Hunting Madeleine McCann And Robert Murat
POLICE and two British cocker spaniels are swarming over Robert Murat’s home in Portugal.
One dog is trained to search for dead bodies. The other dog looks for live ones. In the McCanns apartment, a Portuguese dog can sense if a dead body has been in the room. It picks up the scent.
Robert Murat is chief suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
This is Robert Murat. One-eyed Murat.
File On Murat
The Sun has a “File on Murat”.
This is Murat, of whom the Sun’s Julie Moult delivered up a piece entitled “stories of a fantasist”. “He always seemed so eager to get involved in the police investigation,” said the Sun’s woman–on-the-scene. “Robert claimed he had a daughter just like Madeleine and said he felt compelled to do anything he could. But to me he seemed like classic fantasist.”
The Mail’s Neil Sears told us: “There was something more to the friendly expat who called himself ‘Rob’ than met the eye.” Murat made Sears “feel slightly uncomfortable”.
But it was the Sunday Mirror’s Lori Campbell who alerted police to Murat’s behaviour, she saw as “creepy”. She then told us, publicising her gut feeling.
Creepy Murat. But not half as creepy about the media’s voracious feeding frenzy which turned child abduction into voyeurism, a spectator sport. Madeleine McCann was turned into Maddy and Maddie, the victim of “every parent’s worst nightmare”.
“Kidnapping has weird echoes of Soham case,” said the Express’s front page. “MADDY SUSPECT BEHAVED JUST LIKE HUNTLEY.”
Paul Titcombe, Murat’s ex-boss recalled children’s parties: “Instead of mingling, he’d go straight to the bouncy castle and jump around. He got a bit of a name for himself. It seemed like a fixation.”
There were the “SEX SECRETS OF MADDY SUSPECT”. The “kinky threesome with pool cleaner and wife”.
Such is the file on Murat.
At home With Murat
And here is Murat. Creepy Murat. He is called a “liar” in a stage–managed confrontation with three of the McCanns’ travelling companions. His DNA is being examined and re-examined. Murat is being questioned by police.
And Murat? Says he: “It’s ruined my life. It’s made things very difficult for my family here and in Britain. The only way I’ll survive this is if they catch Madeleine’s abductor.”
The story of one girl’s disappearance had become the story of one man’s survival.
Murat’s Alibi
And now the Express leads with the news that Murat’s home has been taped off “as his alibi is blown wide open”.
But no trace of Madeleine McCann has been found at his home. An Irish ex-pat called Martin Smith says he saw Murat sat in bar on the night of Madeleine’s disappearance. Murat says he was at home all night.
“Madeleine: a major breakthrough,” says the Express in bold letters. Mr Smith says he saw a man carrying a child wrapped in a blanket on the night Madeleine McCann vanished. “If it had been him [Murat] carrying the child, I guarantee I would have recognised him.” So it wasn’t Murat?
Police have found nothing to link Murat with the McCann’s apartment. No DNA matches.
Who dunnit?
What now? The Express knows. “Prayers for Madeleine,” it orders. Praying will crack the case.
And over in the Mirror, the paper whose journalist informed the police of “creepy Murat, Madeleine leads. But no front-page word on Murat. The Mirror has a “SECOND SUSPECT”.
A police source tells of another man under police surveillance. Murat remains the child suspect but this other man is in the frame.
“MADDIE HUNT COPS TAIL NEW SUSPECT,” says the Sun.
Readers aren’t told who he is. The papers don’t know. They are all looking at Murat. And wondering what “THE HUNT FOR MADELEINE” will deliver up next…
Posted: 6th, August 2007 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (202) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
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November 13th, 2007 at 6:57 am
[...] Why was Murat named a suspect? Read about that here [...]
September 7th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
on the news they have said that the police might charge kate mcann with te disappearence of their daughter madeleine! wonder what the evidence is, that they have,i mean to bring kate in for QS?
