Madeleine McCann: The Nanny Suspect, Amaral Policing And Jail
MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann.
SUNDAY EXPRESS front page: “MADELEINE MYSTERY. BRING IT ON.”
The Sunday Express is not the Express, which has form some weeks led with the front-page banner “MADELEINE”. The Sundays Express goes its own way.
“McCanns remain defiant as they face 40 questions from UK police this week”
“Kate and Gerry’s fury as new sighting in Morocco by businessman is ignored”
SUNDAY MIRROR front page: “MADDIE HUNT: THE TRUTH.”
The truth… At last…
“DISGRACE.”
A picture of Madeleine McCann (on the right). A picture of Portuguese copper Goncarlo Amaral (left).
“Police have ignored 250 sightings of her” – and have investigated how many?
“Cop leading police probe works four hours a day” – Amaral’s not overworked and fresh.
“He has three-hour boozy lunches with pals” – Amaral holds lengthy meetings to discuss and masticate over the case with team.
“Puffing on a cigarette and knocking back beers, the man leading the world’s biggest missing child inquiry enjoys yet another long, boozy lunch.”
Good to know that the Mirror is not wasting its time and watching him.
STAR ON SUNDAY: “THREATS TO McCANNS.”
“Friends say the couple are ‘extremely concerned’ by the nature of the threats and are considering hiring extra security.
Last night a spokeswoman for the McCanns, both 39, confirmed that they had been sent what she described as ‘negative letters and fear mail’.”
INDEPENDENT: “Maddie ‘kidnapped by maid’, says email.”
“The McCanns’ spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said they were ‘encouraged’ by the development.”
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Kate McCann will risk jail to find Madeleine
Kate McCann has been told by her legal team that she faces jail sentence if she flouts Portuguese law to discuss details of the four-year-old’s disappearance in a high-profile television interview.
She tells a “close friend”: “I will do what I must. What does any of it matter if it helps find Madeleine?”
“It is what Kate thinks will help,” a close friend tells the paper. “What choice does she have? Unless Kate and Gerry ignore the law and speak out, their chances of finding Madeleine will dwindle further. Better to risk prison if it helps find her.
“Will the Portuguese police really prosecute a mother whose sole aim is to find her daughter or at least, God forbid, discover the whereabouts of her body? Kate, most of all, believes risking a jail sentence is nothing compared to finding Madeleine.”
Who needs an interview with Kate with friends like that?
THE OBSERVER: “This limbo that lasts a lifetime,” writes Carol Sarler.
“The McCanns are said to be devastated by dashed hopes; if so, they must get used to it, for there will be more sightings, more dashing and, to add to their misery, more harassment of more innocent families. I know this because, having investigated the disappearance of Ben Needham on Kos in 1991, the unfolding of the McCann case has felt like one long, wretched, groundhog summer.
“Ben, recapped in a nutshell: his grandparents, Eddie and Chris Needham, moved from Sheffield to Kos with their teenage son Stephen, daughter Kerry and her boyfriend and their son, Ben…
“…The singular difference between the Needhams and the McCanns is, crudely, class. Eddie has homemade tattoos on his knuckles, Chris was a grandmother at 38, Kerry and her boyfriend - a man known, as they say, to the police - lived in a council block. Perhaps this explains why, throughout their ordeal, nobody from the British consulate in Athens once got off their butt or went to Kos to help or support; surgeon Gerry McCann, by contrast, mobilised the world.”
“Arabic adverts aid Madeleine hunt”… “Despite the disappointment of last week’s misleading sighting of a blonde girl in the Moroccan town of Zaio, the McCanns believe that their daughter might be somewhere in the country.”
TIMES: No Madeleine news today.
Posted: 30th, September 2007 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (1,108) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
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September 30th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
306 - firestar
I heard Sky are doing a show tonight…is there a synopsis in the British TV guides about what they’re focussing on? I don’t live in the UK.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
# The Usual Arguidos
“Personally, I wouldn’t be seen dead in a Renault.”
