Madeleine McCann: Torture, A Witness, Robert Murat’s Innocence And Richard Branson Investigates
MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann.
SUNDAY MAIL front page: “MADDIE POLICE TORTURE TRIAL.”
As reported by Anorak on June 11 (see Madeleine McCann And Amaral Policing): “Chief Inspector Goncalo Amaral has been accused of concealing evidence that the mother of eight-year-old Joana Cipriano, who disappeared in the Algarve three years ago, was tortured by police into confessing she had killed her daughter, whose body was never found.”
Is this the British Press discrediting the Portuguese police? Should they leave our Kate and Gerry alone? (Do the Portuguese police have a PR?)
“Lies, beatings, secret trials: the dark side of police handling Madeleine case” – If the Portuguese police do have a PR, they should get a new one.
“Madeleine: Hair in McCann Renault: ‘It could be anyone’s’” - British forensic experts have concluded the fragments said to be Madeleine’s could belong to any number of people who had come into contact with the silver Renault Scenic.
THE OBSERVER: “Maddy police: we blundered.” Remember Robert Murat?
Says a source said to be from within the Portuguese police force: “British police and crime experts also suggested that Murat fitted the profile to have been behind a kidnapping. But the Lisbon investigators were from the start unsettled about the lack of any motive. Months later, there is nothing to suggest he was involved.”
But, er, Robert Murat remains a suspect.
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: “Hope for McCanns as law on secrecy is eased.”
Plans are afoot to change the rules in Portugal. The “new law means that all suspects and third parties, including the media, will have access to police documents in any investigation - unless the public prosecutor decides that secrecy will benefit the inquiry or protect the rights of the accused.”
And the police can make their views known to the public, too.
And: the McCanns have announced an £80,000 advertising campaign to help find Madeleine.
SUNDAY EXPRESS: “MADELEINE MYSTERY - POLICE TO ACT OUT MADDIE TRAGEDY”.
No longer a criminal case. It is now a tragedy. The Encyclopaedia Britannica says a tragedy is a “branch of drama that treats in a serious and dignified style the sorrowful or terrible events encountered or caused by a heroic individual.”
Yes, dignified. Who knew?
DAILY STAR ON SUNDAY front page: “MADDIE. The missing journey.”
Where did she go?
SUNDAY TIMES front page: “Branson gives cash to defend McCanns.”
Sir Richard Branson is giving £100,000 to create a “fighting fund” to help the parents of Madeleine McCann to clear their names.
A source close to Branson says: “Sir Richard wants to ensure the McCanns get access to the best legal advice. He has a good instinct on these things.”
The Virgin Sniffer will crack the case. Or will his PR and marketing departments get there first.
But is Branson right? Let’s take a look at the survey…
“According to a YouGov poll for The Sunday Times, only 20% of respondents believe that the McCanns are completely innocent. Nearly half (48%) believe that they could have been responsible for their daughter’s death, even if it was an accident; 32% were unsure. A total of 40% said that the McCanns’ high-profile campaign had made them suspicious, but 50% said that it had not.”
Tasteful stuff. But we need another poll to find out what happened to Madeleine McCann.
Times Columnist India Knight is a McCann junkie. “I want to stop reading, listening, watching, Googling, amateur sleuthing; I nauseate myself with my own prurience. My appetite for commentary – which is all that’s left, in the absence of hard facts – has been sated many times over. But I can’t stop.”
She craves information. But there isn’t any. Unless you listen to sources”…
“Police leaks, gossip and a clash of cultures close in on McCanns” - Yesterday the police spokesman Olegario de Sousa quit “in dismay” at the daily leaks to the press.
Those Portuguese police leaks only add to the speculation and the pain. Thanks goodness for the clarity and sensitivity provided by the Times.
