
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





September 10th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
Leicestershire police and social services meeting to discuss the case…
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6986514.stm
Its about blooming time.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
Moriarty is right Penster - the remainder of the Tapas 9 have yet to be re-interviewed.
Portuguese press reported that 2 members of the group are being called back to Portugal to be re-interviewed this week. The original day mentioned was today - although whether that was for their return or for interviewing was not clear. It is also unclear whether it was 2 PEOPLE or 2 COUPLES who had been called back.
I’m keeping a eye open on the Portuguese press to see if/when they arrive as I would not put it past the British Media to ignore this element entirely. However, I would not be at all surprised if we were to end the week with at least two new arguidos
September 10th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
(524) Teddy Boy
Hopefully
September 10th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
483 - Maybe you can compile all the posts here, and turn it into a book. Make some money off of it at least!!! Then you might have a more objective outlook on the forum. Just a thought, and it would give you the chance to leave that ordinary job behind!
September 10th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
I’m concerned - do you think Moderation has fallen off his fence and hurt himself?
September 10th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
(519) Rosemary
Well that tells us a lot methinks……
September 10th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
516/519
If they don’t go surely the Portuguese authorities will have the power to come here and interview them in the UK? Surely public opinion would force their hand and they’d have to go or be destroyed in the press. Surely not going just fuels the flames even more?
September 10th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Google
I just googled Tapas 9 and got 26,800 results
September 10th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
495 - LOL!!
September 10th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
516, Moriarty, due to be, yes, but nobody thinks they will go.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
490 - speak for yourself!!
September 10th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Chloe I don’t have the original portuguese to hand - it was translated to me (by a native Portuguese) as ‘Neglect’, but I would tend to think that Bulldog’s assessment is correct:
bulldump Says:
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
Pete: “483 jon - It must be a rough area you are from if you think the children of carpenters are toffs.”
ROFL
September 10th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
(514) penster
I have read that the rest of the Tapas9 are due to be re-interviewed at some stage. I would be surprised if it wasnt this week or early next week
September 10th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
i dont think we should take the p@*s though when a child is involved
a bit of banter yes
September 10th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
Molly it’s interesting that other members of the Tapas 9 have not been made official suspects. The theory being that they had NO knowledge of what the Mccann’s allegedy did?
September 10th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
509, penster, thanks for your thoughts
September 10th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
(504) Toni
“Look behind auntie Phil’s couch,……….dont be daft she is the couch….Ok ..OMG I am talking to myself now”
What you mean underneath all the Cream Cake boxes, the Doner Kebab wrappers and the flame grilled Whopper bags?
September 10th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
jon- we are all concerned about Maddie, and i, like you was quite offended when i first came to this site a few weeks ago. However after constantly waiting for more news sometimes a bit of banter lightens the mood. Yes we sometimes may go a bit far but this is human nature.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
There’s no “cow-towing” going on here today:
The two best quotes come from NoseyCow. Kudos to the Cow!
87 - noseycow Says:
September 10th, 2007 at 10:33 am
does anyone think its odd that in 4 months of interveiws about his missing daughter - the one and only time he’s close to tears is when he’s protesting his innocence???
232 - So I’m sorry if some want the media interest to die down - but I DON’T
Does that make me a monster?
Noseycow - you’re not a monster - you’re a regular stellar guy with a perverse mind for media circuses involving missing kids
September 10th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
501 No Rosemary. Eyes Wide Shut is the program that Murat will appear in.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
503 who is Mollie are they relatede to Brain adams ??
September 10th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
503, concerned mother of 12, I’m worried why you have so many kids.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
I’m really curious what’s on the phone-taps and e-mail intercepts.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Surely you mean Mandy?
September 10th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Look behind auntie Phil’s couch,……….dont be daft she is the couch….Ok ..OMG I am talking to myself now,
just thought of another one …….Porridge
September 10th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
this forums is disgusting you people are not even worried about what happened to poor mollie
September 10th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Honey We’re Killing the Kids- wilkipedia - programme where parents are shown the concequences of poor parenting on their children
September 10th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
463, Moriarty, I’ve tried to work that one out, but wouldn’t it be too obvious.
This is beginning to remind me of “Eyes Wide Shut”.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
Hi Toni
Robert Murat is still arguido, although it is widely reported that the police do not believe him to be implicated at all.
The thing about arguido status is that it is a little like the ‘double jeopardy’ clause … if an arguido is cleared of the status, then I believe that they cannot then be ‘re-declared’ arguido in the same case at a later date. Therefore the Portuguese Authorities tend to leave all arguidos at that status in a case until it goes to trial. They don’t have to of course, but it makes sense not to burn bridges when still in the middle of an active investigation.
Don’t forget that other members of the Tapas 9 still have to be re-interviewed, and there is still that Exeter connection which, although unlikely, may be part of the decision not to have Murat’s status reviewed just yet.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
sorry for that last comment couldn’t resist in responce to penster 490