McGuckin In McCann Peril: Foreign Crimes In Foreign Climes
BRITONS planning trips to the new Portugal should go equipped with a loud hailer, a private detective and nothing too shiny. If on a driving holiday, ensure the boot can be opened from within.
Listen to the tale told by Eamon and Antionette McGuckin, who found their three children in the care of the Portuguese – and what irony there, readers – after they were attacked by a “Rohypnol gang”.
One would imagine that given the paralysing powers of the so-called date rape drug, the Rohypnol Gang are not much cop at ganging, preferring to lie down and wait their victim to trip over them. It would help if the victims were drunk.
But this gang is armed with the drug and slipping it into the “small jug” of sangria the McGuckins were quaffing, sipping, even. (Although the Mirror’s Sue Carroll sees the “dog tired, hot and thirsty” couple taking beer – mucky foreign beer.)
Says a friend of the family, namely a Dr Cyril Harkin: “Neither of them are big drinkers. They have tried to understand what happened and have linked the sangria with the sudden decline in their health. They believe they were drugged by someone trying to rob them.”
The GP puts the tin lid on the matter by saying: “The Portuguese authorities are paranoid after the Madeleine McCann case.”
We are not anti-foreigner, and are quite confident that if the entire peoples of continental Europe were placed in a cell we could find a dozen for a game of cricket and a scorer, but can only conclude that the vast mojortity Portuguese are the scum of the Earth and in need of hanging…
Posted: 7th, May 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann, Tabloids Comments (448) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
May 7th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Carmen,
I don’t know what is happening with my e-mail. I’ll check. Thank you.
I’ll send you an e-mail and see if it gets to you.
May 7th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
AgendaWide, that is the problem with people who have a wide agenda, they are always at sixes and sevenses, unable to ride their own bike, always in need of stabilisers or Valium, there will be no convictions.
May 7th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
252 Marie Nicholas Says:
” Ferdinand
“That sounds a bit bureaucratic and chaotic, but that’s just how we all know and how we like those mediterranians. ”
——–
That sounds very smug. It is reeking of condescendance. ”
As I said - there is nothing wrong with it up to Saturday noon. I understand that the parents spent the night in hospital, and then they spent the forenoon to get their children back. That’s all a bit exhausiting, but on Saturday noon they might have thought “Finally our holiday can now start.”
But that was an error of judgement.
May 7th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
256
brandon flours Says:
May 7th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
It seems they are nowhere near giving up though
——————————————–
I don’t think they will ever give up.
The one that got away niggles at the soul of an investigator; you don’t ever forget it.
On the other hand, the appointment of an experienced investigator as the head of the PJ does, paradoxically, make it easier for investigators to accept that, for the moment, nothing solid can be done.
The only thing that niggles worse than the one that got away is having a non-investigator making decisions about investigations…
May 7th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
260
Marie Nicholas Says:
May 7th, 2008 at 5:10 pm e
*********************
Marie,
I have tried several times today to reply to your e-mail - but your ISP keeps returning them as Spam!!!! I’ve tried from several different acounts, so perhaps have a word with your ISP? and I’ll try again tomorrow.
May 7th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
night everyone !
May 7th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
scarlett
I think it was the sheets that held her body in the car, not the actual corpse
May 7th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Ferdiand
You constantly appear as wanting to find fault with the Mediterraneans, not thinking them worthy of being trusted, versus the civilised people from Northern Europe. I find it terrible. I am not Mediterranean myself, my family is from Lorraine in France, but I live in a Mediterranean part of France, I love the people, whom I find very civilised, with an art of living, and it makes me sick to hear the people who come here, and despise them.
We utterly despise the drunkards.
May 7th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
253 brandon flours
The article mentioned that of course pyramids were funerary and this pyramid house is called the house of grief (dun livin???) I May Google Earth PDL later and look for it - the photos of PDL have seriously improved.
Have to get on with dinner preparation now.
May 7th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
___________________
“In the McCann case, the DNA ‘evidence’ suggested Madeleine’s body had been in a car which the McCanns had not hired until three weeks after their daughter had disappeared and it eventually proved to be useless. ”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/a … ge_id=1770
____________________
Could it have been the PDL roadworks all along??
May 7th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
252 Marie Nicholas
Sounds smug to me too and a change of tactic from yesterday when Ferdinand seemed more keen to distance the two Mccases in Portugal from each other by emphasising that the Comotose 2 (as Brandon calls them) were Irish. Today’s tactic is to see it as yet another example of Portuguese mishandling. Perhaps he met his masters since yesterday?
Ferdinand - all will be forgiven if you confess to what you meant when you said that you regarded yourself as part of the Virtual Tapas Group and that you had made your choice!!! (especially if you said you were broke and the pay was good?)
May 7th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
It seems they are nowhere near giving up though
May 7th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
252
Marie Nicholas Says:
May 7th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Ferdinand
“That sounds a bit bureaucratic and chaotic, but that’s just how we all know and how we like those mediterranians.
