Madeleine McCann: The First Robert Murat, McCanns’ Neglect Charge And Old Portugal
MADDIE WATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann
SUNDAY PEOPLE: “MCCANNS FACE NEW CHARGE
EXCLUSIVE SCANDAL OF PLAN TO CHARGE MADDIE MUM ‘KEYSTONE COP’ FURY”
A shock new plan to charge Kate McCann over daughter Maddie’s kidnap was last night condemned as “spiteful and shameful”. British legal experts branded bungling Portuguese detectives “Keystone Cops” for considering neglect charges.
But are these comedy cops the only ones who think the McCanns erred?
One lawyer said: “After an inquiry costing millions and unprecedented international help, these Keystone Cops still haven’t got a clue what happened to Madeleine. The investigation was a mess from Day One.”
Says McCanns’ spokesman Clarence Mitchell: “We haven’t heard through official channels if they are considering this charge. But you’d have to ask yourself, ‘Why now?’”
Or why not now?
MAIL ON SUNDAY: “Madeleine special investigation: The damning case against the Portuguese police - and how Kate and Gerry are coping one year on”
At the holiday home where Madeleine was last seen:
The apartment gate was padlocked, but in the little paved front yard, a purple hibiscus and some dusty geraniums were coming into bloom. The Algarve spring is finally coming.”
Such are the facts in this special investigation.
“It’s a new season,” said a British woman who works in a local restaurant. “It’s tragic they haven’t found Maddie. But the time has come to move on.”
Moving on:
Of course, moving on is one thing Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry, cannot do. They remain arguidos, official suspects, - as does Robert Murat, a British expat living in Praia da Luz who has strenuously protested his innocence - still supposedly being investigated on the grounds that they may have caused her death or disappearance.
“Intellectually, they have grasped what has happened,” said Gerry’s elder brother, John. “Emotionally, they have learnt, to an extent, to cope: one’s psychology adapts. But they haven’t really come to terms with it. There are times when they can seem cheerful, but then the devastation bursts through. Madeleine’s disappearance is a cataclysm that is horrendous for them, and horrendous for all of us close to them.”
“It’s an intense, full-on existence for both of them,” said the McCanns’ spokesman, Clarence Mitchell. “Gerry is back at work [as a cardiologist] full-time, but when he gets home the campaign to find Madeleine is like having a second job.”
And what of Portugal, Britain’s oldest ally?
“You have to remember: until 1974 Portugal was a dictatorship,” said a veteran Algarve journalist, who asked not to be named. “That was the climate in which the PJ was created. Their methods were pretty rough.”
Rough?
Brutal treatment of suspects was routine. One expatriate British woman told me how a friend of her mother had been arrested in the late Eighties on suspicion of breaking and entering a house - only to be savagely beaten in custody.
“She was bruised all over her body. Of course, the police said they hadn’t done anything, and were never called to account,” the woman said.
Rough. Very rough:
“This is Heartbeat country,” another expat said.
Heartbeat, Why do you miss when my baby kisses me? Greengrass - take him to the ‘pit’
“People talk to the police, and so often they think they know who’s guilty, but can’t prove it. So they make an arrest and turn up the pressure in the hope of getting a confession.”
Portugal. A place of rare dangers:
Thirty miles east of Praia da Luz lies the resort of Albufeira, where a collection of clifftop villas known as Val Novio was once a thriving development, favoured by British expats. Now largely abandoned, it was there, on November 19, 1990, that Rachel Charles, aged nine, went missing.
Neil McKay, a Bafta-winning TV scriptwriter who has specialised in factual dramas about crime, was on holiday nearby with his father at the time. “We were sitting in a bar having a beer one evening,” he recalled.
“This English guy came in, saying a little girl had disappeared two days earlier but the police were refusing to mount a proper search. He said her family wanted every British tourist or expat to meet on the beach at seven next morning to try to find her.
“So we went. There must have been more than 200 of us. Tragically, it didn’t take long to find her body, hidden among some pines.”
Those Portuguese police:
Len Port, now an Algarve publisher who covered the case for The Portugal News, said: “The police search was highly inefficient, as, frankly, was everything else about the case. The way the police handled it was desperately amateurish - and ultimately, a travesty of justice.”
Just as they would later do with the McCanns, the PJ soon hit on a suspect who knew the victim and her family. But according to Port, who attended his trial, it had “no real evidence. It was an unjust trial”.
Robert Murat:
The defendant was Michael Cook, a British expat businessman who had taken part in the search, and in 1992 he was convicted and sentenced to 19 years. Having protested his innocence, he was released in 2002. Last week, he told of his ordeal for the first time.
