Madeleine McCann: Call Off The Dogs, Kate McCann’s Tears And Fatima
MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann.
THE TIMES page 9: “McCanns send to US for help against evidence of sniffer dogs.”
Gerry and Kate McCann have consulted lawyers working on behalf of Eugene Zapata in Madison, Wisconsin.
In October 1976, Zapata’s wife, Jeanette, went missing. Her body has never been found. Last year sniffer dogs were brought in and Zapata was charged with her murder. The case went before Judge Patrick Fielder who said the evidence – dogs had picked up the scent of a corpse in Zapata’s basement – was inadmissible. He said the dogs were unreliable.
The dogs have yet to make a comment.
DAILY MIRROR front page: “MADDY JUDGE: LET ME TELL ALL.”
Pedro Daniel dos Anjos Frias wants to “speak freely” about the case.
Pages 6 and 7: “Mum’s tears at 11am Mass.” Once again the Mirror is all eyes for Kate McCann’s eyes. She is crying.
In church, Father Keith Tomlinson narrates the parable of the Prodigal Son. An eight-year-old child called Molly Earp reads “Jesus please continue to love and protect us, until she is found.”
And then Jesus can have a rest and the police can resume normal duties…
Pages 8 and 9: “On the beach Gerry gave Maddy loads of hugs and kisses, he was a perfect dad..The next time I saw him was about midnight..I saw a man alone, desperate. He was crying and screaming her name over and over and over again.” Words from a “WAITER AT MADDIE’S LAST MEAL” before she vanished.
THE SUN front page: “Maddie ‘gag’ lift.” Friends of Kate and Gerry McCann are hopeful of being allowed to speak out and defend themselves. A judge has asked for a lifting of Portugal’s secrecy laws.
Pages 6 and 7: “AGONY TO COME.” The Sun produces a picture of Kate and Gerry McCann’s wedding day. They are holding Kate’s goddaughter Ellie. There is also a new picture of Madeleine McCann “looking angelic”. Have you seen her? Or are you watching the parents?
THE EXPRESS front page: “MADELEINE. POLICE TO SEARCH SHRINE FOR BODY.” The McCanns went to Fatima. The McCanns car clocked up 1,709 miles in the fives weeks after their daughter went missing.
THE WORLD’S GREATEST NEWSPAPER Pages 2 and 3: “Hand in hand, McCanns go to family church.” The “devoutly Catholic couple” are leaving for church from their “£600,000 home”. Kate McCann is carrying Cuddle Cat.
Pages 4 and 5: “1,000 letters each day in support of the McCanns. Between 500 and 1,000 letters a day arrive at the McCanns’ home. “There are some crank letters,” says a spokesman for the family, “but that’s inevitable.”
None of these letters are believed to point to the whereabouts of Madeleine McCann.
Alex Cayles, a former neighbour of the McCanns, says “I never heard Kate or Gerry raise their voices to their children or anyone else.” Can the same be said of any parents of three very young children?
DAILY MAIL front page: a picture of Kate McCann smiling.
“MADELEINE:
• Doubt cast on sniffer dogs
• Police frontman quits investigation
• Branson funds the McCanns’ defence
• Witness’s vital new evidence”
Pages 10 and 11:2 “Maddie: Is the case crumbling?”
Chief inspector Olegario Sousa has resigned “in disgust” at the way in which fellow Portuguese officers have been briefing the media behind his back.
DAILY STAR front page: “MADDIE MUM ON MURDER RAP. Now cops claim to have found ‘a motive’.”
The Star says police have read Kate McCann’s diary and “claim it reveals she had a motive to kill”.
Pages 4 and 5: “DID KATE HAVE A MOTIVE?”
Well, we haven’t read the diary, but…
“The idea that Portuguese detectives are looking at my daughter’s most personal thoughts and taking them out of context is terrible,” says Kate McCann’s father Brian Healy.
Pages 6 and 7: “HUNT AT HOLY SHRINE.” Is Madeleine McCann’s body buried at Fatima, one of the Catholic Church’s holiest sites? The Star says the couple went there three weeks after their daughter went missing.
We wonder. Is she? Or is she buried in Germany, America, London or Morocco, places also visited by the McCanns?