September 6th, 2007 at 9:12 am
latest news from the times.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2394975.ece
September 6th, 2007 at 7:27 am
From what i have read on the net. the portugese police have some?all ? of the DNA tests back and Police Inspectors from the UK have arrived in portugal>
is she alive? i really don’t know - i would like to think that someone is taking good care of her. but, of all the cases we hear about - well, anything is possible.
i have a couple of questions [if anyone out there can answer] that have bothered me from the beginning.
why did Kate shout to her friends ‘they’ve taken her!’
who are THEY? did something happen prior to this night? had she been talking to locals? given prior information about something not yet disclosed?
My immediate response if one of my kids were missing would be …. Madeleine is missing - help me look - where the hell could she have gone - proceeded by screaming her name at the top of my voice until i was hoarse. or is that just me?
there were roadworks close to where they were staying - were they searched before they were filled in?
any know wells or sink holes?
didnt the dogs trace her scent as far as the supermarket?
im as frustrated as thousands and thousands of others and would like to see and ending to this tragic story. the family who went out to portugal doesn’t exist any more.. it died the night madeleine went missing and can never be retrieved.
if i ruled the world anyone proven to have been abusing children would be executed.
i would make it mandatory in every country in the world.
September 5th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
yes sue i agree with you,the mcann family need to get some closure,because they are not knowing whether there little girl is alive or dead,and either way were is she!i really dont know how they could keep it together or even cope with the dissappearence of little maddie.must be hard for them,i mean they are being told by the police that they think that little maddie is dead and then the public are coming forward and saying that they think they have seen her,its heart wrenching in it?i honestly think that it has been too long,do you think that this poor little agel will turn up alive? i really dont know!i hope little maddie will be returned to her family unharmed and safe.xxxx
September 4th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
Me either. It is taking sooooooo long.
Unless they have got DNA - and know who it belongs to, or not enough to make a positive conclusion. The last thing they would want is to give out the wrong information - that would cause an uproar.
To say this case has been handled badly is an understatement.
I just wish the parents could get some kind of closure - one way or another.
September 4th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
i really dont knowwhat to think any more,dont seem to be gtting vey far,but i havnt heard any thing on the blood that was found in the appartment,Has their been any news?
September 3rd, 2007 at 7:37 am
Like everyone else - I am totally perplexed with the situation regarding the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
If we are all going to play armchair detective (nothing wrong in that - any clue is just that - a clue) I think we should go back the beginning of the week that the McCann’s arrived.
Who seemed to be hanging around the family?
Was there any warning from ‘locals’ that ‘weirdo’s’ were around the vicinity?
The hotel staff comings and goings.
Someone MUST have been watching the McCann’s - I cannot believe it was a totally random ‘kidnapping.’
The ‘friends’ of Murat could do with close attention.
I agree with one of the posters that it was not done by one person - and - I belive that the person(s) who abducted Madeleine knew full well their escape routes. I would also look to ‘close’ friendships between the priests and the congregation. I also believe it was not the first time this person/persons had ever done this. What do you think?
August 29th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
am sorry i was meant to off said that i always say each to their own,hope u understand what i meant
August 29th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
what do u mean?each to there own i always say,and what do u mean see how long this coment remains on here?do they take coments off?anyway i think everybody is a suspect untill the police do find little maddy and find out what has happened to her
August 29th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
I never write anything insulting or insinuating but the moderators on this site seem to remove any comments that have an open mind to whether the parents and friends should be suspects. What happened to freedom of speech?
Lets see how long this comment remains on here!!!
August 29th, 2007 at 11:41 am
hi, i think the swimming pool idea isnt a bad idea but if little maddie was to of fallen in and drowned,i dont think that the manager, if found her would of dumped her,sounds a little far fetched.and if little maddie had left the appartment and wondered off,then why was her little cuddle cat up and out of her way of reach!her mom said that she tucked little maddie up with her favorite teddy that nite just the same as every other nite.