Oh I don’t know. If one hit you hard enough you might crash through the windscreen and be seen dead in it.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
299 Stevo re: 218 - K-9
Agree - spot on.
Makes you ashamed to be English - I hope, however, that the vast majority of the intelligent part of the population arent fooled. Its lucky for politicians that they onlt have to win marginal seats isnt it.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
i wonder how unbiased the sky nes thing will be tonight.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
292
unfortunately it has had the side effect of turning so much as looking at a child, especially if you’re male,into an almost paedophillic act.
theres an article in the times news review today about people being harrassed for letting their little kids play naked in fountains and parks and things.
when i was a child, little kids were always pissing down grates in the street whilst being held by there parents.
not that i’m complaining, because at least you don’t get piss on your shoes the whole time nowadays, but you don’t see this sort of thing anymore.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
301 - Judge Dread
In fact, Kate argues this herself because she says she was in contact with 6 dead bodies in the prior weeks. Of course, those bodies weren’t infested with maggots were they? So, if Kate’s trousers can be tainted by a corpse smell, then it’s entirely feasible for something to transfer that smell to the car boot.
Like I say, Kate shoots herself in the foot with her 6 dead bodies comment.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
301 - Judge Dread
A body needn’t have been in the car at all. Perhaps whatever the body had been wrapped in was in the car. Perhaps that’s why the McCanns overlooked that it would ever be found through forensics that way.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
I’m sorry Julie and Judge Dredd but I cannot understand how you fail to see that the detection of a scent is evidence in and of itself.
If you smell gas but cannot find a leak do you ignore it until your house blows up or do you phone the gas company? If you walk into a room devoid of ash and butts but smelling of cigarette smoke do you deny your senses and say there was no smoking?
The evidence of the detection of a scent on items belonging to or in the possession of the McCanns at one time will be admissible as evidence at a trial. It will then either stand up with the other evidence presented or be explained and dismissed
September 30th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
OK my final word on the dogs. There is no evidence of a dead body ever having been in the boot of the car. Watch Sky News 7.30pm tonight.
As the expert says, if a dead body had been moved after 25 days, the smell would have been detected up to 100 yrds away.
Two things come from this. When was the body supposed to have been moved. It could not have been until 29 at the earliest if the McCanns are supposed to have done it. They hired the car on day 25, and then flew out to see the Pope the following day. They saw the Pope on day 27, and returned on day 28. However they were big media attention for some time after that.
In addition, what no one has yet said is the fact that if a body had been dead 30 days or more there would have been maggots, and thousands of them. Not a single maggot, or maggot casing was found in the car. It would have been impossible to leave bodily fluid but no maggots.
Explain that one.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Stig… I’ve linked before to the police and Michael Cook / Rachel Charles in the early 90’s. I was closely involved in that and it was scary stuff…. his case was raised in parliament by the local MP. He was badly beaten into a confession…
Issues have been raised with Amnesty Int and previously with Prisoners Abraod although I haven’t looked ther for a while so maybe they’ve cleaned up their act?
September 30th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
218 - K-9
Most sensible and comprehensive posting today in this site…
September 30th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
289 - Miss Match
I’m very surprised the press hasn’t done its own independent checking of things that are easy to check out - such as the 6 corpses that Kate allegedly came into contact with. That wouldn’t be difficult to find out about would it? I mean…the NHS isn’t bound by any secrecy laws and perhaps the families of the 6 dead people would be coming forward to vouch for her story if it were true. Of course, if it isn’t true then that may explain why nobody has come forward because naturally they can’t.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
209 moderation
“I’m also stunned the PJ haven’t impounded it…”
I’m not.
Do you have any info or opinion on the case of the detective Amaral and the earlier case he was involved in concerning Leonor Cipriano and her missing daughter?
Paulo Reis posted a long spiel here about it the other night that tended to favour Amaral but comparing that to other sources makes me wonder how balanced it was.
