Madeleine McCann: ‘Bad Dad’ Gerry McCann, The Psychic Barber And Drugs
MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann.
DAILY EXPRESS front page: “Madeleine was drugged but it was by kidnapper says her grandmother.”
Page 9: “Madeleine’s family: She was drugged…but not by parents.”
Eileen McCann, Gerry’s mother – says: “I really believe they [whoever took her] gave her a drug. There is no way they carried her out of there without her waking. If she was taken when she was sleeping by somebody she did not know, she would have screamed the place down.”
Alternatively, she was taken by someone she did know? Or Mrs McCann is just speculating.
“’BAD DAD’ GERRY” – Carlos Anjos, head of the Portuguese Police Federation, says Gerry, “a heart consultant”, is a “negligent father”. This is his “astonishing rant”.
THE SUN front page: “Mystics hunt for Maddie.”
Around 150 leads provided by mystics have been followed up.
Page 6: “ASK PSYCHIC BARBER TO HELP FIND MADDIE” – Clairvoyant Gordon Smith has been contacted by the family. Smith hosts TV’s Most Haunted show. He says he can tell if Madeleine is alive or dead. Mick is nicknamed “THE PSYCHIC BARBER”.
DAILY MIRROR front page: “McCANNS: SHE WAS DRUGGED.”
Page 5: “‘Madeleine must have been drugged..she would have screamed place down’” – GRANDMOTHER EILEEN McCANN YESTERDAY.”
“Couple call on psychic to help” – Ex-hairdresser Smith is a “wacky medium”.
Says he: “In order for it to work I need to sit with the closest relatives who would be the parents. Then I’d tune in and see what I can pick up. But I would always warn them that there’s a possibility nothing might happen.”
Best to warn them of that first…
DAILY MAIL page 5: “Now police leader mocks ‘negligent’ Gerry McCann over his fears that an abductor was in Maddie’s room.”
“Call for the ‘psychic barber’” – “Despite both being strict Roman Catholics, the couple have already made contact” with Gordon Smith.
DAILY STAR front page: “MADDIE I’LL FIND BODY IN DAYS. Parents call in psychic.”
Page 7: “MADDIE’S PARENTS CALL FOR PSYCHIC BARBER” – “I have offered my help for free,” says Smith. “I never charge for private readings. I have already assured them I will say nothing to the press.” Indeed, not. Best save it for the book.
DAILY TELEGRAPH page 15: “Police chief accuses McCanns of hindering inquiry” – Carlos Anjos accuses McCanns of using “diversion tactics”.
THE TIMES page 27: “McCanns ‘considering psychic help’”
THE GUARDIAN no Maddie new today.
Madeleine McCann: A Life In Headlines
Posted: 2nd, October 2007 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (1,268) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
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October 2nd, 2007 at 4:31 pm
414 - sunny
No I’m not lying. I’m telling the 100% truth. I looked at yesterday’s postings and found this from you:
“Hey Stevo a post from Helen, France in the Daily Mail. She could not have said it better.
… It’s perfectly apparent that Gerry McCann’s theory about an abductor being in the room when he went to check on Madeleine is the sort of thing…..
So Stevo I guess your reading skills are not up to scratch because I think everyone can agree that Gerry McCann was merely indicating that, in hindsight, one theory might be that an intruder was there when he entered to check on the children.”
See - I told the truth and you are the liar.
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:30 pm
420,
no I am referring to the other Anonymous whose username is just Anonymous.
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:28 pm
416,
okay folks - what if it’s true that the pj really asked other police forces to investigate the background of those claiming to have seen Madeleine in Morocco.
They are not asking Interpol to investigate these people’s backgrounds, they are asking Interpol to interview them regarding the sightings. These is 2 very different things. I really doubt these people are all fraudsters and need to have their backgrounds checked.
And I agree following up on a sighting is important and should always be done, but why are they asking for this now when they are supposedly 100% certain the McCanns killed their daughter. And if Interpol also thought the McCanns were guilty I really doubt they would waste their time with these interviews. They are an international police force with a lot of work and very little time on their hands.
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:28 pm
412 Harry Hind Sight
I still think you’re saying ’show us the body’
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Brunt is a journalist? I thought he created pro-Mcann programming and worked for Clarence?
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Hey Sonny (sic)
When you say Anonymous are you reffering to me?