——–
That sounds very smug. It is reeking of condescendance.
———————————–
As well as total ignorance of how such an episode would be treated here in the UK…
May 7th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Ok, I’m with you.
Reading that article didn’t provide any startling insights for me.
Push comes to shove the PJ are mortals; they can’t conjure something miraculously from the air.
They can keep on gathering evidence, and they can wait for final forensic reports from the FSS.
On the evidence so far abduction is highly improbable but not completely impossible.
Viewed in the light of Carmen’s comments, however, the abduction scenario is pushed still closer to the impossible end of the spectrum…
May 7th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Agenda
I read it but didnt really know or understand it?
Do you think shes buried there???
May 7th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Ferdinand
“That sounds a bit bureaucratic and chaotic, but that’s just how we all know and how we like those mediterranians.
——–
That sounds very smug. It is reeking of condescendance.
May 7th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
241 brandon flours
I looked at the Enigma story on joana morais’ website was was struck by the reference to the Pyramid house in PDL with a Greek name that translate as house of grief. First I heard of it, have you heard of it before and any ideas why it was mentioned?
May 7th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
see 241
it happened on the annivesary I was away so I missed it
May 7th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
248
brandon flours Says:
May 7th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
—————————-
Sorry about that.
What were we discussing?
May 7th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
May 7th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
is no one interested???
May 7th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
hello ???????????????????
May 7th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
242 Salomon ES Says:
” You find their account of events plausible because you’ve never lived in the Algarve.
Because if you did live in the Algarve and knew anything about how the Portuguese GNR would deal with these cases you’d see that this whole story could have been made up by 12 year old. Sorry mate. Just my opinion take it for what it is. ”
So can you explain where the problem is? I thought that there is not much wrong with the way things were described.
OK. The parents reached the police at 8.30, but didn’t get their children back before 11.30. Also a some point being told they could only see the children in the afternoon. That sounds a bit bureaucratic and chaotic, but that’s just how we all know and how we like those mediterranians. Nothing wrong with it.
It’s only the media appearing at the hotel which makes the story embarrassing.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
music to my ears was that
May 7th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
236 Gandolf says
Ribeiro is no fool, the Politico’s are setting up a career cop to take the flak, when the AG tells him, “find a shelve dear boy”
———————————
Well hopefully José Maria Almeida Rodrigues, his successor ,will be able to say with certainty whether the case is to be placed on the shelf A (for archived) or shelf C (for conviction). Dinnae worry -All that paperwork has to end up on some shelf
May 7th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
238 Ferdinand
You find their account of events plausible because you’ve never lived in the Algarve.
Because if you did live in the Algarve and knew anything about how the Portuguese GNR would deal with these cases you’d see that this whole story could have been made up by 12 year old. Sorry mate. Just my opinion take it for what it is.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Heres something to think about…………
“The author of ‘The Star of Madeleine’ reminded us that the arguido status that was imposed on the McCanns had the approval of Alipio Ribeiro, the national director of the PJ. Months later, Mr Ribeiro would generate a turmoil by stating that, according to his opinion, there had been ‘precipitation’ in constituting the McCanns as arguidos. On this issue, Paulo Cristóvão stressed that it would have been illegal not to give the McCanns arguido status, considering the evidence that had been collected, by mid-August.
One of the issues that received considerable attention was the British police dogs, Eddie and Keela. These dogs were confronted with seven cars, but only reacted to one of them. Similarly, they were conducted into several apartments and houses, but only detected the presence of a cadaver inside one of them.
Regarding the DNA evidence, which is said to have produced matches of 15 markers out of 19, Mr Cristóvão informed us that there are people in prison, in Portugal, due to DNA evidenced that resulted from of 15-16 markers (out of 19). He added that he is convinced that it was not the body that was transported in the car, but rather something that had been in contact with the corpse. He further confirmed that there is, indeed, a blue sports bag missing – a sports bag that belongs to Gerry McCann.
Paulo Cristóvão also explained that these dogs do not make mistakes. They either detect nothing, therefore do not react, or they detect something, and react accordingly. There is not a factor of ‘reacting to please their handler’.
Cadaver odour has further been detected by the dogs on the child’s mother’s trousers, the car key, and on Cuddle Cat.
Another issue that was largely discussed was that the British secret services were present, in Praia da Luz, from the early hours of the 4th of May. Secret service agents have a permanent presence in all embassies, all over the world. They often occupy merely symbolic posts, like secretaries to the ambassador, or cultural aides. The surveillance of Mr Amaral was not made by journalists, but rather by secret service agents, which became evident by the accuracy with which his movements were tracked, and later reported through the media.
Frederico Carvalho spent some time analyzing the political interferences, and the wider political connections in the case. He pointed out that it has been no secret that the McCanns have had direct contact with Mr Gordon Brown since the beginning of the story, and that the support that was provided by the British government was unprecedented in a case of this nature. Mr Carvalho said that he had the opportunity to interview a person who knows the British prime minister very well, and that he is considered to be an intrinsically honest man. An honest man who offered his help, with the best of intentions, but who was later caught in a situation from which he could not possibly backtrack.