DAILY TELEGRAPH: “New allegations against McCanns - As the McCanns begin a new campaign to clear their names, further allegations emerged over the weekend.”
Oh?
“The hire car: The Renault Scenic hired by the McCanns 25 days after Madeleine went missing. New claims centre on its high mileage. Between May 27 and July 3, it was driven 1,700 miles, with police looking into the possibility that it may have been used to dispose of a body…There were also reports that detectives were waiting for permission from a judge to seize and dismantle the car to search for ‘traces of skin’.”
THE GUARDIAN: No Maddy news today.
Madeleine McCann The Public Spectacle
Posted: 17th, September 2007 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (1,074) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
- yampster on In Photos: Susan Boyle Sings Rockefeller Center Plaza In New York City
- Bat E Bird on In Photos: Susan Boyle Sings Rockefeller Center Plaza In New York City
- Julie Roach on I’m A Celebrity Watch: Katie Price Is More Hated Than Baby P’s Mum
- yampster on The Pirelli 2010 Calendar In Artful Nudity (NSFW)
- yampster on Climate Gate: Politicians Investigate CRU’s Emails And The BBC Sat On The Story
September 17th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
376 Helsangel
Floating a theory is not hard, it is all to easy to do. For example, I could make a good case that there might be an organised pedophile ring in the area and that 2 or more members of it are in the PJ. It might explain the beating allegation some of them are facing now, it might explain the near incomprehensible level of ‘apparent’ bungling in the case, particularly early on in the most crucial stages, before reinforcements arrived. It might explain the PJ trying to twist the whole thing around from an abduction investigation into a murder/accidental death one that the McCanns might be set up for . It might explain the selective and constant leaks of ‘only’ damming innuendo to the Portuguese press.
See, it is easy. Trouble is, it is just as baseless and potentially hurtful as the efforts of a good proportion of the contributors here who believe the McCanns are perpetrators of something and spare no effort or thought in their attempts at character assassination; poring over every minutiae of facial expression, supposed body language, every hesitation or flicker of the eyes in interviews - revealing every acerbic ‘gut’ feeling and psychic insight.
It isn’t a harmless game. I lived in Australia and was there when the Lindy Chamberlain case unfolded in all it’s horror and witnessed people tear her character, reputation, life, family and marriage apart with their sniping and malicious speculation - all in exactly the same tone as is transpiring here, now.
If my interjecting with factual corrections is spoiling what you think of as harmless ‘fun’ - tough!
September 17th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
The Express: “New claims centre on its high mileage. Between May 27 and July 3, it was driven 1,700 miles”
So now they’re going to dig up Fatima???!! This is troubling…..so disturbing. What the hell is this couple putting everyone through? First the Pope, now the sacred grounds of Fatima?? Unbeleivable. Truly, disgusting.
1,700 miles HOLY CANOLI! That’s almost as much mileage as I put on my car in 3 months!! I average 600 miles a month or 7,000+ a year. But I drive it for work and for pleasure at least.
I would guess that any body that was in the back of the car, and disposed of, was taken on a long journey and never to be seen again. Doubtful that they buried her in the shrine at Fatima unless they had some help. Although with this couple, anything is possible.
Wonder what it’s like to dump your own 3 year old child into the sea. Only a monster or monsters would be capable of doing that or hiring some other floozy to do it for you. All of this, just to hold onto a medical license and some earned wealth or status. Was it THAT awful being from a working class background??? Apparently so as the fear of losing everything they’ve got and returning to their humble roots was most likely the motivating factor behind this drive and dump cover up effort.
How much of a role does religion really play in their lives if they are willing to cover up their own daughter’s death, just to keep their medical practices? I’d say, they’ve got their values a little mixed up in life. No amount of money or status should ever come before a child. Either adopted or your own. Or you don’t deserve to be parents afterall. Stating the obvious, yes, but it needs to be said.
September 17th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
Team McCann does seem remarkably similar to a political leadership campaign team.
September 17th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
617 - Paulette
There may be innocent explanations:
For example - if they have asserted intellectual property rights, and I don’t know what the details are, this may simply have been to prevent someone else doing so and then demanding a license fee from them (McCanns) to use the designs, campaign names etc;
As to the charity - point - to you know how long it takes to get the Charity Commission to approve a new proposed charity for registration? Doubtlessly more than a few days, if my experience with various property trusts is anythign to go by.
