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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October 1st, 2007 at 3:17 am
999 - Miss Match
I know. Gerry is full of himself and even his facial expressions and mannerisms make me think he is a narcissist even if he doesn’t have full blown NPD. Everything he instigates is over the top and beyond normality. If it was balanced by some realistic human emotions I’d be ok with it. He’s very unlikeable and have you noticed that the pair of them don’t really seem warm and friendly. First impressions are that they’re too robotic. Holding Cuddle Cat all the time looks so fake.
October 1st, 2007 at 3:13 am
Stevo 993 - I am sure Gerry is a complete narcissist. There is always the possibility that Madeleine was abducted, and due to his NPD, he loved the attention and the fame it brought him more than he loved Madeleine. It is horrible to think that this became his priority, but it is a possible theory for his strange, attention grabbing bevaviour. The fact that this campaign has become so huge, the fact that he loves surrounding himself with people of importance all indicate his love of attention.
His refusal to accept even a tiny bit of responsibility by making Madeleine so easy to snatch from her bed is also arrogant beyond belief. He is not a likeable character and his delusions of having a career change involving child protection are just that - delusions.
It is indeed a very strange case, and nothing seems to add up.
October 1st, 2007 at 3:12 am
996 - murder
Goodnight
October 1st, 2007 at 3:08 am
994 - Miss Match
I know, it’s very frustrating analysing what we’ve been told.
If it was possible for Madeleine to have disappeared earlier in the afternoon and there be enough evidence to substantiate that, I think this is the most likely scenario.
Until we get reliable information, I guess we’re all in the dark and can only speculate.
As parents, they suck. If they were devoted and took proper responsibility then Madeleine would be alive and well today.
October 1st, 2007 at 3:08 am
Miss Match - many thanks for your helpful informed comments.
Everyone - the best photos I’ve seen of ‘the crimescene’ are at:
http://gazetadigitalmadeleinecase.blogspot.com/2007/05/some-pictures-from-praia-da-luz-crime.html
A small body could easily have been taken from the kids’ bedroom window to a car parked a couple of metres away in a few seconds, with nobody noticing.
Given the alleged blood splatter on the windowsill, and blood on the curtains of the kids’ room, I think the ‘adverse drug reaction followed by failed emergency intervention’, and the complicity of O’Brien because he was responsible for the drug, is the most likely scenario.
Falling down the steps doesn’t really make sense. Mainly because it would be crazy to cover it up, risking long jail sentences for the McCanns and accomplices, when it could be passed off as a ‘mere’ tragic accident.
But it’s time for bed. I don’t need any sedation because it’s far too late already.
Goodnight.
October 1st, 2007 at 3:03 am
992 - Kate
What anyone else does with their kids - whether they regret it or not makes no difference to Madeleine McCann does it?
This story and debate is about Gerry & Kate McCann and their being suspects in the disappearance of their first born. That’s what we’re trying to debate…
October 1st, 2007 at 3:02 am
985 Stevo - I agree with you that the stair scenario just does not seem plausible. I cannot think of a scenario that would cover all the supposed evidence available - the loyalty of the O’Brien’s in covering up for the McCanns to the point of risking their careers and reputations, blood splatter on the stairs, in the apartment and on the windowsill, the alleged forensic evidence found in the car and hiding a body that no-one else has been able to find.
If anyone has a theory of what happened which covers those points, I would love to hear it.
This is why, tonight, the abduction theory is starting to sound more credible.
As strange, cold, negligent and unlikeable as the McCanns are, this does not exclude them from having their child abducted. They were negligent in leaving their children alone in an apartment with an unlocked door which set the ball rolling in this tragedy. For that, they should accept responsibility.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:57 am
990 - David Blunket
I don’t know. I have no idea. I don’t know what actually happened so I’m speculating like everyone else. I feel angry by the way the parents have tried to diminish their actions as if it was something anyone would do. I feel confused why they embarked on a HUGE publicity campaign which was/is way out of proportion to any other missing child situation. There’s so many unanswered questions and that’s why it’s a compelling tale.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:55 am
Excuse me, I just got back for an another audience with the poop. The wildly farcical just gets wilder. Why don’t you ease up on the parents. Oops I forgot none of you have have ever done something you regretted.
As I said before…this is likely the perps favorite site for parent bashing. Makes him think it was ok.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:54 am
987 - Andy
My first impression of the apartment they stayed in is that it seems incredibly dour and uninviting. I mean…where’s the open windows so you can see out?
