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
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July 17th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Robert Murat has won a Libel case against the UK press. A shameful state of affairs where journalists didn’t report the news they try and create something all for the sake of sensational copy…Heresay and conjecture have no place in proper “reporting”
January 5th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
654
jemima murray Says:
November 28th, 2007 at 11:04 am
for heavens sake what are you all talking about. Have just come accross this site and am amazed that you can all spend your time speculating whether or not the McCanns had something to do with Madeleine’s disappearance. what difference does it make to YOU - are you giving them money? Do you really think that if they had anything to do with the disappearance that they would launch a world-wide campaign to find her? how much easier it would have been not to do that- it would have been a one-day wonder - just like all the other missing/murdered children in this world. Get a life!!
***************************************************************************************
Did you not read GM’s blog? He stated quite clearly that it was a family member/friend who got the ball rolling with sky and the rest of the media. He was almost apologetic about it- to the rest of the tapas I imagine. Things didn’t go according to plan IMO
November 28th, 2007 at 11:04 am
for heavens sake what are you all talking about. Have just come accross this site and am amazed that you can all spend your time speculating whether or not the McCanns had something to do with Madeleine’s disappearance. what difference does it make to YOU - are you giving them money? Do you really think that if they had anything to do with the disappearance that they would launch a world-wide campaign to find her? how much easier it would have been not to do that- it would have been a one-day wonder - just like all the other missing/murdered children in this world. Get a life!!
November 27th, 2007 at 7:48 am
[...] “’My girl was taken as well’” – Agents of Metodo 3 are investigating a link between Madeleine and Joana Cipriano – more on her here [...]
October 1st, 2007 at 9:37 pm
Visit Oxigen, a small independent clothing shop in Rothley, where Nic and Allie Owen are beginning their own brand in support of the missing toddler.
The brand “Madeleina” is aimed at the rock-chick teen genre and features t-shirts, black skinny jeans and hoodies in apple green/fuscia/peacock blue featuring the slogan “Mwa for Madeleina”.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:01 am
[...] Week’s PicturesAnorak - - The Troofers Are Out There - STOP YOUR SCLAUNDRES OF BRITNEY .. - War On Terror: In The Corner Of .. - Prince Harry Is Off His Face On .. - Queen Elizabeth’s Order Of The B .. - Post It Like Victoria Beckham - Northern Rock And Halifax Custom [...]
September 25th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
Still no evidence of guilt re the parents as far as I can see. Days go by and nothing is brought forward to prove anything against them.
No proof that they did not love and want Madeleine. No proof that they had ever hurt any of their children. No proof of a death, much less a cover up and disposal of a body.
I just do not see any sign of parental involvement here.
September 22nd, 2007 at 8:19 pm
Yes, doctors can do terrible things. But as with any other murder, the doctor has to have the time, the opportunity and the motive. The timeframe is very problematic in the McCann case because time to kill, clean up, cover up, enlist the help of friends, hide the body, etc., takes a lot of UNINTERRUPTED time. I do not see where the parents and their friends had that. There is ample proof that they were going back and forth from the table during the most critical portion of the timeframe.
Secondly, the opportunity to do any of the things described by their detractors is also problematic. If Madeleine died of an accident, such as fall, it would most likely have happened when her parents were not around, which means while they were at the restaurant, and that compresses the timeframe even more.
If one of the McCanns killed her in a fit of anger by accident, that would result in extreme remorse and anguish on the part of both parents, rendering them unable, IMO, to go back and forth to the table and cheerfully drink and eat and talk with their friends. Even OJ was upset and shaken and sweating profusely after he murdered Ron and Nicole and went to the dance performance. Several witnesses described him as not himself and unusually quiet and anti-social. Does anyone really think the parents, one or both, could witness the death of their child by an accident or over-discipline and simply go about their socializing as if nothing had happened?
