Madeleine McCann: Kate And Gerry’s Blood, Threat And Tears
MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann.
THE SUN front page: “KATE’S AGONY – CONFESS & YOU’RE OUT IN A YEAR.”
“Deal of blood, threat and tears.” Kate McCann is being interviewed by police. This is a “highly-charged confrontation, Portuguese officers citing forensic evidence told the GP she would receive a jail sentence of between two and three years if she signed a confession.”
Kate McCann is “horrified”. Says she: “How dare you?”
A source tells the paper: “The police were trying to get Kate to say she had amnesia or was in shock or had a breakdown. They said if she signed the confession she’d serve a year and that her husband would not be charged and could go home. It was effectively emotional blackmail.”
“SHOCKED” Gerry McCann has been named as a formal suspect.
THE SUN SAYS: “But the allegations made yesterday against Madeleine’s distraught mother Kate are astonishing and, in places, farcical. A suspicious page of the Bible left open? A call to a priest on the day of Maddie’s disappearance? Not exactly a smoking gun.”
Do all crimes involve a smoking gun?
The Sun concludes: “The Sun desperately wants justice for Maddie. But the greatest pity is that she is the one person who seems to have been forgotten in this mess of incompetence.”
And the Press continue to watch the parents.
DAILY EXPRESS front page: “MADELEINE: DEATH ON MUM’S BIBLE.”
THE WORLD’S GREATEST NEWSPAPER writes of “THE DAY THE JEERING STARTED”.
“Just two days ago Kate McCann, 39, was regarded almost universally as a victim who had suffered unimaginable agony. Families everywhere shared her heartbreak at losing her beautiful daughter. But it was clear yesterday, as the GP arrived to be formally named as a suspect in her daughter’s disappearance, that much of that sympathy has now gone.”
The crowd outside the police station – 400-strong – goes into a “frenzy” when Kate McCann arrives. “There were whistles, then jeers and boos before some in the crowd began to shout insults. ‘Whore… daughter of a whore,’ some yelled in Portuguese.”
The Express translates.
A local man says: “They will find this more and more because in Portugal harming a child is the worst thing…The Portuguese people took them to their hearts and now we feel cheated. It will not be nice in Portugal for them now.”
Kate is “cool and collected”.
DAILY MAIL front page: “THE ACCUSED. Portuguese police’s staggering grilling of Madeleine mother.
• Why was her blood in your car?
• Did you drug her that night?
• Confess and get just two years.”
DAILY STAR front page: “YOU KILLED MADDIE.”
DAILY MIRROR front page: “MADELEINE SENSATION. We have found her blood in the boot of your hire car.. DID YOU KILL HER BY ACCIDENT?” This is “what police asked Kate McCann during 16-hour grilling”.
THE GUARDIAN front page: “Mother, victim…suspect: police target Kate McCann.”
THE TELEGRAPH: “Kate and Gerry McCann named as suspects,” says the headline.
“Mr McCann stared straight ahead as his suspect status was announced and refused to answer questions from awaiting journalists. A crowd which had been attending a concert in the town square earlier listened to the announcement and several people gasped audibly.”
In “Villagers back Madeleine McCann’s parents”, the paper journeys to Rothey, Leicestershire, the McCanns’ home town. Michelle Canilleri, who lives in Rothley, shares with the world: “I can’t believe it. This is such a shock. They have got the wrong people. No way in the world would either Kate or Gerry harm any of their children.”
THE INDEPENDENT front page: “FROM ANGUISHED PARENT, TO GRIEVING MOTHER, TO SUSPECT.”
“Shortly before 11am, Mrs McCann’s spokeswoman, Justine McGuinness, revealed that the 39-year-old GP was being made an arguida – official suspect – in the case. And then she uttered the six short words which will be inconceivable to some who have followed this case and a confirmation of long-held suspicions to others. ‘Kate fears she will be charged,’ Ms McGuinness said.”