I tend to link Hitchen and the Mirror forum, sometimes Reis…but I usually put QUOTE/UNQUOTE if I’m copying and pasting.
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:24 pm
Reis was commenting that the PJ sent for information on the people who reported seeing Madeleine. It could be that they feel there may be some collusion with suspects.
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:21 pm
417,
you seem to accept most other “sources close to the investigation say” without knowing names. Names of sources are rarely given if ever. Martin Brunt is a journalist just like Paulo Reis. Lets just wait and see if other papers pick up on the story.
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:19 pm
409 - Sunny
I know that site very well. All I’m saying is that the story you linked to did not have any verification on it. When Martin Brunt told the world the police said the DNA was a 100% match, you knew who said it and where he heard it from.
The link you gave says the PJ contacted Interpol but it doesn’t say who is saying it. Is it Paulo Reis saying it? Who can tell?
I scrutinise evidence before I accept it. It’s not like it says the story came from a particular newspaper or source is it? That’s my point.
And yes, Reis seems to present lots of valuable information. Like the photos of the complex - he put them out before many other papers did.
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:18 pm
okay folks - what if it’s true that the pj really asked other police forces to investigate the background of those claiming to have seen Madeleine in Morocco.
What’s the problem with that? Surely the McCanns should applaud that - for all they know might be someone trying to get a share of the reward in any future capture of an abductor in Morocco. They should only get worried if Clarence has been paying out someone to send weird e-mails to Charles or make false statements.
This really is irrelevant information. More relevant is that she’s still missing, we still have no body, and we have an awful lot of odd behaviours, reactions and information deliberately fed to the media by the McCanns that does not in anyway help the investigation.
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:18 pm
How did forensic evidence turn the McCann family into official police suspects?
Kate and Gerry McCann became suspects in the death of their daughter at the end of last month, as Portuguese police began receiving the results of tests on evidence collected during a review of their investigation.
Tests are continuing on a mass of material gathered at the Ocean Club resort from where Madeleine disappeared, other properties in the area and vehicles used by the couple and other people connected with the case.
Experts at the headquarters of the Forensic Science Service (FSS) in Birmingham, which is carrying out the tests on behalf of the Portuguese authorities, believe they have already discovered significant new evidence.
Madeleine McCann: the key questions
Why are the “Tapas 9″ key to solving the Madeleine mystery?
Why has it taken so long to find the evidence that could implicate Kate and Gerry McCann?
The material was only collected at the end of July and early August in a review of the investigation carried out by Portuguese detectives with the help of British police and two sniffer dogs. Many of the samples are very small, containing just a few cells, while others are of poor quality because of damage by cleaning or simply the passing of time.
A full report of the findings will not be ready for weeks, but many results have already been passed to the Portuguese authorities.
What evidence were police looking for?
Detectives are searching for any evidence that proves Madeleine is dead or contradicts the accounts of Mr and Mrs McCann and other witnesses.
What is the most important new evidence?
It appears the Forensic Science Service believes it has discovered compelling new evidence, possibly from more than one source. Portuguese detectives told Mrs McCann repeatedly that they found traces of Madeleine’s blood in a Renault Scenic hired three weeks after she disappeared, suggesting that the missing girl’s parents used the vehicle to carry her body. It is possible to tell if the blood came from a living person or from a corpse, and even the time of death. However, some reports suggest that the quality of the blood sample was too poor to confirm the origin while others have denied any blood was found in the vehicle and claim it was other “bodily fluids”. Unless a body had been placed in a freezer, it would have badly decomposed during the warm weather; leaving a mass of traces invisible to the human eye.
Does any trace of Madeleine in the hire car prove she was killed?
No. Mr and Mrs McCann hired the car to buy new clothes in the town of Portimão a day before they flew to Rome to see Pope Benedict XVI. They then used it regularly for family outings and to collect friends and relatives from Faro airport. They continued using the car until shortly before flying home yesterday. Kate and Gerry and their two-year-old twins would have often carried in the car items used by Madeleine. These items could easily certainly carry Madeleine’s hair and minute traces of skin, dried blood, saliva and vomit. The same could be said of the holiday apartments used by the McCanns and their friends in the Ocean Club resort. However, if the blood came from Madeleine’s corpse the only other highly unlikely explanation would be that a previous hirer had moved the body.