August 28th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
what’s between maddy’s holiday appartment and the restaurant the parents went to???? a great big fucking swimming pool, anyone for a midnite swim… i wonder if maddy had the same thought after she woke and went looking for her parents… because if she knew they were having dinner at the restaurant, she would have gone that way…and what does a 3 year old do when they see water… play time… glug glug glug… unsupervised kids… they should hang the parents for stupidity… maybe the resort manager found her floating and dumped her so as not to damage his tourism trade…
August 24th, 2007 at 12:33 am
I feel uneasy about the Spain siting - as I did about the Belgian one. Just before the “siting” in Belgium the investigation was reported to be progressing and significant information was reported as being investigated by the police. Now - with the police saying that they are close to finding what has really happened - this siting in Spain - I think it may be a distraction, the police will have to investigate it and thus a delay in them acting on information in their posession which may reveal the truth. If the police are close to, but not close enough, to making an arrest, then they would not be able to be publicly seen to ignore a possible siting in Spain. I would like to guess that this siting will come to absolutely nothing with regard to finding Madeleine.
August 23rd, 2007 at 10:19 am
i have also heard that little maddie was left crying niteafter nite and the lady upstairs mrs fenn heard little maddie crying for over an hour and shouting daddy daddy over and over,and this was two nites before maddie was missing,and then again mrs fenn could hear little maddie crying on the nite she went missing,but didnt know that something was wrong untill she heard kate mcann.but other people did actually confront the mcanns and said they should use the babysitting service that the hotel provide,but must of chose to ignore the idea.
August 23rd, 2007 at 6:00 am
abuse doesnt only happen in poor families and ther is something wierd about this whole senario. Seems the more money u have the less vigilant u become about your kids. at the very least if they were not involved the parents set the scene for this tragedy. Leaving child alone every night of holiday anyone watching could have worked out a plan and these appartments are regularly targeted by thieves druggies etc.. Even i would not leave my digital camera and money tucked up[ in bed with the door open let alone my three children. Madeline deserved better
August 21st, 2007 at 7:42 am
Lorraine, Your welcome.
August 21st, 2007 at 1:51 am
I’m with Cracker (well, not literally). I’m taken generally by how every implausibility and non-corroborated detail provided by the group fits so perfectly with the abduction narrative provided by the parents. Even down to the ‘how could we, we were with a group of people’ parental rebuttal of suggestions that they might be implicated in their daughter’s disappearance. The response can only be, well, so say you, but your friends weren’t with you every step of the away all day long, we have no corroboration even from your group that Madeleine was present in the flat when you left for dinner or during that dinner, we have seemingly three missing hours, doors left unlocked, windows left open, some nonsense about fire risk, suggestions that your cavalier approach to childcare caused a neighbour to complain, a press report that Madeleine had left the flat previously to look for her mummy, but - oddly - you subsequent attention to detail and wardrobe flies in the face of all this disorganisation and mishap. So, if you don’t mind, I’ll assume that you were just as organised and deliberate on the day your daughter vanished, regardless that you want me to think of you as otherwise. Now, whatever happened isn’t what you’ve claimed happened, so let’s start all this again.
August 20th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
I believe the answer to this whole riddle lies within the ‘Tapas 9′ themselves, I think someone in that group knows more than they are letting on.
August 20th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
hi tarina, i wanted to say thankyou for letting us know where to send ur support,so i left a little message too,and yes i agree with both you and ellen it actually makes you feel like you have helped in a little way,so thankyou very much.xx
August 20th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Hi Ellen,
I also get terribly upset for Madeleine and her family. I think your doctor is right, it would give you some peace If you could support them in this desparate time. If you want to send your message of support to Kate and Gerry McCann, you can go on to “find Madeleine” website, click on “send support” and you’ll be able to leave your message and it will go directly to them.
August 20th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
hi ellen,i agree with you,i dont think the mcanns have anything to do with the disapearence of there little girl,i understand that they feel guilty for leaving there children alone nite after nite,but that is something they will have to live with for the rest of ther lives. they made a mistake. but now there little girl is missing,and they are being accused of allsorts,and people say that they dont look like parents that are upset and wanting to know where there daughter is and what has happened to her,but how are they meant to act,and as i have said before they are proberly thinking that if little maddie is watching her parents on telly,they wouldnt want there little girl to see her parents getting upset and crying because then she herself would get upset,u just wouldnt want that would you,i am a mother myself and i wouldnt want my children to see me upset.