THE TIMES front page: A picture of the McCanns meeting the Pope.
Madeleine McCann The Public Spectacle
Posted: 8th, September 2007 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (1,454) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
September 8th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
British policewoman on Sky says here the initial enquiry would have been why Madeline was left in an apartment while the parents went to the bar, and she uses the word neglect. So it is confirmed that they negelected their children under British law. All those who have confirmed that they do it when supporting the Mccanns action in the early days better watch out.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
Rosemary, it was a member of staff in the bar who called the police at the request of someone in the party. It all happened so quickly… (quoting here) the MW staff and guests did a quick search alongside the McCann party, found nothing, called the police. Next morning they brought the dog squad in and checked the beach / roadworks etc. THEN they closed the border as best they could and viewed it as an abduction.
But don’t let truth get in the way of a good story. Like anyone has the number for Sky News in their phone!
September 8th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
The reason for the scroll is some people post long hyperlinks that bend the page far to the right.
If they want to fix it here, their web person can install this WordPress plugin, which will automatically wrap long links, and it will take 1-minute to fix.
Moderator, if you can, check this out and recommend it to your web guy:
WordPress Force Wrap Long Lines Plugin
September 8th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Does anyone what is going on with the pages on this site? The scroll is all over the place when I refresh the page. I thought that was going to be fixed yesterday? Hard to adjust it but it’s not my PC. It happened on the other laptop I was using yesterday too.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
198 K-9, Could you provide a link about the timing of the call to Sky News pls.?
I’ve never been able to find confirmation of who called the police.
Was it Kate - from a mobile or apartment landline, or Mark Warner resort staff?
Did anyone delay placing a call to the police. If so, who,why.
If, as Kate stated, there was clear evidence of an abduction (cuddle cat put out of reach, perhaps more undisclosed evidence), then if a call was not made immediately to the police…and friends in the tapas bar, the story does not convince me.
This is the first time I’ve heard of a call to Sky News. Did they have a friend there?
Why on earth would anyone call them first?
September 8th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
If someone saw a person carrying Madeline away and she was already dead, the fact that Russell O’Brien and Jane Tanner’s daughter was ill and vomiting that night could be their alibi and it was O’Brien who disposed of the body. He is after all supposed to have hired the car before the McCanns.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
I liked your original reply Christoph - it was funny!
The other thing I’m puzzled about is the ‘death smell dog’. Weren’t the dogs who smelt blood/death BRITISH sniffer dogs? But they weren’t involved early on in the investigation were they?
So I can’t quite believe that any dog could smell the scent of a dead person presumably carried down a path to the sea several weeks after the event happened! So I don’t really buy into the idea that she was dumped in the sea.
Plus being a beach resort the sea must’ve been the first place the Portuguese Police looked eg. if she had wandered off on her own where’s the first place a kid would head for!
That hire car is wierd too. They didn’t need one because they were flying to see the Pope the next day so why did they hire itthen? wouldn’t it have made more sense to hire one the morning after she went missing so they could help search?
They said they’d hired a car and that just happened to be the day it turned up, 20, plus days after she went missing. So in Portugal you arrange to hire a car and they send it when they like then? Rubbish - you specify your required dates with any hire company! The more I read the more suspicious I get.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Considering the media coverage on this case and the support of “everyone” from the Pope to world famous football player David Beckham, not to mention the British media, I certainly don’t think we have to worry about the McCanns getting framed.
Under these circumstances, I don’t think the police would “dare” risking their careers and the reputation of Portugal as a nation by naming the parents as suspects without a good deal of evidence.
We know nothing about what is going on behind the scenes, but we can be sure that the police are not telling the media all and no doubt they are also putting out some deliberate smoke screens (mainly meant for the parents).
September 8th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
The last paragraph of 1163 is feasible.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
212 - yes sweetheart. You just move a litlle quicker than I this morning
September 8th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
Surely, the first thing anyone would do if they thought a child had been abducted would be to call the police to try to get road blocks put in place. You would just think that you had to find a way of stopping the abductor from getting away.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
Mary Sunshine, considering your comment 210, can you definitely read those three comments I referred to in 209?
