
If you are to go on what papers say i read that the DNA was not enough to say it was Madelienes or not and that the body fluid wasnt Madelienes either. The tests were inconclusive in one paper and that the hair wasnt Madelienes in another paper.
But the most condeming report to the case against the McCanns, was what i read last night about how since the 3rd of may the McCanns and thier close friends were under close survaliance via satalite telephone bugs and email traces.
Then if this was the case they would have seen the McCanns or thier friends move the body, if thier was a body!
so the papers are giving out pure lies to sell you the crap you want to believe.
But all of you out there that just want to believe that the McCanns did this and dont want to find out the truth just carry on with you tabloid make believe.
I want to get the truth if the McCanns did this then they deserve to be locked up but if they didnt then they deserve a fair go and all this media hanging is not going to allow this.
September 18th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
tommygun…I often wondered about the garden thing? Where is their garden, down the block, and around the corner?
I wonder what condition the Mccanns and friends were in when the police arrived. Why didnt they use the baby-sitting service? Did something happen to Madeleine BEFORE dinner? How many other kids were left alone? They can get the whole party for child neglect. I know we only hear about the other child because she was sick and vomiting, but was still left alone. This whole thing is very odd. The Mccanns seem to be busy with their new campaigns…spend, spend, spend.
I still dont understand the whole DNA thing…bodily fluids in the trunk of the Mccanns rented car? Either it is there or it is not. And where are the police gonna get Maddie’s body fluids to put in there? The Mccanns look guilty to me.