One report suggested yesterday that Madeleine’s DNA had been found on the floor of the McCanns holiday apartment, but because of degredation it was based on an incomplete picture, with only 15 of the 20 genetic markers usually used for such analysis.
What about the discoveries of the “cadaver” sniffer dog?
Mr and Mrs McCann were shown a police video of a sniffer dog used to find corpses “going crazy” when it approached the hire car. Reports also claim that is discovered the scent on the vehicle’s key fob. Mrs McCann is reported to have explained that in her work as locum GP she came into contact with six corpses in the weeks leading up to Algarve holiday.
This seems a high number for a locum GP working just a couple of days a week but would be easy to check against surgery records.
The crucial difficulty with the sniffer dog “evidence” is that it cannot distinguish between corpses. This type of dog is trained to find bodies, not identify where dead bodies have been. Crucially, they can become excited by other scents.
Any evidence of Madeleine’s death on Cuddle Cat?
The cadaver dog is alleged to have become excited when shown Madeleine’s favourite soft pink toy, called Cuddle Cat. The cat had become poignant symbol of a mother’s loss as Kate McCann carried it with her at all time from the night of Madeleine’s disappearance.
She washed it four days after the police tests, claiming it had become dirty. The toy was potentially crucial evidence and should have been seized by police very early in the investigation.
What evidence can be found in Mrs McCann’s Bible?
Mrs McCann, a devout Roman Catholic, claims that police told her that a crumpled page in her Bible was evidence that she was involved in the death of her daughter. The page contained a passage from Samuel II, chapter 12, verses 15-19, which recalls how man’s child is stricken with illness after he “scorns” the Lord.
The man fasts for seven days, refusing to get up off the ground, to try to gain redemption — but eventually his child dies. Mrs McCann claims that detectives told her that damage to the page proved she had been reading it.
Why are the McCanns suspects in their daughter’s killing?
Portuguese police refuse to say why the couple have been made official suspects. Under Portuguese law police can not question someone as if they had committed a crime unless they are a “suspect”. It could simply be that police wanted to ask the couple about the evidence they had collected, and that the seriousness of the process has been misunderstood and exaggerated by cultural and language differences. The McCanns believed that they were about to be charged with Madeleine’s death, but it does not appear police disclosed any crucial evidence to them
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:17 pm
405,
you are actually lying because I have not linked to any other blogs eve. I have not been on here long enough to have a history of doing that. Like I said Anonymous and many others know of Paulo Reis, a portuguese journalist. I base my opinions on logic. Stevo you spend too much time trying to tell others they are wrong.
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:16 pm
406 “Victims Unite”
Still, I wouldn’t turn the debate towards McCann discipline techniques if I were you….you don’t know where we’ll end up.
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:16 pm
397 I just mean that I believe the parents, the Doctors McCann - they say she was abducted- why should I not believe them, where is the evidence to the contrary? Not very exciting I grant you, but there it is.
I know you all say that you can read body language and identify deviations from normal behaviour. If that is so, then, I have discovered what is wrong with the countery - all of gifted and talented are on Anorak rather than running the country
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:15 pm
I have skim read some of the posts which have been added since I went off to do the work I am actually paid to do - yes, I have a job which doesn’t involve coming on here and posting
I think Stevo’s post *****378***** well hold the truth of what happened on that fateful night.
If it isn’t what happened, then his theory is no worse than any other, with organ donor to order being the worst thing.
I thought that this forum was quite sensible, and it was at one point, but now it seems to have attracted the worst sort of lunatic (NOT the regulars, though sometimes I wonder about firestarter
) who clearly are part of a care-in-the-community-gone-wrong project.
Those of who recognise yourselves as being part of said project will, no doubt, shoot me down for being nasty, and it’s not often that I say horrid things about the posters on here, but oh my God, organ donor???
Come on people!!
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:14 pm
351 Rosemary and 359 Hulk
I think it is possible that Madeleine had a fatal fall down the steps and either died immediately, or as Rosemary suggests, later as a result of complications. The second theory if proven would be the less sinister for the parents’ involvement and subsequent cover-up.
Didn’t the dogs trail the ’scent of death’ through the resort to the edge of a parking lot?
Couldn’t the blood evidence on the stairs be a result of just a minor accident with Maddie falling and not connected to the fatal event at all? We saw footage of Maddie climbing the airplane steps, without anyone holding her hand to support or steady her for safety, and she stumbled. Could it not be possible that her mother/both parents would, in their infinite parental wisdom, have allowed Maddie to likewise climb and descend the steps to the apartment without their assistance as their hands were full with the twins?