September 8th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
It will be fascinating to see if anymore evidence comes to light linking the McCanns to the child’s disappearance or whether the police really are trying to frame them.
I think the lack of any concrete leads just fuels the flames of controversy in this case.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
198 - #4 and # 5 are the same person - Mrs. Fenn.
Did anyone ever check into why Russell O’Brien and Jane Tanner’s daughter was ill and vomiting that night? Was it from something she also ingested? Was she the “Lucky One” ??
An adverse reaction to sedation is vomiting…..that’s the mildest reaction given the othr alternative. Who knows how many kids were sedated on that evening. I wonder what festivities were going to be taking place later that night??!
September 8th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Julie, Mary, Honeydog, K-9, Anna, Moriarty, and all those who are looking critically into this case without assuming the McCann’s are innocent as we all hope they are.
Can you read comment 1163, 1165, and 1167 (all speculation: hopefully and probably wrong) and tell me what you think?
http://www.anorak.co.uk/madeleine-mccann/176289.html#comment-35455
September 8th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
198
1. Where did she get the number? Not the sort of number one has on the phone
2. There is no evidence that when returning to the bar she did not lock the door when leaving the twins.
3. Not the actions of a mother who has had a child abducted
4. Confirmed negligence
5. Confirmed negligence
6. Lies unless the McCanns didn’t go back to the apartment from the cafe, or left early without the twins, in which case Russel O’Brien must be a suspect as well as he aided any criminal action being carried out. In addittion why did he listen at the door if it was unlocked? The Mccanns table was booked for 8.30 and they didn’t arrive until that time so where were they at 8pm.
7. 8. 9. and 10.(allegedly) The police have given no official statement.
11. Could be construed as the actions of someone with something to hide.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
198 -
#2 is Key - I made that point from the very beginning. It is the MOST odd thing to do if you think your child has been abducted. It’s a kin to arriving home, and finding the house on fire, running outside and leaving your sleeping babies in their cribs.It’s a A huge bungle. That’s where she slipped up with the script first and foremost - leaving the twins behind to run back to the Tapas bar. Why?? Because she knew her daughter was not really missing and that there wer no kidnappers around. Bad stuff all around…..not maternal behavior and not the actions of someone who’s just been hit with the worst feeling of all parents - having a child stolen from them.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
Very good plus, Honeydog, and welcome back.
I showed my girlfriend my tongue-in-cheek reply to you and she concluded that, yes indeed, I can be an a-hole sometime.
It’s a great site. By far and away one of the best media sites in Britain.
Good reporting. Free speech. Fair, but not overly heavy-handed moderators. Good design too, except for the damn pink hover hyperlinks that you can’t see.
Change that and the site is near perfect.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
Plus why did Kate shout “They’ve taken her” back at the restaurant. Who are ‘they’ Wouldn’t it have been more natural to ask/exclaim ‘She’s gone!’
We were originally told that the children were checked on every two hours but that has sinceproved not to be the truth. So what else are they lying about.
PS Did I tell you how much I really like this site?
September 8th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
They aren’t. They’re just not wasting time searching where she isn’t when they have major suspects.
They’re focusing their resources where they make the most sense. This will also increase the odds of them finding Madeleine, if that’s even possible at this stage.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
K-9 198:
1. Did she actually call the media before the police? Really?
2. That I know and that is TOTALLY suspicious. If my child had been abducted, I would not leave my other children alone. Neither would you.
3. It could be a reaction of someone trained to deal with emergencies. That means nothing to me.
4. Horrible.
5. Also bad.
6. Is this true? If so, it shows they are at least untrustworthy. Even if EVERYTHING happened the way they said it did insofar as her being abducted, it’s unconscionable to lie to the police about when you checked on the children to make yourself look good/reduce your likelihood of being charged with neglect, if this means feeding false information to the police making them less likely to catch the abductor because they don’t have the proper opportunity time window to look at.