“This has ruined my life,” he said. “I still carry the scars from the six times I was stabbed in prison; as for the times I had the s*** kicked out of me, I long ago lost count.”
Posted: 20th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (1,270) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
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April 21st, 2008 at 9:29 am
1142
the watcher
It has been like this since day one but the PJ has not been disturbed by it at all.They have reacted when necessary,cruising firm and nice,like recently
April 21st, 2008 at 9:28 am
the watcher - I just hope that the PJ know that the likes of Clarrie do not speak for the UK nation as a whole. The PJ have a very difficult job to do, especially when they are trying to determine the fate of a foreign child with no help from the people involved. if anythig the people involved are being as unhelpful as they can possibly be.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:27 am
1136
SteveT Says:
April 21st, 2008 at 9:17 am
It would be nice to know if all interviewing in the UK is finished or still ongoing.
******************
Hi SteveT
Yes it would be “nice” .wink:
I dont really understand why the PJ shortened its visit anyhow….because of the Famous Leak? I dont find it is a reason good enough,hence we can presume nobody is being interrogated right now IMO
April 21st, 2008 at 9:26 am
1128 Salomon ES Says:
” From the article it sounds like the PJ are only pursuing the theory that Madeleine was left alone in the apartment. Eventually that she died accidentally in the apartment and eventually there was a cover-up. ”
From all what we know, how could it be proven that an accident occured while the children were left alone?
Accidents like falling from the stairs or from the sofa can happen while the parents are nearby. Remember that a parent has only two eyes and two hands, but has to watch and to protect three children (in this case).
So as long as the police doesn’t know how an accident happened, and when in happened, there is little proof for negligent behavier.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:25 am
Just_me
I don’t know that it is only on line. I am not even sure if it is Spanish, though I think so. I would trust a Portuguese paper or El Mundo more.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:24 am
jo
i just want to agree 100% with you that the newspapers are presenting the pj as idiots.
this is nothing more than xenophobia and racist.
something the uk prides itself in.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:23 am
SteveT - not bad thanks
I still dont know dor sure if the PJ returned to Portugal early from the questioning do you? if they did, they either had enough evidence to take back, or left the UK police to finish the questioning, or they were getting nowhere with the questioning due to it being volountary and nobody was prepared to answer questions…i dont know.
Solomon ES - I understand what you are saying, thanks for that. One point though, If M was already dead on the night of the 2nd or before they went to dinner on the 3rd, there is no possible way they will be charged for the neglect is there, I mean can you neglect or abandon a dead child? it really is homicide or negligence, clear cut.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:21 am
What we call here “Homicide par imprudence” will never get you ten years. And it means you have forensic proof that the person is dead. Negligence would get you a heavier sentence, maybe without the need for proof that the child died.
Anyway, it is only rumour.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:20 am
I think perhaps the pj while in the uk saw that Karen Mathews had been arrested for neglect and wondered why the McCanns had not.
a question i ask myself often.
why?
money is the answer
the poor are demonised while the wealthy are treated in a completely different way.
because of the class system in the uk the poor are always treated as guilty while the wealthy are treated with sympathy.
look at Jeffrey archer - convicted of perjury - a liar and a cheat - sleeping with prostitutes the list goes on. however he is still a celebrity and still very rich.
I do not think Karen Mathews will enjoy the same love from the public.
because she is an ordinary person with no money.
it stinks
April 21st, 2008 at 9:19 am
Just me that is not the clear cut case, if there was, as is claimed a collective monitoring system agreed by members of the group, that in itself is enough to make the prosecutor think twice.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:17 am
1128
Salomon
The PJ will not bring charges ONLY of neglect because the “mystery” remains whole: where is Madeleine”s body if she died in the Apt?Who “helped” removing her?
It seems the article is just an other spin. Like the one yesterday which was in the same line with additional xenophobic and slagging of the PJ BIG time
Sometimes I think the PJ is after something much bigger than that,much bigger.When they strike they will do so and very hard
April 21st, 2008 at 9:17 am
1121
Just_me
OK thanks, and you? It would be nice to know if all interviewing in the UK is finished or still ongoing.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:16 am
Marie Nicholas - sorry for sounding stupid here, but is 24Horas online only?
April 21st, 2008 at 9:16 am
Just me 1129
I find the negligence charges incompatible with involuntary homicide. Why? because negligence (abandonment) that resulted in the “death or serious harm (eg abduction)” of the child are based on the assumption that the children were left alone. The involuntary homicide theory is based on someone’s direct action causing death (eg a slap or other unmeasured act of violence). Therefore it indicates the presence of someone with Madeleine in the room when she died. Either involuntary homicide or negligence / abandonment could be cumulated with charges for wasting police time and obstructing justice. But they are not cumulative with each other (only my opinion).