As the Times notes: “Maria do Sameiro Oliveira, a psychologist who does criminal profiling for the police, said she found it strange ‘how they function so much as a unit, always holding hands rigidly’ and pointed out that normally in cases of child disappearances, ‘the mother and father start to diverge, one wants to continue the search, the other not’. She added: “They show little evidence of suffering. They are very formal.”
You should not be influence by Ms Oliveria’s words. When responding to the Times’ survey, make your judgement. Make up your own survey.
THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: “The McCanns: Unbelievable truth or unimaginable nightmare?”
The human interest angle and a time to look back over week of speculation.
NEWS OF THE WORLD: “MADDIE: THE SECRET WITNESS – TV boss holds vital clue to mystery.”
Jeremy Wilkins is the man whose “bombshell testimony could clear the McCanns”.
And: “Jeremy Wilkins’ evidence blows holes in the police theory that Gerry and Kate killed four-year-old Madeleine.”
Wilkins is said to be the man who spoke to Gerry McCann for up to 15 minutes outside the holiday apartments — “moments after checking on his children for the last time.”
A pal says: “He is entirely convinced of Kate and Gerry’s innocence. He believes they are a decent family caught up in an unimaginable nightmare.”
With Wilkin’s certainly and Richard Branson’s sense of smell, the McCanns may be placed once more above suspicion.
All the Madeleine McCann Faction Here…
Posted: 16th, September 2007 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (655) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
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September 17th, 2007 at 12:26 am
525 graeme
I think that the guy that listened at the door was listening at the children’s bedroom door, because he said that he thought the room appeared lighter, possibly becaus ethe shutters turned out to be open.
This means he did go into the apartment, through an unlocked door, but stopped short of going into the room.
September 17th, 2007 at 12:25 am
Simon, so first they downplayed how far and how indirect the apartment really was from the bar. Now you are saying they are just downplaying sedation, in case it implies they killed her.
How much benefit of the doubts do you want to give these 2 Mccans?
Another question I have: does anybody WHY the mccans hired a car 25 days after their daughter disappeared?
If it was to go to the airport, why didnt they get a taxi?
September 17th, 2007 at 12:25 am
Just a thought. Did the appartment have a bath tub or just a shower? I have never heard of this being discussed or mentioned in the media.
September 17th, 2007 at 12:23 am
513 Helsangel
Would you ever consider giving your child a sea/motion sickness tablet?
I have, and will continue to do so - saves cleaning up an awful mess in the car or plane - report me. Won’t do you much good though because any Dr will suggest and approve their use. Basically does the same thing, a mild sedative. Guaranteed not to destroy internal organs.
September 17th, 2007 at 12:20 am
523
Based on that clip, I concede he could be lying.
He could have sedated Maddie, or all of the kids on several occasions.
It doesn’t make either of them killers.
A denial was far the most likely response to give on a taped interview. Owning up to sedating his children would case a huge backlash of bad feeling against them.
They did not sedate Maddie to an accidental death. I am confident of that.
September 17th, 2007 at 12:20 am
512 “504 Where do you get off saying it’s not criminal to give your child drugs (benadryl) to sleep? Are you for real? You give a kid medicine when they are ill. You don’t sedate them to your convenience. I hope if you have kids your local child protection services know about your lax attitude to drugs and your kids internal organs”
Get off your high horse! Of course I don’t give my kids benadryl to help them sleep. Please calm down - honestly!!
September 17th, 2007 at 12:19 am
and i forgot to mention the nervous laugh just before he says “sedative”.
Consult any lie-detection website or specialist and you’ll see the above 5 are the top signs of a liar.
September 17th, 2007 at 12:18 am
I have a problem with the number of people here who think because Kate specialised in aneasthetics (scuse spelling) she couldn’t accidentally overdose. Does this mean that because someone trains in something they are infallible?
September 17th, 2007 at 12:17 am
509 Ian Willis:
I tried to post the link, but didn’t go thru - here is the comment from “This is London” Sept 13th
“Last night the McCanns got a boost when the police case appeared to be undermined by a pensioner who is potentially a key witness.
