Madeleine McCann: Suspects Kate And Gerry And The Flight Of Fancy
MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann.
THE SUN front page: “EXCLUSIVE – ‘We’re being set up. I’ve had enough. Let’s go home.’” This is the “ANGER OF MADDIE DAD.”
Gerry and Kate McCann, “the doctors”, are back in their home town of Rothley, Leicestershire.
Pages 4, 5, 6 & 7: A statement from Gerry McCann in which he thanks one and all for the support and adds: “But we would like to ask for our privacy to be respected now that we have returned home.”
But their private grief is public spectacle. Can they be left alone with their daughter still missing and their campaign to find her in progress?
“YOU’LL LOSE THE TWINS.” Portuguese police are said to have told Kate McCann she should confess or face losing her two children.
“FACT OR FIT-UP?” The Sun considers the claims and gives each an “EXPLANATION.”
THE SUN SAYS: “McCanns’ hell”. The McCann’s “torment gets more horrendous by the day.” Where is the “kidnapper who might still have the four-year-old child in his clutches?”
THE TIMES front page: “McCanns fly home to fights their case.”
Mr McCann says the police’s focus on them is “deeply disturbing”.
Portuguese newspapers claim the McCanns failed to answer 40 questions put to them during interviews last week. “They apparently feared that they could wrongly implicate themselves if he [sic] did so.”
Pages 6 & 7: “Puzzles and mysteries at the very heart of the investigation.”
The paper tries to answer some of these questions. It tells us: “Although a small child could be killed quickly it would take time to hide the body so that it was not discovered in the biggest search in Portuguese history.”
The paper’s David Brown does not reveal how he researched this. He just knows.
The window to the McCanns apartment might have been opened from the inside. Brown of the Wapping Yard concludes: “Or was the window opened to make it appear as if an intruder had used it to enter the bedroom?”
Hmmm. What say you Mr Brown?
DAILY MAIL front page: “Police are determined to charge McCanns with killing Madeleine. HOME…FOR HOW LONG?”
Mr McCann is said to have told a friends: “We are being completely stitched up by the Portuguese police. We are completely f*****. We should have seen this coming weeks ago and gone back to Britain.”
Pages 2 and 3: “Madeleine’s parents consult Pinochet’s lawyer.” The McCanns have consulted with Michael Caplan QC, the British lawyer who represented Chilean dictator General Pinochet, who stood accused to torture and human rights abuses. Interesting?
Pages 4 & 5: “Questions the police must answer.”
The paper wonders if Robert Murat was named as a suspect in the hope his presence might “lead the couple into committing an incriminating indiscretion?” Or not.
In attempting to answer the key questions, the Mail produces more questions.
And the evidence..? The paper’s Michael Hanson wonders just how “foolproof” forensic tests are. You can’t argue with the science. Or can you?
DAILY MIRROR front page: “Kate weeps in Maddy’s room.”
The paper’s “EXCLUSIVE” is that Kate McCann sat alone in Madeleine’s “pink-painted room” and “sobbed in despair”.
How does it know this?
A friend says: “They are not running and will clear their names.”
Pages 4 & 5: Four pictures of the McCanns: arriving at Faro airport; boarding a flight,;on the plane getting ready for take off; and walking to their family home in Rothley.
Pages 6 & 7: “40 questions they both ‘refused’ to answer’.” And: “Officers say her replies left a lot to be desired, ‘it was claimed.’”
“McCANNS FACE KILLING CHARGE.”
“WHY COPS THINK SHE WAS NOT ABDUCTED.”
Page 9: Brian Reade has a daughter the same age as Madeleine McCann. Brian, who writes for the Mirror, has found it “impossible to imagine the depth of pain and guilt”. Without a body, says Brian, “They may never be able to prove their total and complete innocence.”
DAILY EXPRESS front page: “MADELEINE ‘WE CAN PROVE PARENTS DID IT.’ Portuguese police make dramatic new claim over evidence.”
Pages 2, 3 4, 5: The paper’s Martin Evans is on flight EZY 6552. He sees the McCanns travel home. He experiences “first hand…Kate’s pain and anguish on that most difficult of journeys”.
The seatbelts sign goes off. A note is passed to Kate. It is from another passenger. Kate reads the “simple message” of support. “A female passenger kneels by Kate and gives her a “tight hug.”
Kate sobs, “tears dripping slowly down her cheeks”.
Page 6: “Questions for the McCanns.” The Express has a go at solving the mystery. It says “Case could hang over us for ever say parents”.
DAILY STAR front page: “Maddie’s parents surprise flight.” Flight?
Pages 6 & 7: “We’re not running away.”
Page 7: More from Martin Evans, who sees the McCanns’ “pained expressions”.
Pages 8 & 9: “Furious donors want cash back as pressure mounts on friends to reveal all. DAD: I’LL USE £1M MADDIE FUND TO CLEAR OUR NAMES.”
DAILY TELEGRAPH front page: “Year-long wait for McCanns to clear name.”
Says Kate McCann: “Portuguese law prohibits us from commenting on the police investigation. Despite their being so much we wish to say we are unable to do so except to say this: we have played no part in the disappearance of our lovely daughter Madeleine.”