Can someone else face charges for the same crime? IMO that will not be the case (although technically you could possibly envisage negligence / abandonment charges against other T7 who have allegedly left their children unattended). My opinion is based on the fact that some of them seem to have had their listening devices (which would support the argument that they were monitoring the children), and most importantly because there is no evidence that their behaviour resulted in serious harm or indeed death of the other children.
Finally, I am always sceptical about articles that come out on Sunday in the UK and are reproduced on Monday in Portugal. Could be lazy-journalism… but in this case I’m convinced it’s just deliberate misinformation to serve the interests of the McCanns.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:15 am
Why would 24 Horas relay the spin?
April 21st, 2008 at 9:15 am
1128 Salomon ES
I find this a very interesting theory, that the Tapas 7 could be given a free pass if the charges against Kate and possibly Gerry were to be for gross negligence. However would it not be possible for them to be charged with negligence as well as they all admit to leaving their children alone in their respected rooms?
April 21st, 2008 at 9:14 am
1130 - but the abandonment resulted in the loss of a child, thererfore they guilty no matter how you look at it. Their actions resulted in the fate of M. OK they have no body to prove M is dead…yet….and maybe they never will have, but negligence is a crime that is punishable.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:09 am
Possible 3-10 years for abandonment resulting in death of the abandoned, Portuguese law.
The prosecutor has already refused to sanction a warrant, as requested by Amaral to arrest KM for the above, and the reason why he refused the warrant is more than obvious.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:07 am
Solomon ES -
If there is a negligence charge against the McCanns, would that mean that the T7 could also face charges for the same crime? Why isnt there a line of enquiry for this?
I think the article is McCann spin, after all they want to play on the heartstrings of the blind faithers.
April 21st, 2008 at 8:59 am
Any opinions on the article this morning from 24 Horas?
The newspaper claims that the Public Prosecution already have enough evidence to bring charges against the McCanns for gross negligence. If convicted they could end up with 10 years in prison. Concludes: the proseuctor will be bringing charges in July only.
How credible is this article? In my opinion this article is not credible. It can either be innocent journalistic speculation - or it could be McCann spin.
Let us start with the reference to 10 years in prison possible sentence as a result of negligence charges. I find that difficult to imagine for a crime of gross negligence under the current Portuguese criminal code. IMO this is inaccurate.
Last Friday we discussedwhat would be the legal framework involved in pursuing negligence charges - as opposed to pursuing involuntary homicide charges. From the article it sounds like the PJ are only pursuing the theory that Madeleine was left alone in the apartment. Eventually that she died accidentally in the apartment and eventually there was a cover-up.
Implicitly, this article rules out the involuntary homicide theory (which would be based on 1 or more people’s actions causing Madeleine’s death in the apartment). In my opinon this is - at this stage - the main line of the inquiry (as opposed to the theory that Madeleine died when she was alone in the apartment).
Why does the involuntary homicide vs gross negligence make such a difference?
For the arguidos it makes little difference which charges would eventually be laid against them. If they are charged and convicted then it’ll be a difference of how many years in prison they’ll serve (between negligence and involuntary homicide).
Now… for those that assisted a cover-up… or let’s call them the T7… the penal differences between assisting to cover-up gross negligence (possibly little if any consequences) would be significantly different from assisting to cover-up homicide…
IMO what the 24 Horas wants us to believe is that the T7 are in the clear - because the PJ cannot substantiate homicide, and therefore the prosecution will only be able to press charges for gross negligence (leading to serious harm of the child). But is that really what is happening? IMO it’s not.
April 21st, 2008 at 8:43 am
1126
Just_me Says:
April 21st, 2008 at 8:40 am
back in a while
*******
Hi Just
I am gone as well
Next time there are news OMG,I dont even want to think about it….
Bye xx
April 21st, 2008 at 8:40 am
back in a while
April 21st, 2008 at 8:36 am
morning jo
April 21st, 2008 at 8:35 am
Morning Meerrycat and all
Same nappy on?
No new thread? Where is clarrie?
April 21st, 2008 at 8:29 am
1116
Yup. Good ole diet and exercise. Works every time.
April 21st, 2008 at 8:29 am
lol Karen - great advise
see ya
April 21st, 2008 at 8:28 am
morning SteveT - how are you?
April 21st, 2008 at 8:27 am
Before I leave.
If you are asthmatic - don’t chuck the drugs out - just in case….
Bye,
April 21st, 2008 at 8:27 am
Good morning.
April 21st, 2008 at 8:27 am
karen - absolutely true exercise is the best preventiona and cure