August 20th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
It is very difficult for Kate and Gerry to cope. Can we know where this child is, is she dead or alive? Truth will heal the wounds rather than hiding. We want to know what happened to Madeleine. Me for one do not believe her parents are involved in her disappearance. They are very unfortunate parents who went on a holiday to make themselves happy and their little ones, but only to end up loosing their first born. Those trying to accuse her parents are sick and sadists. Give this message to Kate and Gerry, I feel for them so much that truly sometimes I don’t sleep and some days my blood preasure goes high. I discussed this with my Doctor who advised me send a message to Kate and Gerry and see if it will ease my emotions for Madeleine.
August 19th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
Kris - very likely senario - but if the person who is holding Madeleine reads these posts - they probably would not now let down their guard
B T W - just heard on Sky news that an arrest in the UK in connection with Madeleine is imminent
August 19th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
i have a two year old daughter,and she cant get a whole sentence out that long.
August 19th, 2007 at 5:15 am
I was wondering if anyone in this forum could think on a scenario that I thought about earlier, I know this is a lot of speculation but I have read so much from others already in here anyway. Could it be possible that the police are throwing out what is referred to as a “Red Herring” to the media, in regards to saying that they are working on the theory that Madeleine is dead? What I mean by this is, just think for an instance if the person that took Maddie hears this repeatedly, then also hears the parents are leaving to go back home, along with the police suspicions of others, Murat to possibly be let off the hook, and that the police are in a way letting their guard down somewhat on following up on leads & sightings. Would’nt you feel that after a while the captor of this child may let his guard down too?
After all if everyone starts to believe Maddie to be gone, being on the lam with this child in tow you may start to feel a little more comfortable about things. Comfortable could mean getting tripped up. Possibly this could be a tactic or angle that the police are using via the media? With also the parents fully informed and in on it? Maybe I am just thinking too much like a cop, but I can’t help myself only because I come from a long family line of law enforcement. I feel this could be a good possibility, and if behind closed doors they really feel different about her whereabouts and that she is alive and out there somewhere. As much as it would seem deceitful to use the media this way, and to crush the sentiment and public sympathy with this fake tactic, if in the long run it brings little Maddie home…wouldn’t it have been worth the risk? This is just something I thought about, and ran it through other family members who felt it was definitely a feasible possibility. Because if the captor is playing it smart, the other side has to play even smarter. Would like to know what others think about this theory. Let me know.
August 18th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Julie - thanks I have just read the report. I have a five year old granddaughter - I remember well when she was 2 - she is, bye the way, considered to be very bright (OK - I know, everyone considers their own to be bright!!!!) BUT - the quotes reported were not the words of a two year old - trust me - I have worked with pre-school children and there is no way that a TWO year old could sit on a plane and say “thats Madeleines seat” “Where’s Madeleine, I miss my sister” - NO way - OH but maybe the McCann kids are super human and spoke from birth eh?? Ms. McCann is a Ms McCon
August 18th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
For those of you who haven’t picked up on this “development” yet, here’s a link to an article :
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2280654.ece
August 18th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
And rightly so “AM” …. have no idea what this person was trying to achieve, but thanx for your previous post, exactly the way I feel about the situation, although I am a bit more expressive about my non-feelings for the McCann’s situation.
August 18th, 2007 at 6:16 pm
My post was meant for Pleb - but it seems to have gone!
August 18th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
No-one knows yet whether it was a child killer or paedophile who has taken Madeleine, or what the motive for her disappearance was.
All we know for sure is that her parents left her that evening and had done for each evening of their holiday, together with her younger brother and sister. We are not even sure whether there were regular checks on the children, but that after 10pm her mother found that she had gone.
That’s all we know - and that’s why we are on here every spare minute to try and glean every bit of information we can.