Paulo Reis also said elsewhere that When the Moroccan police investigated the Ollie sighting in Morocco they found no cctv evidence to back up her claim re the sighting. What he failed to mention was the lack of CCTV backup to her claim was because the HD on which it had been recorded had been wiped or overwritten - a fairly important detail to omit IMO
September 30th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
Regarding the dogs debate it is correct that they are only a tool-however they must have been brought in because suspicion already existed over the Mccanns.
If PJ have found fluid that science can state came from decomposing human remains that would be evidence.
Who really knows what evidence exists?
The dogs prove nothing by themselves but can build up a credible picture of the fate of the missing child in conjunction with other proof which exists.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:37 pm
Sorry, my last post was directed at 276 Firestar.
I need to do a better job of proofreading/fact checking.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:37 pm
276 Firestar
If that is true, I agree, its smells bad enough for a cadaver dog to pick it up (combining posts!).
Its the most worrying thing, that having money and contacts gives you a status above that of the normal citizen - this country is still so dreadfully class ridden isnt it! Its like all of these ‘johnny foreigner’ comments and the view that our police and experts are in some way better than anyone elses. I wonder if the Birmingham six or those mothers jailed by the testimony of expert witnesses feel that way? Or that Brazilian chap who had his head filled with english lead?Actually there is also a lot to be said about the use of the european inquisitorial rather than adversarial trial system we use.
As to the press, they have totally outdone themselves this time in their bias. Whatever happened to the likes of those Watergate journalists and the investigative journalists who seek the truth regardless of pressures from the Editor and owner?
I dont think the Mccanns killed anyone, but they sure as hell have killed off the silly idea I always had that we, the English, were the most just thinking fair minded people in the world. Its not only Robin Hood that turned out to be a myth, but the ideals behind him too!
I even thought getting rid of Thatcher/John Major and that crew would change this country back, but sadly it didnt.
It seems that there is only one justice in England today, the justice of the cheque book.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
291 - pixie
How did you find that? Wow…someone took the time to replicate Gerry’s blogs eh? That’s an interesting read.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
277 Andy
I have to admit that my interest in this case primarily relates to the peculiar behavior of the parents and the high profile status of the case, but mostly in the amount of in-your-face non-stop support of the parents and use of influence from politicians and wealthy patrons and the British media, despite the possibility that the parents may have something to do with the child’s disappearance and the definite knowledge that the parents left their children unprotected that evening (and the evenings before).
Madeleine is just one of many, many children who are victims of crimes each day in our world. I strongly suspect that whatever may have happened to her on May 3, that she is now dead and gone. So my worries are not for her ,or I should say I do not worry for her any more than any other missing, unknown child.
We have plenty of sorry incidents in our own and nearby communities to be outraged over. A week ago in our town, a five-year-old girl was abducted from her neighborhood, raped, and dumped naked alongside the street. Thankfully, she is alive, but her life has been forever altered. A (same) man tried to lure another girl, a fourth grader, from the grounds of an elementary school a few days later, driving a similar truck to the one the younger girl was abducted in. The case still has not been solved, but the FBI is working with the local police on it.
Parents must know that they have to keep tabs on their kids always and teach them how to be safe around strangers (don’t approach cars!) and to know that even friends, acquaintenances, and other family members should not be able to take them anywhere or do certain things, without checking with mom or dad first–always! Nice people, some times people that we like or love, can still do very bad things. It’s not only ‘monsters’ that commit crimes. Kids need to learn this to be able to protect themselves. They have to be taught to trust their instincts, too, and act on them when they feel something is not right or dangerous and not to be embarrassed in case they might be wrong.