Unlike him, the Vatican could – and did – remove any connections to the McCanns, as soon as the first suspicions started to be raised.
The possibility that there could have been an abduction, after all, was discussed by both authors. It was once again pointed out that there is no single piece of evidence to sustain this theory, apart from Ms Tanner’s testimony; a testimony that did not only change over time, but which also seems dubious, at best, when duly analyzed.
Concerning Mr Murat, Mr Cristóvão expressed the opinion that the PJ followed a lead that later proved to be false, but that procedures were correct, i.e. that arguido status was appropriately given to him, because there were witnesses that identified him as a suspect. Paulo Cristóvão added that Mr Murat was probably the victim of an over-zealous reporter, and then the McCanns and their friends took advantage of the situation, and ‘provided’ the rest of the context under which Mr Murat was led into his condition as an arguido.
Some considerable emphasis was given to Mr Amaral’s book, which will not be published until the judicial secrecy is raised. Even after that, Mr Cristóvão expressed his doubts that Mr Amaral will be allowed to publish his book in Portugal, but that problem will be easily solved by publishing in Spain. This book will expose many details that will not only clarify some misconceptions about the investigation itself and the McCanns’ behavior, but also why and by whom the PJ’s agents were let down, and how there have been attempts to condition the investigation, to avoid certain questions being asked and certain actions being taken.
When asked about where they think the body of Madeleine may have been hidden, the authors mentioned that the sea provides a good hiding place, but also that he does not believe that the terrain, within a radius of 15 kms around Praia da Luz, was searched thoroughly enough to assure that there is not a possibility that the corpse is buried somewhere, not far from the Ocean Club.
One of the participants asked whether Mr Cristóvão did not believe that there was a possibility of a crime of revenge, which prompted the author of ‘The Star of Madeleine’ to explain why he does neither believe in the intervention of a sexual predator in this case – because sexual predators are extremely careful to reduce the risks to a minimum, studying their target for weeks, which is a part of the action that they enjoy and spend considerable amounts of time on – or that there was a revenge issue at the heart of this disappearance – the key to the mystery, he repeated, lies within the group.
He guaranteed that the police has exhausted all the other theories, as this is their job. There are no pieces of evidence, no indices, no clues left, that have not been thoroughly studied and investigated. The last hypothesis that was left standing, was that this group of people is responsible for the disappearance of Madeleine.
After the debate was concluded, we had the opportunity to exchange some informal words with both hosts. Among other details, mostly about the Joana case, Mr Cristóvão told us that the police are usually months ahead of the newspapers. Leads that were reported in June and July, or even later, had already been investigated and dismissed in the early days, as was the case of a certain sailboat, or the taxi driver in Vila Real de Santo António.”
From jo morais site
May 7th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
231
Logic Says:
May 7th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
229 Chenier
No, of course it should be thoroughly investigated. Any ideas where to start??
——————————————
By the Irish couple giving a full and detailed statement to the local police force, copied to the Foreign Office, and following it up via representations to the judge.
They could have proffered descriptions of the alleged Portuguese couple who allegedly provided them with the allegedly drugged sangria.
They could still proffer that description to the Portuguese police. Obviously they can’t go through images of any potential suspects with the police since they have returned to Northern Ireland.
And if they really want to persuade people that they were not drunk they could state how much alcohol they actually drank, instead of announcing that:
‘The amount of alcohol they consumed between the hours of 8pm and 10pm would not have been sufficient to render them incapable of being responsible parents.’
May 7th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
BF - I’ll be coming back before the 15th… but i’m just not talking about irresponsible drunken yobs from NI… I’m always happy to talk about other irresponsible drunken yobs that have spent holidays last year in the Algarve
235 Agenda Wilde
Yes I think that the new man is what the force (the cops) wanted. He’s a police officer by career and qualified as a lawyer (all PJ detectives must have completed a law degree). He’s not a magistrate and he’s not as far as we know politically connected.
He would appear to be in a good position to upease the internal PJ force.
The question is - will he be a good man in guaranteeing appropriate resources to the PJ? Will he be successful in representing the PJ’s interests when it comes to political discussions about who get’s what share of the policing budget? That I don’t know. But thenagain with the new law coming into force he’ll probably be less relevant for that area and will concentrate more on the internal organisation of the PJ.
One thing IMO is clear. There’s nothing special about the Madeleine case at all. I never felt that Alipio was an obstacle and I don’t think this one will bring anything particular new to the investigation… because he will not even be involved in the investigation. That’s up to Rebelo & Co.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
233 Salomon ES Says:
” I think there is an element of surrealism in their account of events. ”
I find their account absolutely credible. The surreal story is the binge drinking story, and has been from the very beginning.