Pamela Fenn, 81, lives above the apartment where Madeleine disappeared and is reported to have told police she heard Madeleine screaming below.
But yesterday she broke her silence to say it was “absolute rubbish” she had made any such claims to police. Mrs Fenn said: “I didn’t even know that family was in there.”
September 17th, 2007 at 12:16 am
From the Daily Star link:
“Kate protested to officers that the “death scent” must have come from her work as a doctor, according to Portuguese newspapers.
She is reported to have told police she had to deal with six deaths “immediately” before the family jetted to the Algarve.
She apparently added that the same smell was on Cuddlecat because she had taken the toy to work.”
Is it really credible that she took Cuddlecat to work? Seems to be a very convenient story.
September 17th, 2007 at 12:16 am
here it is again if u cant find:
youtube.com/watch?v=uMUdynuECbE
September 17th, 2007 at 12:15 am
#502. Yes. Also keep in mind that point #1 is not a fact:
“1) They made it easy for her to be abducted. They conciously left the doors unlocked a relatively exposed apartment. ”
– allegedly left the door unlocked. Even according to their own story, the only people who went in the alegedly unlocked room are the parents. Other doctor friend said he only ‘listened at the door.’ (Why, if it was unlocked and if he’d gone all that way to check…)
I wonder if the doors were always in their story ‘unlocked’, or only after their forced-window story didn’t fly? (because no evidence of).
What if was Locked doors (+ as we know no forced entry, and the last ones to see her the parents…. hmmm…. )
September 17th, 2007 at 12:15 am
gotta go but in the immortal words of some bloke called Max from an old tv programme..
“Its MUYDA”!
September 17th, 2007 at 12:14 am
Ok, lets accept that the neighbour got it wrong, that the Tapas 9 were all too drunk to remember what really happened and when, and lets accept that the dna in the car is not Maddies.
just the clip reference above on youtube has all the hallmarks of 2 liars:-
the high-pitched increased in voice when saying “sedative”, the ear touch, the downward gaze by him, the contradiction (”we are not going to comment on that but..” and then goes on to comment) and her uncomfortable eye movements which only relax when he finishes answering.
just on that clip, i would put my money they done it.
September 17th, 2007 at 12:14 am
513 Ian Willis:
Here is the link, Mrs. Fenn’s comment (not a “sworn statement”) is about 3/4s way down.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23411979-details/Madeleine’s%20mother%20to%20be%20quizzed%20again%20by%20Portuguese%20police/article.do
September 17th, 2007 at 12:13 am
Ok, lets accept that the neighbour got it wrong, that the Tapas 9 were all too drunk to remember what really happened and when, and lets accept that the dna in the car is not Maddies.
just the clip reference above alone
(http://youtube.com/watch?v=uMUdynuECbE)
has all the hallmarks of 2 liars.
the high-pitched increased in voice when saying “sedative”, the ear touch, the downward gaze by him, the contradiction (”we are not going to comment on that but..” and then goes on to comment) and her uncomfortable eye movements which only relax when he finishes answering.
just on that clip, i would put my money they done it.
September 17th, 2007 at 12:13 am
521 Saves me a job. Thanks.
September 17th, 2007 at 12:12 am
From the Star report (and seen elsewhere). Is it really credible that she took Cuddlecat to work?
September 17th, 2007 at 12:11 am
509 ian willis
be delighted to - here you go:
http://tinyurl.com/3cuvwz
I saw it elsewhere as well, i think it was in an article in todays Sunday Times
September 17th, 2007 at 12:10 am
513 and 516
Mrs Fenn subsequently denied she gave this statement to the police. It was reported earlier this week. I will look for the article.