How do you persuade a doctor or two doctors to help you cover up a death in a foreign country? Those doctors would have a lot to lose in terms of money, career, family, reputation. Most people who think they are guilty admit that they had to have help to do what was done. Who would be so ready, willing and able to help? I would not help even the best of friends in that situation. Would you?
If planned, what would the motive be? The parents wanted children enough to have IVF. They stuck with Madeleine through the first year when she was extremely colicky and difficult. They went on to have twins, in spite of that experience with a colicky baby. I have a friend who had a colicky baby who cried for months and she vowed never to have another!
The McCanns do not fit the profile of parents who kill, and it is not because they are well-off or attractive. The Ramseys were far richer and just as attractive and I suspected them. But Patsy was under tremendous pressure from her cancer struggles, her desire for perfection, being away from the friends and family in the south, and Patsy spending so much time with JonBenet, etc. I see no pressures on the McCanns. They seem to have had a good life, plenty of love and support from family and friends, help in the form of a nanny, etc. And they were on holiday, which is a relaxing time, not a stressful one.
Even those who suspect them cannot agree, it seems, on what happened or why it happened or how they could possibly pull off a cover up. By far, the most logical conclusion is that an abductor had been watching them for days and was aware of their comings and goings and took advantage of an opportunity to snatch Madeleine.
I also think the police botched the case almost immediately. You can disapprove of what the McCanns did, but my God, they are paying a terrible price. Neither country has prosecuted them for child abuse or neglect.
I just do not think they are guilty of murder, or of covering up an accidental death. I think Madeleine may still be alive.
September 22nd, 2007 at 8:13 pm
IMO, the pictures of the layout of the apartment, pool, etc. prove just how easily and quickly an abductor could have taken the child without being noticed by anyone.
As someone has suggested, there could have been two people involved, one who went intside and another who handed her out a window.
In mere seconds, she could have been in a car and speeding away.
The people who suspect the McCanns tend to contradict themselves, it seems to me.
For instance, they say that the parents were drinking, as were their friends. They point out that at least a dozen bottles of wine were consumed. They turn around and say that the parents and their friends came up with a complex means of disposing of the body and telling a story about the death. Drunken people, even tipsy people, do not think so clearly.
They say that Madeleine would have woken up and screamed loudly if she had been abducted. At the same time, they say her parents drugged her so that she would sleep. A drugged child would not make any noise and would not wake up.
They say that the parents and the friends had “inconsistancies” in their remarks about what happened that evening. They then turn around and say that the parents and friends concocted a story to tell the police. Well, if they had concocted a story there would be no conflicts in what they said. People remember things differently, especially in social situations. The so-called discrepancies seem about minor things, and that is indicative of honesty, not lying.
The ones who hate the McCanns seem to cheerfully dismiss the possibility of an abduction, but we all know that an abduction takes just seconds. It is entirely possible that she was taken by a pedophile who watched her for a day or more and wanted her. He clearly had a chance to take other children, including one of the twins, but he wanted Madeleine.
I disapprove of people leaving their young, or even not so young, children alone, even for a short while. But we all have gone out to mow the lawn while our children slept indoors or we have taken a shower while they played in the den or we have turned our backs for a moment in a shopping center while the kids stood nearby.
None of us can watch our kids 24 hours a day, with no distractions at all. In any of the above scenarios, our own kids could have been taken or otherwise come to harm.
The act of leaving the children alone may not have caused the abduction to happen, either. Other children were left alone, and they did not get abducted or come to any other harm.
As for the prominence of the couple, I do not think that doctors enjoy the same status and monetary rewards in the UK that they do here, even surgeons. Doubtlessly, they are educated people, professionals, etc., but they are not among the upper crust of British society.
The Ramseys were far richer and had more political clout.
I also think that many of the really venomous posts about Kate especially are without merit. She is an attractive woman, IMO, and some might resent her for that.
Sooner or later, they will have to get on with their lives, and when they do, they will be criticized for that, just as they are being criticized for everything else they do now.
