Madeleine McCann: Torture, A Witness, Robert Murat’s Innocence And Richard Branson Investigates
MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann.
SUNDAY MAIL front page: “MADDIE POLICE TORTURE TRIAL.”
As reported by Anorak on June 11 (see Madeleine McCann And Amaral Policing): “Chief Inspector Goncalo Amaral has been accused of concealing evidence that the mother of eight-year-old Joana Cipriano, who disappeared in the Algarve three years ago, was tortured by police into confessing she had killed her daughter, whose body was never found.”
Is this the British Press discrediting the Portuguese police? Should they leave our Kate and Gerry alone? (Do the Portuguese police have a PR?)
“Lies, beatings, secret trials: the dark side of police handling Madeleine case” – If the Portuguese police do have a PR, they should get a new one.
“Madeleine: Hair in McCann Renault: ‘It could be anyone’s’” - British forensic experts have concluded the fragments said to be Madeleine’s could belong to any number of people who had come into contact with the silver Renault Scenic.
THE OBSERVER: “Maddy police: we blundered.” Remember Robert Murat?
Says a source said to be from within the Portuguese police force: “British police and crime experts also suggested that Murat fitted the profile to have been behind a kidnapping. But the Lisbon investigators were from the start unsettled about the lack of any motive. Months later, there is nothing to suggest he was involved.”
But, er, Robert Murat remains a suspect.
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: “Hope for McCanns as law on secrecy is eased.”
Plans are afoot to change the rules in Portugal. The “new law means that all suspects and third parties, including the media, will have access to police documents in any investigation - unless the public prosecutor decides that secrecy will benefit the inquiry or protect the rights of the accused.”
And the police can make their views known to the public, too.
And: the McCanns have announced an £80,000 advertising campaign to help find Madeleine.
SUNDAY EXPRESS: “MADELEINE MYSTERY - POLICE TO ACT OUT MADDIE TRAGEDY”.
No longer a criminal case. It is now a tragedy. The Encyclopaedia Britannica says a tragedy is a “branch of drama that treats in a serious and dignified style the sorrowful or terrible events encountered or caused by a heroic individual.”
Yes, dignified. Who knew?
DAILY STAR ON SUNDAY front page: “MADDIE. The missing journey.”
Where did she go?
SUNDAY TIMES front page: “Branson gives cash to defend McCanns.”
Sir Richard Branson is giving £100,000 to create a “fighting fund” to help the parents of Madeleine McCann to clear their names.
A source close to Branson says: “Sir Richard wants to ensure the McCanns get access to the best legal advice. He has a good instinct on these things.”
The Virgin Sniffer will crack the case. Or will his PR and marketing departments get there first.
But is Branson right? Let’s take a look at the survey…
“According to a YouGov poll for The Sunday Times, only 20% of respondents believe that the McCanns are completely innocent. Nearly half (48%) believe that they could have been responsible for their daughter’s death, even if it was an accident; 32% were unsure. A total of 40% said that the McCanns’ high-profile campaign had made them suspicious, but 50% said that it had not.”
Tasteful stuff. But we need another poll to find out what happened to Madeleine McCann.
Times Columnist India Knight is a McCann junkie. “I want to stop reading, listening, watching, Googling, amateur sleuthing; I nauseate myself with my own prurience. My appetite for commentary – which is all that’s left, in the absence of hard facts – has been sated many times over. But I can’t stop.”
She craves information. But there isn’t any. Unless you listen to sources”…
“Police leaks, gossip and a clash of cultures close in on McCanns” - Yesterday the police spokesman Olegario de Sousa quit “in dismay” at the daily leaks to the press.
Those Portuguese police leaks only add to the speculation and the pain. Thanks goodness for the clarity and sensitivity provided by the Times.
As the Times notes: “Maria do Sameiro Oliveira, a psychologist who does criminal profiling for the police, said she found it strange ‘how they function so much as a unit, always holding hands rigidly’ and pointed out that normally in cases of child disappearances, ‘the mother and father start to diverge, one wants to continue the search, the other not’. She added: “They show little evidence of suffering. They are very formal.”
You should not be influence by Ms Oliveria’s words. When responding to the Times’ survey, make your judgement. Make up your own survey.
THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: “The McCanns: Unbelievable truth or unimaginable nightmare?”
The human interest angle and a time to look back over week of speculation.
NEWS OF THE WORLD: “MADDIE: THE SECRET WITNESS – TV boss holds vital clue to mystery.”
Jeremy Wilkins is the man whose “bombshell testimony could clear the McCanns”.
And: “Jeremy Wilkins’ evidence blows holes in the police theory that Gerry and Kate killed four-year-old Madeleine.”
Wilkins is said to be the man who spoke to Gerry McCann for up to 15 minutes outside the holiday apartments — “moments after checking on his children for the last time.”
A pal says: “He is entirely convinced of Kate and Gerry’s innocence. He believes they are a decent family caught up in an unimaginable nightmare.”
With Wilkin’s certainly and Richard Branson’s sense of smell, the McCanns may be placed once more above suspicion.
All the Madeleine McCann Faction Here…
September 16th, 2007 at 8:13 am
Well I’m bloody first !
September 16th, 2007 at 8:14 am
Another photo opportunity for horse face Branson - no doubt cavorting with bikini clad women young enough to be his daughters.
September 16th, 2007 at 8:14 am
Only just Moose…..
September 16th, 2007 at 8:15 am
No amount of money spent on advertising is going to convince me they didn’t have anything to do with their daughters disappearance.
Colin McRae R.I.P
September 16th, 2007 at 8:18 am
oh god. how stupid is Branson going to look if they are found guilty?
Good morning everyone!
September 16th, 2007 at 8:20 am
Morning Sammy
(or should say ‘Evening Sammy’ as it’s 5.20 in the evening here in Australia).
Richrad Branson is always making an are of himself - frolicking, spraying people with champagne, being a general dickhead…..a RICH dickhead.
September 16th, 2007 at 8:23 am
New of the World Wilkins quote …
“A pal says: He is entirely convinced of their innocence…
Why doesn’t Wilkins say it himself, raher than ” a pal” ?
September 16th, 2007 at 8:23 am
wow . . . . first !
September 16th, 2007 at 8:26 am
you’ve got to wonder why these witnesses are only coming out now though.
friends in high places pulling strings maybe?
September 16th, 2007 at 8:39 am
THE CASE IS LINKED TO MADELEINE
Ylenia was found 100 meters away from a man shot by her abductor;
She would have been buried so deep that the tracker dogs had not detected her;
The ambulance that went to fetch the shot man would not have noticed Urs Hans von Aesch was digging a big hole. He would have been taken by remorse, hid the spade and the gun before shooting himself with another gun.
Could a third criminal not come back to burry her where police would not come back because the place was already searched twice – after having used her for whatever dirty stuff?
http://www.droitfondamental.eu/06-Ylena_lead_to_maddie-GB.htm
September 16th, 2007 at 9:05 am
Quoted from article (post 10)
“They where nine friends, young, handsome and wealthy, on holiday in Portugal.”
I’m gonna be sick.
They were nine friends who couldn’t organise proper childcare for their children. A night on the turps was more important than the wellbeing and safety of their children.
September 16th, 2007 at 9:11 am
Not sick about what has happened to Ylenia?
September 16th, 2007 at 9:20 am
I have 5 children so obviously reading of a child getting stolen is heartwrenching.
September 16th, 2007 at 9:27 am
Jaqueline de Croy I looked over the link you provided. Yes, very sad about Ylenia.
This is an area I have posted before and have trouble trying to understand. If the dogs detected a death scent in the McCann apartment then wouldn’t you think the McCanns would worry who could have killed Madeleine and carried her away, even if they still consider a mistake with dogs? Instead there was no sign of worry or upset about death. I am as confused as ever!
September 16th, 2007 at 9:30 am
Regarding Antonio Toscano, mentioned extensively in the article, you can read, for example,
http://gazetadigitalarquivo.blogspot.com/2007/06/antnio-toscano-real-face-of-hoaxer.html
September 16th, 2007 at 9:35 am
Richard Branson: The eternal doubter…
Hopefully, some billionaire will give a couple of millions to some independent Poirot in order to bring out the truth regarding the midgets..