Page 4: “Couple facing a ‘life sentence of grief’.”
THE GUARDIAN front page: “Exhausted and under suspicion, Madeleine’s family come home.”
Pages 2, 4 & 5: “Rothley villagers relieved to see family return.”
“Thank goodness. They’re back where they belong and it’s the best place they could possibly be,” says one young mother.
The Rev Mark Chandler adds: “My every sense tells me that Rothley is just pleased and relieved to have them back.”
THE INDEPENDENT front page: “130 days since they left for a family holiday, the McCanns return to Britain without Madeleine. This is “THE HOMECOMING”.
Pages 2 & 3: “A shattered family returns to Britain without Madeleine”. “Portugal’s media clamour for conviction”.
Says one mother holidaying in Praia da Luz: “You don’t want to believe the worst but when you read headlines like these [in Portuguese media], obviously one conclusion seems more likely than another.”
Says the Diario de Noticia: “PJ wait for final examinations to arrest Madeleine’s parents.”
Madeleine McCann: private grief as public spectacle
Posted: 10th, September 2007 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (1,280) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
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September 10th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
DR WHO ???
September 10th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
And jon, before you start agreeing with cj, look back on the diatribe that sprouts forth from those fingers and then make your decision, son!
By the way, I am a toff, a bored one with a high speed connection.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
I’m just wondering if “neglect leading to accidental death and concealing the body” would suggest that the left her alone and she somehow had an accident, rather than that they had actually done something that led to her death.
Molly, do you know what the charges were in Portuguese? Any chance that the same word would mean both “neglect” and “negligence”. Because the connotations would be different in English.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Have a look under philomina!!
September 10th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Silent Witness has gotta be the winner.. LOL
September 10th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
One thing that intrigues me is Gerry and his family’s insistence that they never sedated their children. Yet, on Friday, Gerry is said to have admitted during questioning that they had sedated their children, although it’s not clear whether they did so on the evening of 3rd May.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
As a follow up - when the twosome turn up on their TV show, how will the compare introduce them?
This Is Your Life - “You thought they were in Belize, hiding in the jungle, but no! We’ve flown them 5000 miles to be here, so lets hear it for Mr and Mrs X”
September 10th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
483 jon - It must be a rough area you are from if you think the children of carpenters are toffs.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
jon what in god’s name could a bunch of bored people from all over the globe do about finding Madeleine Mccann? Have a look under the mouse pad?
September 10th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
the JET sons, the Gerry cann show,
Jackanory (is that still on)?
September 10th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
Silent Witness
September 10th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
I’ll give you Pedersen is shite, well he is so far this season. Ultimately we lost because Chelsea were fitter, and Ballack’s winner deflated the Rovers players and they had nothing left to give. As for the title going back to the bridge, if it don’t do you think Jose’s days will be numbered? He got rid of Ranieri pretty sharp didn’t he?
September 10th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
I THINK our equivalent would be causing death by negligence, which also comes under the same manslaughter umbrella
September 10th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
The “first tv show the McCs will be in” suggestions are hilarious!!!
Well done everyone!!!
September 10th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
You’ve Been Framed! NOT!
September 10th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
I agree with cj this site from what I read has not thing to do with Maddie, if it was there would be something about trying to find her. Instead its about mcann thrashing. I dont know if they did it or not, cant make up my mind but one thing is for sure -you lot look like a sad lot of ner do wells getting one up on the toffs.
I have an ordinary job not a toff, so you cant accuse me of that but its plain as day here there is no concern for maddie
September 10th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Home and Away
September 10th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Thanks Molly, I was being smart, but you really are. Smart. You do a great job. I’m just trying to differentiate b/w child neglect ie leaving kids alone and the type of neglect that would cause accidental death.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
The Kate and Gerry Show
September 10th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
Veres
Pedersen missed because he is shite. Blackburn lost because they are shite. The mighty Blues rolled on and bored Man Utd out of the final. The title is coming back to the Bridge.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
Ask The Family
September 10th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
i think you have been watching too many american films teddy
September 10th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Call My Bluff
September 10th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
if they are seeking advice on how to avoid going back to portugal…..
SHAME ON THEM!!!!!!!!!!!
September 10th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
(467) pete
That last line has been ruled inadmissable by the presiding magistrate otherwise it would have been included.
Well spotted
September 10th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
You ‘accidentally’ kill your child. You are both doctors. If it gets out you are fucked. Your remaining children are fucked. So what do you do? You go on the offensive. You start a campaign. You are in peoples faces day and night.
The Americans (bless their warmongering souls) have an expression “Hide in plain sight”.
Suddenly it goes sour - what next…….?
Work it out people.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
Diagnosis Murder
September 10th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
Penster - they are suspected of ‘neglect leading to accidental death and concealing the body’ - I, like everyone else, am not privy to the reasoning behind the wording… I am merely reporting in the interests of clarity
As to there being no charges of child neglect - I think that you might find that they are included in the wording above!
September 10th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
I’m a Celebrity get me out of here.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
I think they might turn up on CSI, however the case will be solved in 60 minutes.