September 17th, 2007 at 12:09 am
There has been some confusion regarding Gerry McCanns medical speciality. Gerry McCann is a cardiologist and not a cardio thoracic surgeon. He is a medical doctor as opposed to a surgeon, hence his title, Dr McCann, and not, Mr. McCann. Doctors who are FRCS (fellow of the Royal college of surgeons become ‘Mr.’ and not ‘Dr’ when they complete this qualification. Very strange I know, but that is the way it works.) I just tried to check Gerry McCann and Kate McCann on the GMC (General Medical Council) website which lists every registered doctor in the UK, the year and place of qualification and any specialist qualifications. Strangely, and for the first time in my experience, when I typed in their name, the message came up stating an ‘unexpected error had occured’. I did try with some other names of doctors that I know and the same thing happened. I will try again tomorrow.
Who knows what happened on that fateful night. Ever since, I have just been thinking, ‘Will somebody save those people from themselves’. They really are blind as to how the world sees them, and, this is before you start looking at the discrepancies in their story.
September 17th, 2007 at 12:09 am
I read Mrs Fenn’s denial too, can’t tell you where - read all the papers, but I did read her denial. but you know how these witnesses are, yeah but no but , contradiction after contradiction. Who knows any more!
September 17th, 2007 at 12:08 am
Ian - the very presence of “sworn statement” in this article leads me to believe it is false. All we have is conjecture and theories, no one can tell me that the Daily Star, of all papers, had access to a “sworn statement”!
September 17th, 2007 at 12:08 am
was madeleine crying the night before ‘for’ her daddy or ‘at’ him?
September 17th, 2007 at 12:07 am
Still thinking about that photo with the ‘mystery’ man who has been identified. Don’t know why, can anyone tell me why his presence there just doen’t ring true? Someone said he had a kid on the playpen (that’s the lilac) - but he doesn’t seem like a holidaygoer to me. He isn’t dressed like one. He seems out of place…
Perhaps he is a worker with the complex, or some kind of supervisor? That would explain why he was walking with Murat in a separate photo after M went missing (presumably looking for her?)
I still think there’s a man crouching behind that playpen looking through it and you can’t see his legs because they’re behind the slide! Everytime I look at it, I see half a face in the darkness…!
September 17th, 2007 at 12:07 am
509 Yes, she was trained, and it’s unlikely she would mistakenly administer a fatal dose of sedative. So, that leaves it open for people to say she did it on purpose, I don’t have proof she didn’t, but I can’t believe that she did either.
September 17th, 2007 at 12:05 am
Daily star extract:
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/14986/-Maddie-blood-found-in-family-s-hire-car/
“Pamela Fenn, 81, who owns the apartment above the McCanns’, has given a sworn statement to police which apparently contradicts the couple’s account of events.
She questioned the number of apparent checks and recalled how, during the initial panic, she offered to call the police.
She claims she was told by Kate they had already been contacted – but it later turned out the call was not made for another 40 minutes.
Mrs Fenn also told detectives two days before Madeleine disappeared that the youngster had kept neighbours awake desperately screaming for her father until nearly midnight.
She heard the youngster shouting “Dad” from 10.30pm until 11.45pm and added she was shocked such a young child had been left apparently alone for so long late at night.”
September 17th, 2007 at 12:05 am
504 Where do you get off saying it’s not criminal to give your child drugs (benadryl) to sleep? Are you for real? You give a kid medicine when they are ill. You don’t sedate them to your convenience. I hope if you have kids your local child protection services know about your lax attitude to drugs and your kids internal organs
September 17th, 2007 at 12:05 am
508 Ian - I read that report too, about Mrs Fenn. I will try to find the link and post it. Her statement has been referenced on other Anorak forums too, but I found it when I Googled Madeleine McCann. She said she was unaware that there was even a family downstairs from her. She is very elderly, and maybe hard of hearing, not unusual at her age.
September 17th, 2007 at 12:05 am
simon 502
I like your rational thinking. I actually think they are involved because of the door being unlocked. I cant get past that point. And I think this was a very planned event sadly, whatever happened.