September 16th, 2007 at 9:37 am
Morning all, and evening Aus,
I have just watch an interview with Max clifford, and from what he says, the new PR campaign, has little to do with the search for Madeleine, and more to do with proving the McCanns are innocent.
That has to be misappropriation of funds surely.
September 16th, 2007 at 9:40 am
If its true that Sousa has resigned from the inquiry in dismay at all the leaks I think that is a shame. He did the best he could within the boundaries of the privacy laws, he spoke calmly and informatively in English (how many of us could do that in Portugese?) answered all the question he could very politelyand seemed a man of integrity.
And Branson. I’ve never been a fan of his (opposite in fact) but I admire him for staying the course rather than running for cover when the going got tough.
September 16th, 2007 at 9:41 am
If Wilkins has evidence that the McCanns weren’t involved, why didn’t he say so at the time? Looks like the Portuguese police are being set up now.
September 16th, 2007 at 9:41 am
There is no evidence that Madeleine was killed in the apartment. If she had been what reason would an unknown third party have for removing her body. It would be useless to them.
The McCanns simply did not have time to dispose of a body on the night of the 3rd May so they cannot have killed her.
The theory of Madeline having died is media speculation without a shread of proof.
September 16th, 2007 at 9:41 am
17. well Max C would say that as he’s Robert Murats representative!
September 16th, 2007 at 9:41 am
Morning Moderation.
September 16th, 2007 at 9:44 am
21 - Its not just what Clifford is saying though. The same reason for the fund was stated in an interview last night by Gerry’s brother.
September 16th, 2007 at 9:46 am
12. Jacqueline de Croÿ
From your website: “Urs Hans von Aesch, a dangerous man, though he does not look as frightening as the portrait of Murat”
Unless something was lost in translation, with sincere respect to you & your organization, I find this offensive. Murat, just like the McCanns has not been arrested. Nor tried & found guilty in a court of law.
I read about Ylenia’s case a few weeks ago. I think any normal person feels heartbroken when they hear about a crime against a child.
Can you please tell me how much money or other resources the McCann’s donated in an effort to save Ylenia from von Aesch?
Also, I am curious how much money/resources the McCann’s have invested in locating the white van which your site alleges was mysteriously sitting in front of the McCann holiday apartment for several days & disappeared along with Madeleine.
Lastly, there are hundreds of other missing/exploited children in Europe and elsewhere. How much money have the McCann’s used in an effort to assit in these other unsolved cases? Surely searches for these other missing kids, especially like the ones who disappeared from Gran Canaria, Ylenia & others (you claim Madeleine’s abduction is connected to Ylenia’s) would not only be beneficial in finding these other children &/or establishing their perpetrators, but could also very well lead to finding Madeleine?
Have you contacted the Portuguese & British authorities about the connections you believe shared by both Madeleine’s case & Ylenia?
Kind regards
September 16th, 2007 at 9:46 am
Morning! But I’m now limiting myself as I fear I am using this as a Work Displacment Activity.
Hence my not commenting on the overnight stuff that I skimmed briefly!!
September 16th, 2007 at 9:49 am
My impression (which I can unfortunately not express in perfect English) is that e.g. most of our Austrian and the German newspapers have still not understood that there is ‘Secrecy of Justice’ in Portugal. So when they adopt news from Portuguese or English papers quoting “a senior police source”, it’s a real police statement for them. A “senior police source” is simply understood to be an official spokesman of the police.
Maybe even a very, very reliable spokesman - because of the “senior”, which (here) implies a dignified person with grey hair and years and years of experience.
September 16th, 2007 at 9:57 am
MODERATION lol - know what you mean!
September 16th, 2007 at 9:58 am
12 - I’ve just read the article you posted and it is scandalous.
It is articles such as these that lead to innocent people being subjected to persecution. Murat has not been accused of anything. He is a suspect and there is a major difference in the two.
While any crime against a child is deplorable, articles such as the one on the link you provided do absolutely nothing to help find anyone, or bring the guilty to trial.
September 16th, 2007 at 10:00 am
Might be a nice idea to start off the day if all those, who over the weeks have criticised accused and condemned the McCanns, ‘fess up and publicly apologise.
Then we can all move on to solve the case
September 16th, 2007 at 10:02 am
29 Holme
Are you on something?