Madeleine could be anywhere. She is probably dead, but she could be alive. I think that if a pedophile took her, it was a gentle type pedophile, not a sadistic one. For instance, she has not been found, dead and abandoned in a field or on the side of the road, tortured and in an humiliating pose, as with Polly Klaas and Samantha Runion.
She could still be alive. Is there any proof that she is dead or was ever injured? Rumors of blood and hair and bodily fluids in the car did not pan out.
The sad part is she could be alive somewhere and many people are focusing on punishing the parents instead of finding her.
September 22nd, 2007 at 8:06 pm
I strongly believe in the innocence of the parents.
September 22nd, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Well they’ve got the Pope, the British Government and countless celebrities involved. Why not Richard Branson? Actually I don’t think he did it for the publicity. More likely he genuinely thinks they got a raw deal and the publicity is about coming out on their side. And I always thought his judgement was pretty astute….
September 22nd, 2007 at 1:13 am
Why is Branson getting involved?? It is not necessary for someone of his stature to stick his neck out…or is it????
September 17th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
Shouldn’t Branson be donating money to fnd his ‘close friend’ who went missing in his light aircraft in the US last week or is this his new crusade.
I lost 50p in a slot machine once, never did get it back -would he help me by donating £100,000 do you think.
September 17th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
Take a look at this :
Go into Gazeta Digital, then into the section headed Former Scotland Yard Commander in Portugal, go down to the section headed Crimeshare Kids help find Madeleine, then go into the section headed BBC News Website you can then find the Former Scotland Yard Commander John O Conner talking about the Madeleine Case the only thing I find about this that is quite alarming is he does not mention whether she may be alive or dead but he does talk about the police searching residential buildings, would be interesting to see what you all think about it ?
September 17th, 2007 at 9:30 am
Just a thought,
As a mum when i cut my small childrens hair i used to keep a lock for a keepsake and put it in a box along with their teeth etc……..
Was this kates big mistake?
After sedating,killing did she keep some to put in her box when she got back to have something to focus on to hold instead of a grave etc? Kept it in the car, remember there was 3 months when they were above suspicion.
The funeral parlour gave my siblings and i a lock of my mums to keep.
I put mine in a doll so i could cuddle it when i felt low
“Cuddle cat here kitty cuddle cat!!”
Or are you a brand spanky new one from ebay parcel forced over once Gerry realised!!
just a thought!
September 17th, 2007 at 9:09 am
thank you Sherlock, you’re so kind!! (if I could do smileys I would but I can’t so I haven’t)
There is still a niggle in the back of mind about it….. I speculate on that side of things because it won’t go out of my head. Its been there all the way through in the background for me.
September 17th, 2007 at 9:09 am
I think when a missing child is found raped and murdered it’s very normal to see discussion of this child on another missing child forum in the 2 days since her body was discovered - even on Anorak.
Anorak poster who works for a Belgian organization to find missing children and expose paedos says there is a connection. Interpol site doesn’t even list Ylenia as found murdered and it’s been 2 days now.
September 17th, 2007 at 9:05 am
http://www.anorak.co.uk/madeleine-mccann/176418.html
Here is the updated page
September 17th, 2007 at 9:05 am
Moderation - yes I saw that they found the body. Of course I feel sorry for Ylena, and for all the other children that go missing.
It’s not about Ylena’s case per se. It’s only that I don’t think there’s ever been any evidence of a link between this case and Madeleine’s disappearance. And this forum is about Madeleine Mccann. Otherwise we could talk about the many children that go missing everyday all over the world.
So, to suggest that this nutter also took Madeleine and killed her as he did with Ylena is not really adding anything to this forum… as far as i remember that’s been looked at and no links were found.
You’re of course free to comment on whatever you want
September 17th, 2007 at 9:04 am
You’re all in the wrong place
There is an update, but not here lol
September 17th, 2007 at 9:03 am
604, I’m telling you the Anorak man is in bed. I had to read the tabloids myself
September 17th, 2007 at 8:59 am
Oi….. where’s my media update???
Guess I’m getting a bit to addicted.
