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 4:27 pm
lol, margarette pracatan would be worse or was she spanish
September 10th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
bulldump 640, if they weren’t involved. Otherwise they may calculate it’s better to fight and not be convicted of anything themselves. Possibly.
September 10th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Skeletor…. damn bulldump. I will have to redo the Legend later
September 10th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
My over-riding concern now is for Social Services to nab their remaining kids before the McCanns eat them
September 10th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
if brian kennedy allows the money to be used for defending gerry and skeletor, it will go to prove THEY SHOT THE WRONG KENNEDY
September 10th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
642 ROFL
September 10th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
641 (SSS)
Or Maria Consuela Alvarez with a strap on
September 10th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
640 - According to some of the comments I have read on here about the Tapas 9, they might enjoy Pedro buggering them!
September 10th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
i think faced with the prospect of jail, the friends will just give em up.
would you really want to spend a few years in a stinkin portugese jail, being buggered every night by pedro for the sake of protecting a friend, that might not have a pot to piss in by the time you get out to reward your faithfulness
September 10th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
638 - I know this isnt appropriate, but my boss was wondering why I was rolling around on the floor laughing my head off!!
September 10th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Thinking back to Scooby Doo… wasn’t it the dog who usually cracked the case? And so it is here. The sniffer dogs find the key evidence that cannot be explained away. And isn’t it always the ‘friendly innkeeper’ / doctor who ends up being the villain? If only the PJ had watched Scooby and pals, this would have been wrapped up ages ago.
September 10th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
631
In the article, GM says he knows what they have to fight now!
Does this mean, they are shitting themselves, as they know what evidence the police have? How are you lot reading that sentence??
September 10th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
damn, i almost started to believe i had twelve kids….
BRING FORTH THE GUILLOTINE, AND DON’T BOTHER SHARPENING THE BLADE
September 10th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Sorry 2 back track, been away from computer. If the Mcs deposited the fund money in a Cheltenham and Gloucester savings account for example they would receive £4,500+ PER MONTH in interest. Does this money go back into the fund? if they invested it wisely, could this be the increase in the fund of £30,000 as I can’t imagine, after the recent developements, the public will be donating so readily.
September 10th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
I just find it really stranger that the scent of a dead child can be found in a rental car that they hired 25 days after little one went missing. My heart went out to the mccanns when this first happened, but now, I don’t even know what to think anymore. If they are trying to make the mccanns look like scapegots then i believe that they are doing a bloody good job. How can evidance be found on her clothes and everything. I just don’t know what to think anymore. I really am confused. I so badly want to believe that they wasn’t involved, but the evidence that the police have got looks very good. Lets put it like this. If I was on the jury on this case and new nothing about the previous 4 months, i would find them as guilty as hell..
September 10th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
I think it appalling that the fund directors are even entertaining the thought of using that money, donated so that MADELEINE could be found, to help the parents and possible killers of Madeleine, try to wriggle off the hook.
September 10th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
(628) Andy
No she has been sat on her couch eating Cream Cakes, Doner Kebabs and flame grilled Whoppers
September 10th, 2007 at 4:07 pm
Found this too.. damn cheek..misuse of funds given to find Madeline not to pay for their defense.:
10th September 2007
By Jerry Lawton
Your Shout ( 3 )
MADELEINE McCann’s parents are set to use £1million donated by the public to find their child to fund their criminal defence.
Gerry and Kate McCann want to hire a team of top lawyers to fight police allegations they killed their daughter and hid her body.
And the couple plan to use Madeleine’s Fund to pay for it.
The move provoked outrage last night from people who donated cash before the parents were named official suspects.
In messages posted on internet websites many revealed that they planned to demand their
donations back.
And some called for the fund to be frozen.
But legal experts said there was little that could be done to stop the McCanns – because the fund is a private business and not a charity.
It was rejected by the Charity Commission which ruled its aims were not broad enough to merit charitable status.
Consent
Instead Madeleine’s Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned Ltd was set up as a company.
That means the McCanns only have to get the consent of the firm’s board of directors to access the cash.
“
I never really imagined we’d be in this situation.
”
Gerry McCann
And they are all either close pals or relatives.
So far heart surgeon Gerry and GP Kate, both 39, have paid for their own lawyers.
But if they are formally charged – as their Portuguese attorney has predicted – the legal bill will rocket.
Police admit the case could take up to two years to go to trial.
The couple’s spokeswoman Justine McGuinness said: “Gerry and Kate are paying for their own legal team.
“But they are looking into the legality of using the Find Madeleine campaign fund in the future.”
Gerry admitted he was frustrated the
couple had not yet been able to use the fund to pay legal bills.
He said: “It seems like a disaster that we’ve got this huge donated fund and now we’re not allowed to use it for legal costs because we’re under
suspicion.
“I never really imagined we’d be in this situation.
“And it could get worse I suppose. But ultimately if it comes to that, sooner or later, there’ll be a formal process whereby we can rebut things in court. Then it will all come out. At least now we’ve got a clearer view of what we’re up against, whereas what we had before was smear and innuendo.