I can actually understand that if the McCanns left the kids in a locked apartment like that - without any means of getting in or out apart from the door, then it was essentially safe from an intruder. But I still hate to think of poor infants alone like that from the safety perspective. I know when my son was 3 I have video of him jumping up and down on his bed like it was a trampoline when we stayed in a hotel. If I’d left him alone and he did that and fell off the bed, he could have injured himself pretty bad. That’s why leaving kids is more of an issue than debating how far away or how often you check on them.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:49 am
983 Stevo. why would they try to cover up an accident in this way, when the worst they could have been charged with is child negligence if they’d come clean at the outset?
October 1st, 2007 at 2:49 am
986 - Miss Match
When you try to put detail in theories other than the abduction theory, it becomes less likely. That’s what’s so frustrating about this case. The evidence seems to be riddled with holes and puts conflicts into all theories - including abduction. But when you analyse some of the theories you tend to hit a brick wall. That’s when I fall back on my theory that I don’t think Madeleine was even there that late afternoon or evening. That theory removes all problems about getting rid of a body etc. because the body wasn’t there to get rid of.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:48 am
984. David Blunkett MP.
You can’t see full stop.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:46 am
982. Stevo.
1. Not sure if that is Mrs Fenn.
2. The window you are talking about is the one around the back (that everyone calls the front!). It’s shown on the aerial shot you posted and in more detail here;
http://bp2.blogger.com/_mXbRBcSh0gs/Rln1O5fs4VI/AAAAAAAAAYo/HsFK6mB5fMw/s1600-h/Crime_Scene01_Signal_Gr.png
3. Assuming that Mrs Fenn, if it is her, was in that night.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:44 am
975 Murder - you make excellent points. The sedation theory, if not the direct cause of death, would remain undetected, hence, no need to hide a body and Madeleine’s death would have been seen as a tragic accident.
The O’Briens being involved in the cover up - As you say, it is unlikely that they would risk their careers to cover up a crime, unless they too were sedating their children with prescription medication and not OTC medication. The sedation theory is very difficult to prove. At the moment, I am wondering if the PJ jumped to conclusions after finding the syringe in the apartment and that the children were not sedated with anything other than over the counter medications, which, as I have said before, whilst unethical, is not a crime and could be easily explained.
The blood spatter - This is where the sedation theory and the physical trauma contradict each other. Possibly, the sedation with OTC medications did not work and Kate McCann lost her temper and inflicted fatal physical trauma to Madeleine. This physical trauma would show at an autopsy.
However, this does not explain why Dr O’Brien would cover up such a terrible crime, risk his career and lie for his friends.
At the moment, abduction is looking possible by process of elimination.
There are the forensics to consider though and we do not know exactly what they are, also the recorded cell phone conversations of the McCanns in the days following Madelein’s disappearance.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:41 am
977 - Miss Match
Again, the more you think about cleaning up blood/evidence etc. the more crazy it seems. By the time you decide to come up with an abduction theory, you’d have bloodstained cleaning implements and loads of evidence against you. Remember - they had no idea the police wouldn’t be so vigilant in sealing it off as a crime scene. For all they knew, the police might have evacuated the family and taped it all off. That’s precisely why I feel 100% sure that it didn’t happen like that. If Madeleine was dead then it was not with a bloody scene IMO.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:39 am
I can’t see the McCanns getting out of this one.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:38 am
981 - zippo
IF the McCanns are guilty of worse than neglecting their kids by leaving them at night, I think they will go down at the same level as the Moors Murderers. People hate any kind of crime against kids and if they are guilty, then trying to cover it up and the way they’re deceiving everyone will leave the nastiest taste.
I remember that with Hindley and Brady, what people hate about them is that they couldn’t even tell the victim’s families where the bodies are buried. If Madeleine was killed by any reason by her parent(s), this will go down as one of the sickest crimes ever.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:34 am
977 - Miss Match
After seeing the great photo supplied by Andy (972), I can’t think the blood on steps thing happened at all. I mean, there’d have to be copious amounts of water and anyone milling around there after 10pm looking for Madeleine would have remember seeing water on a place where you wouldn’t expect any. Of course, I’m assuming it was dry that day/night and water wouldn’t be on those steps under normal circumstances.
A few queries with the photo:
1. Is that Mrs Fenn on the balcony above?
2. Is that the window above the policeman where they said Madeleine couldn’t have been taken from? I’d say it’s way too high.