In any event, because the principal objects of the trust are essentially private and not public in nature and it may not be for a recognised charitable purpose e.g education etc, the preliminary legal advice could well have been that the Charities Commission may not recognise it, or that registration could be delayed.
What has been done is to vest the funds on a trust, to be applied solely for the purposes of the trust - it is hardly what you would do if you simply planned to trouser the money.
The whole thing was set out very quickly (unless you take the view that the disappeance was all long pre-planned).
If it was profit making venture, why did they not use a shadowy off-shore company, with min. accounting, tax and other regulatory requirements?
September 17th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
521 Jon
You say———– “trying to stay ahead of a stitch up by the PJ and media.”
There is the entire UK press corp ,and TV, and famous people,and Pr team, Fancy lawyers et al. behind them, saving their sorry asses and reputations. .By trying to insinuate it is all a big stitch up ,for reasons unkown by PJ.
There is No evidence PJ are trying,or even were ever trying to stitch them up. Of what possible use is it to PJ…? Closure? There would be no closure if they had not at trial the evidence to convict.
Easier to stitch up Murat if they were/are that bent.
September 17th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
619 bulldog: Another point is this. If the McCanns were responsible for Madeline’s death, then the Pope, if he was a true man of God, he would have been able to discern that something was wrong.
You mean Pope Brownshirt the 1st? Hitler Youth?
Whatever! what’s that old saying…
“Give me the boy at Seven, and I’ll show you the Man”
How handy! check this bizarre link
http://blog.marsdd.com/2007/08/30/show-me-the-money-part-1/
Just a thought…
allegedly
September 17th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
550 Seymour Laws: “to be fair if this were headed towards a jury trial in the UK - the speculation on this board and others like it, if it was widely read (which I doubt, but would be very interested to hear from the moderator on) would potentially prejudice the prospects of a fair trial - wide spread baseless speculation pre-trial is dangerous in the run up to any jury trial”
-You mean our Internationally respected Human Right to free thought, and to manifest it in speech form should be stopped? What kind of Solicitor are you if indeed you are one?
“As a lawyer I would not touch forum if it were about something that could end in a jury trial - the Portugese examinaing Mags, or whoever they are, are not likely to be reading this stuff looking for inspiration”
So what exactly are you saying Sir? That you are a Solicitor, or just a poor one?
You contradict yourself how many times here. You ARE in a forum, and you are therefore “touch” said “forum”. Notice when you wrote your comment the input box clearly states:
Opinion? What do you think!
Can you not understand plain English? Surely with your Solicitor status you would have some grasp of Legality?
“I expect the Gov is going to crack down, at least in respect of stuff that could prejudice a jury trial”
You mean erode our Civil Liberties and Human Rights furthermore?
Of course the McCanns are going to cite “Right to fair trial” as their “abuse” scenario, I would. I dont need to hire a Q.C to tell me that
Of course Gerry want’s to rule the world. And the Law He’s now combined his criminal capability with “The Joker” and it’s now being released in a new D.C.Comics special edition on sale in time for Christmas
(in association with Virgin Media)
What planet are you from? How slow are you, get with the picture!
Allegedly
September 17th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
My friends Kate and Gerry have not committed any offence. They took lessons from David Copperfield, and simply made Madeleine disappear. When they cast the return spell, (after withdrawing the money from Northern Rock), all will end well.
In the meantime, the smell of death is easily explained. Gerry has footrot and Kate sucks his toes.
September 17th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Not wishing to start a religious war or anything but dont the catholic church harbour paedophile priests and the like?
September 17th, 2007 at 5:34 pm
612 jessica i found this for you………………………
Why was Madeleine’s bedroom window and shutter open?
Kate and Gerry McCann told police that the window shutter in Madeleine’s bedroom, which could not been seen from the restaurant, had been forced open.
Police tests showed the heavy metal shutter had not been forced up from the outside, so must have been pulled open from inside the room. Assuming that the abductor entered through the apartment’s unlocked patio windows, why would he or she not leave by the same way or the use the front door?
Or was the window opened to make it appear as if an intruder had used it to enter the bedroom?