“We know what we have to fight now. The problem is we do have a fight.
“Because of the amount of pressure there’s been on the Policia Judicia and all the
criticism you always wonder how far they will go.
“Now I’ve seen what they’ve got I’m actually clearer in my mind why they’ve shifted and treated us so differently.
“I’m still concerned with their perception of the evidence.
“But that’s for us to sort out with legal support.”
So far the fund’s directors have not commented on whether they will release cash for defence lawyers. They include former GMTV presenter Esther McVey, 39, a family friend who runs a Liverpool-based PR firm; Gerry’s brother John McCann, 48, and Madeleine’s great uncle Brian Kennedy, 68.
Other directors include Doug Skehan, 54, a clinical director of cardiology who works alongside Gerry at Glenfield Hospital, Leicester, and friends Peter Hubner, 64, who is a retired consultant and Philip Tomlinson, 76, a lawyer.
Payments
According to its stated aims the fund can be used to “provide support, including financial assistance, to Madeleine’s family”.
Additionally the cash can be used to ensure “Madeleine’s abduction is thoroughly investigated and that her abductors are identified and brought to justice.”
The fund’s website states: “Those directors who are members of Madeleine’s family cannot vote in discussions relating to payments to family members.”
But that did not stop donors threatening to demand their cash back.
One wrote on a website detailing the police suspicions about the parents: “I’ve given money to this fund hoping it would help find Madeleine.
“I can’t believe the parents are suspects. I can’t imagine they’ve had anything to do with it, but I don’t want them using my money hiring lawyers.”
The person added: “All the money should be returned.”
Another penned: “I’m writing to get my money back. I didn’t give it to pay solicitors to fight for the McCanns’ innocence.”
And another said: “This stinks. I’d rather give money to the police. What they’re finding might not be pleasant but they’re doing their job.”
» MORE ‘NEWS’ HERE…
September 10th, 2007 at 4:07 pm
627. Thanks.
September 10th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Well, that was predictable (above link courtesy of Rosemary):
Well, SSS, it looks like that’s exactly what they’re trying to do. Do you think the administrator will fight them?
September 10th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
“But Gerry’s sister Philomena McCann accused the police of “clutching at straws” and said Madeleine is still alive.
“Kate and Gerry have been a thorn in their sides for a long time. What better than to cast them as the villains?” she told GMTV.
“It is unbelievable they have been named as suspects - no-one believes the Portuguese police.”
–
Why isn’t this woman out in Portugal on her hands and knees searching for Maddie? Has she left her couch since the whole sorry episode began?
September 10th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
the statmement about the ‘bargain sentence’ came from that guttersnipe justine mcguiness. It has now been dismissed as lies passed on by kate in the form of a misunderstanding, to discredit the pj’s
September 10th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
I am not shocked to find the judiciary intend to put charges against the mccans before they have re-interviewed their friends. i think the friends, now in the knowledge that kate and gerry have been made OFFICIAL supects will SHIT THEIR PANTS and the beans when they are re-interviewed.
they paid £70,000 so where did the profits for these wristbands and crass badges go to? surley they were not running at a profit. I personally think the badges should have been given away, if they had doen that they may just have remained above suspicion (not in my eyes, i hasten to add).
September 10th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=480931&in_page_id=1770&ct=5
“Police threatened to jail both parents and take their children from them unless they signed a confession.”
I’ve noticed this said in a few papers does anyone know from where this rumour came? Was it from one of the family “spokespeople”?
September 10th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
619
Or peers who bought their honours
September 10th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Touched up photo, surely?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=480963&in_page_id=1811&ct=5
September 10th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
613 Java - I think it more likely that IF Madeleine was killed by her parent/s, it was an accidental overdose of sedative to make the child sleep. Let’s remember, the neighbour told Clouseau that she heard Madeleine crying out on previous evenings, for her father, so it may be that they administered some sedative, and overdosed her by accident, panicked, hid the body etc etc.
September 10th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
What are the British public expected to do apart from send cash?
September 10th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
Personally I think the crucial evidence is the ‘dead body smell’ on K’s clothes, the cuddlecat, and the car. All other ‘evidence’ can have an alternative explanation (cross contamination / false alibi). But if you believe that the dogs found that smell - there is no explanation.
It is entirely believable that K gave M one last hug, gave her the cat - before taking the cat back and letting her be taken away for secret burial. She may have read some bible verses as the smell was on that too.
Like I say - if you believe the dogs - then she must be guilty. Can they testify?
September 10th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Justine McGuiness
“”They (the PJ) believe that they have evidence that Kate was somehow involved in the death of her daughter…. these suggestions are shocking…. ludicrous ….they made a series of ridiculous allegations….
Kate is a loving and caring mother…. she dotes on all of her children…. there is a fear that she may be arrested for a crime that she certainly did not commit….
Let’s remember that they (the McCanns) are victims…. Kate wants to appeal to the British public to continue looking for Madeleine….”
And there are no tanks in Baghdad