My sense this week-end was that PR is being managed much more slickly;
- “The Great and The Good” (sic) running to help pay for tortured McCs legal fees
- Replacement of spokesthingy
- No more whingeing from GMcC
- Phylo Pastry is suddenly quiet
- Witnesses coming out of the woodwork months after the event to give alibis
- Scooby Doo’s credibility being questioned
- PJ all corrupt thugs beating up mothers
- Return of “Photo Mystery Man”
They’re really firing on all cylinders…..
September 17th, 2007 at 8:54 am
Sherlock, the stuff on the ‘missing girl’ Ylena is back on the forum because she’s not missing anymore. her body was found on saturday.
Or does the finding of a five year olds body not warrant even a passing remark in your world??
September 17th, 2007 at 8:54 am
If the McCanns did get charged would the British press still be on their side? Remember when Louise Woodward was on trial her village had yellow ribbons all over the place.
Would Britain be awash with yellow ribbons for the second time as we ‘Pray For Kate and Gerry’ and demand they ‘Free The tapas 2′?
September 17th, 2007 at 8:46 am
morning everyone - another week, another round of recycled old information.
The story about the links between the missing swiss girl Ylenia and Maddie have been in the papers months ago - and have been investigated by interpol and national police forces. I don’t know why this is coming back now into the anorak forum (we’re supposed to be ahead of the game…)
I don’t know why on earth are the Mccanns and everyone so excited about challenging the “sniffer dogs” as evidence etc. The portuguese police have not charged the Mccanns with anything. They are suspects because they were the last ones to see Madeleine alive, because they gave contradictory statements about their whereabouts, they found traces of something in the appartment and in their rented car. etc. etc. That’s it. All these things don’t mean they are guilty of anything or that they’ll be charged with anything. But, one has to recognise that if with all these questions the police would not make them suspects, they’d not be doing their job right.
Now, am I correct in saying that the instructory judge will have to make a statement sometime this week (before thursday)?
At that time perhaps it will be clearer for everyone what is the evidence (if any) held by the portuguese police to suggest the Mccanns have been involved in Madeleine’s disappearance.
I’m sure before that we’ll experience an increase in the background noise by Team Mccann about new advertising campaigns (4 months after daughter goes missing they launch an advertising campaign????) and how the portuguese police are corrupt and incompetent. But objectively, these are only faits-divers… let’s wait and see.
September 17th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Is Anorak on strike? Do I have to read the papers myself today?
September 17th, 2007 at 8:37 am
Its virgin on the ludicrous now.
September 17th, 2007 at 8:02 am
just popped in to see whats cooking, same old same old, will check in again later have a nice day ppls
September 17th, 2007 at 8:02 am
How dare the press slag of us bloggers just so they can print negative comments about Saints Kate and Gerry (and our theories) without taking resonsibility for it.
Slimy gits.
We’re right to quibble the timeline, we’re right to question their judgement in leaving the kids alone - and why not speculate about what actually happened?
We’re not the police, we’re not journalists, and if we did end up on the Jury, surely we’d pay more attention to the lawyers than people we’ve never met but just like chatting too?
What we say will not effect the McCanns unless we insult them in the street and if that’s what we wanted to do, we’d do that without blogging. Or are the press saying that Lindy Chamberline was convicted and vilified by bloggers even though the internet didn’t exist? Are we time-travellers now?
This case is out of control for one reason only - the McCanns got themselves a P.R. and went on a World Tour, because they were advised too (even though no other parents have ever done it).
In truth I’ve got quite attached to them. I’ll miss them when they’re gone. Kate could do a fashion line, Gerry could run for American President on a child abduction ticket (I’m not even being sarcastic).
September 17th, 2007 at 7:38 am
Hmmm. Perhaps we should open a little book here on who gets discovered alive first Madeleine McCann or Steve Fossett
September 17th, 2007 at 7:30 am
Shouldn’t get excited about Branson getting involved - he has a track record of backing losers - just look at what he’s doing to my fucking investments.