Yes why weren’t they immeadiatley under suspicion then
September 17th, 2007 at 5:33 pm
The ducking, diving and dodging McCanns…what a farce this is turning out to be. I’m genuinely sorry for Madeline, but her parents….! If they did kill her, then why not spill the beans..??? Confession is good for the soul, but then again, with them being ‘devout’ catholics, they would know this?
Another point is this. If the McCanns were responsible for Madeline’s death, then the Pope, if he was a true man of God, he would have been able to discern that something was wrong.
So Team McCann tries to fool the world, the media, press, British public, etc etc all to protect their careers and lifestyle. ‘Oh, Maddie, where are you they cry..’ The police tried to find the abductor(s) but that trail was cold. A 2 million reward for information about Madeline-the hotline remained cold. Nobody wanted to claim the money! And all the while the McCanns remained stony-faced. If the McCanns manage to duck and dive the police questions, no good will come of it if they are guilty.
September 17th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
I have said this on Anorak from day 1, I would never leave my 3 year old son at home in his bed and go round to my neighbour’s house for a meal and loads of wine and even if I was stupid/neglectful/selfish enough to do this I would never contemplate leaving a door unlocked.
Why didn’t they use a baby monitor at the very least?
And I do firmly believe that the papers would have treated them as scum if they were a couple of no hopers from a council estate.
September 17th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
607. Jon,
I’ve asked you and Seymour why the McCann’s have turned their daughter into a a brand and are making money off of her name and unusual eye pattern? Is that normal of parents trying to find their elleged missing child? Why did they choose a limited company and not a charity with all their millions in donations? Why when Madeleine was sighted in various places close to Portimao did they not check out these leads? Not even the one in Marakech by their friend’s wife? Why is the fact that the McCanns left their 2 year old twins and 3 year old daughter alone without adequate supervision okay with a lof of you who unequivocally support them?
Those of us who are skeptical of the McCanns find it odd that their strategy to find Madeleine is through billboards, posters and cheap plastic bracelets that resemble morgue id bracelets. Why haven’t they gotten their own team of child kidnapping experts together? Why instead have they spent so much money on PR and spin doctors?
You continue to focus on non-issues. The people using critical thinking skills, common sense and healthy skepticism about the McCanns have consistently mentioned the same concerns I have cited in the above first paragraph. Yet those of you who wholeheartedly and without any fairmindedness support the McCanns never address these issues.
I’m sorry but I don’t hear much of integrity, empathy or courage coming the pro-McCann camp. Especially when all you want to do is point fingers at the PJ. If you would like to hear about some recent police brutality cases in British police history please request my email address from one of the Anorak moderators and I will be more than happy to enlighten you. Also if you would like information on current modern fucked up trials & justice run amuck in UK courts I’d be very happy to fill you in on some of those as well.
September 17th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
608 “your (my) misogynist twisted elitist egoist shriveled lost soul” - love it - in England we call it irony, at least in circles that know what is what, what what.
Surely you can see the difference between intervening in troubled families that had come to your agency’s attention and finding an abducted child who could be anyway in Europe or further how could an individual or couple hope to do that?
September 17th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
613 Well the Bank of England did. Just glad I haven’t got any money in there, the way these people are cashing up, it will be on it’s ass by day break
September 17th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
430..Seymour Laws..what the hell have her “looks” or your perceptions of her looks got to do with anything………….. pray do tell.She sure does not look “classy” either, since you are so up yourself on class distinctions. Most upper class people I know tend to resemble horses.I come from the upper classes myself for whatever the hell that is supposed to be worth. It is also my experience that those who twitter on about class perpetually are usually lacking it
September 17th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
the news is telling everyone to leave their cash in northern rock.
if the banks dont trust it enough to lend it money, why should anyone else?
and why doesn’t anyone on telly mention that?
September 17th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
also could anyone find an article on when the tampered window, locked door,version of events changed to the door was unlocked and window wasnt tampered with?
Thats when the shiver went down my neck and I looked more into it.
where is it on the timeline?
September 17th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
I’m sure Mum’s and Dad’s do leave kids that are a bit older. Or they say stuff like “see you back here at 9″ when they are 10 or whatever, but without even taking peads and pervs into the equation this was absolutely neglectful. The McCanns said they were naive and thought she’d be safe. But not once did they think how frightening it was for someone as little as Maddie, and how far the Tapas was to someone as little as Maddie, add to this I expect Maddie also felt responsible for her younger siblings the way little kids do.