Perhaps the fatal accident or manslaughter occurred inside the apartment. The scent of death within the apartment and then trailing down the steps could then be explained without a fall down the steps being the cause of the death. From what I understand, the scent of death can be picked up from the air–the corpse would not have to have ever touched the ground–is that what you’ve read?
Also the evidence of cleaned up blood spatters in the apartment might or might not be related to a fatal accident, although both dogs responding to the same areas indicates that it probably does. Perhaps Maddie did have a nose bleed, due to parental physical assault, but that was not what killed here.
Even with the blood evidence, it still could be possible that the death could be due to oversedation. As I said, with my very limited forensic knowledge–okay, none, perhaps the blood could be a result of earlier accident(s) or injury.
I think in trying to connect all the dots, we forget that solving this puzzle may not require all of the possible pieces suggested to be used.
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:14 pm
402, Stevo
Paulo Reis is a Portuguese journalist who is reporting on the Madeleine McCann case from this very site . Your friend Anonymous seems to adore for Paulo Reis for all his unbiased reporting. The same info is on the SOS Madeleine site at http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/
Why are you trying so hard to dispute it? You should be glad that they want to follow up on any possible sightings.
————————
Mods and Admin
As far as I can verify he has posted once on this site. Many people have posted links to his site on here, which is not the same thing.
Please be more accurate with your statements
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Mods and Admin
Any chance of redesigning your form on this page so it verifies the name and mail fields do not allow multiple names against the same email entry?
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:13 pm
406
chilling
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Hi Maura. Come and sit on the naughty step with me. We can await our McCann payments together….
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:10 pm
401 - Sunny
Linking to blogs without any verification isn’t definitive and I’d not use something like this to spread news to people. I notice you do this a lot and then you form opinions on news you don’t know is real or not.
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Sorry, that should have started “Jolie & Hulk:”
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Interplod will not be doing any interviewing - interplod is not a police force as such - it is more of a liaision arrangment between national police forces what what.
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:09 pm
396 - Sunny
Not wishing to be pedantic, that link is a link to a blog edited by Paulo Reis.
It says…
“Polícia Judiciária sent a formal request to Interpol, asking police from several countries (Spain, Malta, Belgium, UK and Morocco) to investigate a specific list of names. Those are names from people that claimed they saw Madeleine McCann, since August 11, when the PJ spokesman, Mr. Olegário de Sousa, told to BBC that Police had a new line of inquiry and that line admitted Madeleine McCann was dead.”
Who is saying this? Who knows that the PJ sent that request. This isn’t evidence that they have sent anything. It’s a comment on a blogsite.
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:07 pm
394,
I really doubt the PJ would have the cheek to ask Interpol to waste its resources chasing up false witnesses just to prove a point. Sounds to me they are getting a bit worried that they hadn’t bothered in the first place.
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:06 pm
394 Hulk
“SNAP”!
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:05 pm
389 - FeketeP
That’s exactly why people should be more reserved and ‘normal’. Getting famous celebrities involved in the search….wait…there’s the problem. As I typed that last sentence I realised that those celebrities are not involved in the search. They’re just icons in the spotlight. Branson, Rowling or Beckham haven’t got off their backsides to go search for Madeleine at all. Money doesn’t find you a missing girl. Evidently the reward hasn’t worked either. That’s because you don’t find something - anything…by enlisting wealthy people.
Don’t you think someone would have found Lord Lucan or Suzy Lamplugh by now if that was true?
Wealth does not help in this one iota.
It’s a pity more shoe leather courtesy of Shanks’ Pony wasn’t used.
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:05 pm
384 Sunny
Probably because they think it was a con, and they want to establish whether;
a) this is someone who’s looking for their 15 minutes of fame, or
b) this was a more cynical manipulation of the media by someone who is trying to obscure the course of justice (criminal offence I believe).
Then again, perhaps they are just trying to get damages for that poor Moroccan family that was harassed by the the international media after someone released the photo to all and sundry…..
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:04 pm
387 Harry Hindsight
do you mean ’show us the body’?
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:04 pm
390,
http://gazetadigital.blogspot.com and it is also the current article on the SOS Madeleine sight.