7. Damning.
8. Bad. I don’t know how good “smell” evidence is, but I assume the experts believe it’s useful.
9. Not sure what that means.
10. Same as 8.
11. Suggestive.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
The police have said they have stopped looking for Madeline.
That is absolutely scadalous. A little girl is out there some where and needs to be found, whether alive or dead. How in hells name can they simply give up.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Sally (197), if she -or her husband- had just inadvertently killed their child, she could be expected to be in a state of shock.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
195 - you are very right. It’s too difficult to live a normal life today and remain a Catholic. Which is why I switched - not officially coverted - to the Episcopal chruch a few years ago.
With all the rules and regulations that were created centuries ago, I would be ex-communicated many times over. As would most if they took the time to understand what you’ve just stated here.
The reformed Episcopal Church says “Welcome Everyone - Because diversity was God’s idea” As a bleeding heart liberal, that’s my kind of place
September 8th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
I agree with your main point, though, Anna. That may well be the key.
September 8th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
“Correio da Manhã” claims that suspicion started when:
1. Kate called Sky news before calling the police on the night of the disappearance.
2. Kate left the twins in the apartment after finding Madeleine missing, and returned to the Bar to tell the others (instead of taking the twins with her to protect them).
3. Kate calmly explained to the others that Madeleine had been taken, instead of screaming or shouting or crying (according to several witnesses in the Bar and the Resort).
4. The upstairs neighbour gave evidence about Madeleine crying all through the night on the previous evenings, while the parents were out.
5. Another 70 yo lady gave evidence about several instances of “suspicious neglectful behaviour” (quoting CdM) by Kate.
6. Russel O’Brien gave false testimony. His claim that at 8 pm he checked on the McCann children by listening at the door for sounds was also considered “not credible” (quoting CdM), by the police.
Suspicion was compounded by the following “facts” (reported as facts by CdM):
7. The blood-in-the-trunk was confirmed as Maddie’s.
8. The “Death” smell on a pair of Kate’s jeans and a t-shirt, as well as the cuddle-toy.
9. The “Death” smell on a path from the apartment to either the town of “Praia da Luz” or the Luz beach (”Praia da Luz” can be translated either way - the town takes its name from the Luz beach).
10. The pattern of smells in the apartment contradicts the parents’ version of events.
And furthermore by:
11. The change in the McCanns’ behaviour towards the police and their decision to return to the UK when the police started considering a Death.
September 8th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
187 Sorry - I missed the Sara Payne part of your post. I’ve got to say though, I don’t think that Kate has been all ’steely reserve’. The images of her being led into church by her friend in the early days showed a woman who was in bits. She looked sedated to me - completely out of it. People are all different, that’s all I can say. I think it’s wrong to say that if a public display of emotion is not always shown then someone is not in genuine pain. We have no way of knowing what goes on behind closed doors, do we?
September 8th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
As is the pope, apparently, Anna.
September 8th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
The key to solving this case is finding out the real reason why the parents left their three 2/3 year olds alone and unguarded in an apartment building in a foreign country. Once that is determined, the rest of the pieces will fall in place.
As for the McCann’s supposed Catholicism, they are public dissenters who have rejected the authority of their church and bishops, who have authoritatively and publicly taught that IVF is “gravely immoral”. Morally, their rejection of this teaching is no different than rejecting the Commandment that states, Thou shalt not do murder. A Catholic who sins and admits it’s wrong is still a Catholic. A Catholic who subjectively re-categorizes his sins as not sins is no longer a Catholic. The press is too ignorant to know the difference.
September 8th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Molly, I think they are contacting the family over and over because they are hoping for a snippet indirectly from The McCanns. The press are whooping it up at the moment because its a bit if a bad news week inbetween the anniversaries of Diana and 9/11!
I don’t think they take the quotes all that seriously…