September 17th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
And please be clear. No-one rational will say that little ones must be within vision 24/7.
They must be within earshot.
Evolution has tuned parental ears for sounds of stirring, and even more so for the faintest hint of distress.
Concentrate on earshot. Thse poor kids were WAY beyond it.
Mark Warners offered THREE safe child monitoring alternatives for that night. The McCanns declined them all.
September 17th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
and i can think of a few -ists to add to that
September 17th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
569. Yes I am completely capable. If you must know Seymour, as a counselor with a US innercity child/youth agency where detective work was daily used in order to pin negligent or pervert parents/guradians I was very successful creating better lives for both kids and parents - well the parents who weren’t beyond saving.
Since we moved, I am currently working on a different project but it also related to kids health and happiness.
But you didn’t answer my question Seymour. You merely edited my comment into a sound bite in order to serve your misogynist twisted elitist egoist shriveled lost soul.
September 17th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
Seymour I agree with you that it unnecessarily distressing to bring class into this but unfortunately much of this is not about child abduction and little defenseless children it is primarily a class war.
September 17th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
Blunger - completely agree. I also find it strange that you are not allowed to be intoxicated whilst in charge of a vehicle, but is there any such law about being intoxicated whilst in charge of a child?
September 17th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
487 Sally
1: Why did an alleged abductor need a key when it is mostly accepted the door was unlocked ? If it was locked how did he get a key, and from whom.?
2: How could Madeline have just walked out…through said “locked “door.. when she was too short to reach the key to unlock it ? If she did just walk out then door had to have been unlocked.How come nobody saw her.?
September 17th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
should have referred to SSS 591 OOps.
September 17th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
With regard to neglect.
Once children get to say 6 or 7 years old, I can see there might just possibly be room for divergence of view on the need for abslolutely unbroken supervision.
But Maddy was not yet four years old, and moreover could easily be faced with two screaming scrambling 2-year olds to try to cope with for 30 minutes (at least) of chaos and danger. For me there is absolutely no argument. This was serious child neglect deserving of at least some sort of visible punishment, particularly in such a high-profile case, where it is vital NOT to give the message that this is OK.
If the Portuguses legal system will support it, I prefer prosecution, with pehaps a suspended sentence at the end.
September 17th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
(579) Stan:
“Paulette I agree although not about the skin colour part..I think if it happened to any family without the McCanns money/connections/respectable professions they would not be given the time of day by the papers…”
I have no idea if the class/skin color issue resonates with the public, to make them more empathetic towards the McCanns. I can assume with some it does and others it doesn’t.
They left their children alone, everyone knows that was a mistake. If that mistake should be used to judge their character, well people have different opinions on that.
The McCanns did use their status and connections to get to the press. That was one of the ways they started campaigning for their daughter (not searching, but campaigning-people can have different thoughts about which is more appropriate but both can be effective). I don’t see anything wrong with that, I do think the press is a bit overdone now, but if your child was missing and you had such resources, I’m sure you’d use them.
It would be nice to see, in my eyes, the Madeleine Fund being tapped into for a few other missing children, from countries that don’t have sophisticated support and from poorer families. An arguement for this could be that, if Madeleine was abducted, her abductor is still at large and probably has a history in such things, so cracking another case could indeed help Madeleine’s. According to the fund, that is a legal action, but I also understanding wanting to keep the money for Madeleine, just in case. Plus, the money is under the supervision of the board now and they will deem what is appropriate usage, unless the majority of the people who contributed cause an uproar (doubtful).
September 17th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
Maybe the abductor works at the car hire place and used that car to remove MM from the apartment, just bad luck or part of a plan that the McCanns then hired the same car!
September 17th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
580 Moderation, you have said this repeatedly.
“as I said, it’s done all the time in hotels in Iberia…. main culprits for leaving their children in hotel rooms are German, Dutch and of course Brits.”
And it also been repeatedly pointed out to you that that the McCanns left their children in an unlocked apartment that opens onto the street.
It so happens that I applaud your fair play in waiting on the fence to hear all the evidence.
But a locked hotel room is very different from an unlocked apartment.