If Kate didn’t have a sitter in that night because she was worried about her children being vulnerable, but then leaves them alone unsupervised (and possibly sedated?! as has been suggested) for extended periods of time (30 minutes IS a long time when talking about 3 years and under), then either she’s just plain incompetent as a parent or nuts or both or just plain selfish and uncaring, IMO. No one (except possibly Gerry) said she had to go out in the evening and leave her children. If you’re worried about their security, you provide it–that’s part and parcel of the job of being a parent–no excuses are valid.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
288 - Gerry’s blog
If that link (Gerry’s blog) doesn’t work, then go to:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pamela.watson43/
and click on:
Gerry McCann’s Blog Diaries
September 30th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
247 - Carmen
I read that the other day when you posted it. But if you attacked that family the way you did the people in here on Friday afternoon then I’m not surprised they gave you short shrift. You made a good point with your original story but then ruined it by your attitude on Friday.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
271 Ian - Excellent post. Your theory was along the same lines as mine. Even the fact that the McCanns claimed that their apartment had been broken into could be explained by the fact that they didn’t want to admit that they had left the patio door unlocked and lied to make themsleves look a little less foolish and negligent.
I started to change my opinion after the Team McCann excuses started rolling in. The dirty nappies in the car, the PJ planting evidence, the rotting meat in the bin bags in the car, the smell of death on cuddle cat and on Kate McCann’s clothes explained by the fact that Kate had been in contact with 6 corpses in one week, (has this been verifed I wonder?) and that she had taken cuddle cat to work. It was all starting to sound like complete desperation and clutching at straws to me. The fact that Gerry McCann was angry that their cell phone conversations had been recorded was also significant in my eyes. Surely, if they had nothing to hide, they would not be worried as recorded cell phone conversations could possibly indicate their innocence and show their genuine concern for what had happened to Madeleine and indicate that they were genuinely distraught and doing everything they could to find her. Whilst nobody likes the thought of their personal conversations being recorded, if they have nothing to hide, (apart from their distrust of the PJ), this should not be a problem for them. Too many strange excuses for me to think they are not entirely innocent in this tragedy.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Someone was asking the other day about old posts on Gerry’s blog – so here is a site that seems to list them all, from day 1:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pamela.watson43/pamalam/GERRY‘S%20BLOG%20DIARY.htm
September 30th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
265 - firestar
I can only remember Bennett answering a “maria”. Maybe they are one and the same person? Perhaps he’s trying to sell his book on Lubbock.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Batman 133 link as requested
only back so you may have spugun vid already but in case not
http://www.truespear.com
September 30th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
For ages, this site has had people posting under more than one alias. Yesterday I didn’t have time to get in here for more than a couple of minutes but noticed someone posting under my own alias. That’s not a surprise…on Friday some people seemed to develop split personalities…I suspected that some rogue poster was fooling around.
If the administrators are reading this, do you have anyway to sort the wheat from the chaff when that happens? It seems pointless to have to defend what you say in here all because some prat is impersonating you.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
207 andy
Misuse of forensics article:
http://tinyurl.com/2a7yll
September 30th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
281 Dogs are nothing more than a tool to find minute pieces of evidence that forensic experts may miss because of its size. They actually save a lot of time that would be costly where there is no evidence of anything. However the point is that if they do detect a smell, it is up to a human to find the factual evidence to present in a court.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
At the risk of causing one heck of an argument on this site, I have to say that I stand by Judge Dread on the issue of the cadaver dogs and admissability in court. Admissable, YES, if further evidence is found to back up the cadaver dog’s excitement. However, if NO further evidence is found at the particular site that the dog got excited …. pray tell HOW could this be admissable in a court of law?
September 30th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
re: 278
surely the point is that these dogs are trained to react in a certain way to the smell of a cadaver, and that they are correct in their reaction the majority of the time, otherwise there would be no point at all in using the dogs.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
K-9 (218)
An excellent post.
If a foreign couple had come here on holiday and behaved as the Mccanns have we would be beside ourselves with indignation if their media acted in the way the British media has-and rightly so.
The Portuguese people were very supportive of the Mccanns and a huge amount of public time and money has been spent on this case.
Lurid headlines are fine if they support the Mccanns version of events but anything that challenges it is ridiculed.
The police have access to info not made public and the tests and dogs being discredited were British.
Unlike many, I do not “Know” if the Mccanns are innocent or guilty but to insist they should be above suspicion is deeply flawed as many parents do harm their children.
We must be the laughing stock of the world