3. If Madeleine did fall down the steps, the lady above could lean over and see her or anyone helping her. Aside from that, it’s quite secluded because it’s behind that tiny gate.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:33 am
The net is closing on the McCanns and they know it. If found guilty, they will be figures of public hatred for many years to come, especially after deceiving the general public with their media circus. Their book should be worth a fortune though - many times their £600,000 house, so they won’t lose out financially. I often wonder if this is why Gerry has gone so quite after lapping up public attention and haven proven himself a level-headed public speaker from day one. He comes across so professional when required to do a piece to camera - better, in fact than his spokesman.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:32 am
Another variation on the sedation-leading-to-trauma scenario:
Something like a mistake in the dosage of O’Brian’s ‘kiddy knockout drops’ - the O’Brien child saved by induced vomiting, but Maddie succumbing either to the drug or to botched emergency intervention that lead to bleeding.
I mean, if attempts to empty the stomach by induced vomiting failed, what sort of alternative intervention could lead to the alleged bleeding?
October 1st, 2007 at 2:30 am
I’m leaving the mystery for the rest of you! Night!!!
October 1st, 2007 at 2:27 am
As far as cleaning up steps they would be running in and out with containers of water or would need a hose.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:22 am
However, a lot of work to do in a short amount of time. Clean up blood, or attempt to clean it up and make a bad job of it, get timings and stories straight, which they have failed to do, hide a body, change blood stained clothes, possibly hide blood stained clothes.
Would someone in the Tapas bar, possibly a waiter, or another customer, have noticed a clothing change by Kate or whoever was involved. Maybe, maybe not in the chaos which followed. The steps would have been wet following the clean up operation. In the search for Madeleine, wouldn’t this have been noted from footprints of people going up and down the stairs to look for her? Although water would dry fairly quickly in the Summer, this was early May, the nights were not too warm and there was no direct sunlight on the clean up water to dry it quickly. Just my rambling thoughts!
October 1st, 2007 at 2:18 am
I am assuming it was dark and even with an outdoor light - visibility could still be poor.
I suppose it’s rather easy to kill yourself falling down stairs with out much blood spew (tell that one to Mike Petersen)
What happened to that child!??!!!
October 1st, 2007 at 2:18 am
Miss Match:
Many thanks for that - the parents have I think now admitted using a syringe (without needle) for oral administration of calpol. Perhaps toxicology results on the hair found in the boot of the car will clarify the ’sedation plus emergency intervention causing bleeding’ scenario.
If trauma alone was enough to explain death, and could be disguised as an accident, then presumably any sedation wouldn’t be detected, and there would be no need to dispose of the body. In what circumstances would, say, accidental death of a sedated child falling down the steps to the apartment lead to detection of sedation?
I suppose another combination of sedation and trauma that might make an autopsy undesirable would be sedation that didn’t work on 3 May, leading to violent frustration. But strangulation wouldn’t produce bleeding, would it? And something like a blow causing a fall and bleeding could presumably be disguised as an accident. Again, if the trauma alone were enough to explain death, and could be disguised as an accident, why worry about discovery of abusive sedation?
Then of course there are things like injury by a kitchen knife - that would obviously not look good and would be difficult to disguise as an unfortunate accident. But on such a ‘purely violent’ scenario it’s difficult to explain the apparent complicity of the other couple that didn’t feel the need for babysitting or baby monitors (and who had a car that could have been parked outside the kids’ bedroom window on the evening of 3 May, and who stayed on with the McCanns after 3 May and had the use of the McCanns’ own rental car while the McCanns were away with the press on their European tour in early June).
Why would the O’Briens risk 10 years in jail, loss of jobs and children, even to help good friends, on that sort of scenario?
October 1st, 2007 at 2:18 am
Re. 972.
Ok not the best but the one that gives the best idea of location.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:17 am
The only reason I can think of for covering up a head injury from falling down stairs, which if part of her skull had broken away, would result in copious blood loss, is if as Stevo’s mother says, according to a person in the bar, that they did not check the children at all that night, and when they found Madeleine, it was obvious that she had been dead for possibly two hours.
That scenario, I can definitely see being covered up to limit damage control.
Good night Firestar.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:16 am
http://www.guardian.co.uk/gallery/2007/may/15/1?picture=329854850
This is the best picture of the steps I have been able to find.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:11 am
970 - DeeDeeDee
I’d say so. In fact that’s one reason why I don’t think there was much blood if any on the steps. Blood isn’t like water. It can’t be cleaned off very easily and it gets everywhere. 9 boozy Brits at the Tapas are highly unlikely to have cleaned up blood then called the cops at 10:14pm.
I think it was in the dark. Look at the back of the apartment on this aerial shot. It has a road without street lights by the look of it.
http://tinyurl.com/359xgy