Robert Murat On Trial
ROBERT Murat’s face is known to all. Did you see his one eye? His face contorted with rage? His smoking a cigarette?
Camilla Cavendish sees Murat being tried by innuendo.
I began to feel as though I was watching Arthur Miller’s The Crucible when Lori Campbell of the Sunday Mirror was interviewed about why she had tipped off the police. “I found him to be creepy,” she said of Mr Murat. “When he was talking to me he was vague about his background.”
Ms Campbell may emerge as a heroine, a quick-witted journalist with a gut instinct for something the police had overlooked. Or she may not. She was absolutely right to tell police of her suspicions. But she was surely wrong to publicise them. Even if Mr Murat does turn out to be guilty, it does not help the investigation one jot for you and me to know his name right now. If he is innocent, he has been damaged for life. I think he meant it literally when he said that “the only way I will survive is if they catch Madeleine’s abductor”. In the twisted way of these things his denial, too, has become a story.
May 17th, 2007 at 11:12 am
I agree 100% with your article!
May 17th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
Unfortunately, once again the intense speculation over the rights and wrongs of the case are masking the irrefutable fact that Madeleine is still missing.
All the details are so sketchy but it seems that if it turns out that Robert Murat and ‘The Russian’ are totally innocent, then how much time has been wasted investigating dead ends while Madeleine’s safe return becomes an increasingly unlikely possibility?
Then again, what if the current lines of enquiry lead to information on Madeleine’s whereabouts?
Seems to me that the Portuguese police are somewhere between a rock and a hard place.
Bless you Madeleine, I hope you are safe.
May 17th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
I agree with your story. This woman could scarcely contain her personal pride and joy on tv, but what about this man or any other that is innocent until proven guilty? The media have so little to go on that they are starting to suspect anyone within 5 yards. Nobody in that sleepy resort will escape the press. I am shocked the womans boss allowed her and her pals to gossip like that. You would think she won the lottery as she prattled on with her paranoid story. Nothing is won until Maddy if found alive and well.
May 18th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
Totally agree.
Murat is innocent until proven otherwise. If this case is to remain unsolved then I am certain that Murat and Mulinka will have their lives utterly torn to pieces by the red top media, hounding them until the find their next big story.
What concerns me is the lack of interest shown in similar cases where the missing child is non white, from a poor family with no access to money, media and politicians. As I have said on this site before, we all know the reaction that the Sun/Mirror/Record etc etc would be having if the parents were living on benefits, had tattoos over their arms and were on a package holiday to Benidorm.
May 20th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Let him take a lie detectro test then if he is innocent - oh, he doesn’t want to do that………then I think he has gotten himself into a bit of a mess.