Posted on 09/15/2007 2:40:29 PM PDT by UKrepublican
MADELEINE: 'BODY THROWN INTO THE SEA'
Police fear that the body of Madeleine McCann will never be found and only a confession by her parents can convict them of killing her.
The startling revelations came as officers told of their worries that her body was dumped far out to sea in a bag weighted down with stones. Detectives are convinced she is dead and believe her remains are now gone for ever, a vital piece of missing evidence which seriously weakens their case against Kate and Gerry McCann.
For the first time, police chiefs in Portugal are admitting that the allegedly damning DNA evidence they have gathered in the couple’s apartment and hire car may not be enough to bring charges against them. A senior source in the Policia Judiciaria, which has led the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine on May 3, 135 days ago, said only a confession could now bring a conviction.
Investigators believe the body of the youngster, who would now be four years old, was most probably thrown off a British-owned yacht out at sea after being moved from a hiding place. They are now working on the theory that Kate and Gerry McCann, both 39-year-old doctors, received help from accomplices to move the body and cover up the crime, despite intense scrutiny.
The seven friends on holiday with the McCanns at the Ocean Club complex in Praia da Luz are expected to be questioned again by detectives investigating the accomplice theory. All the friends deny any wrongdoing.
The news came amid startling developments yesterday, including the apparent discovery of blood in an apartment next door to that used by the McCanns. Detectives believe the apartment holds the key to where Madeleine’s body could have been stored in the hours after she went missing.
The discovery was revealed after reports claimed that Madeleine died following an overdose of sedatives. Police are working on the theory that the youngster was repeatedly drugged by her parents – an allegation Kate and Gerry McCann vehemently deny.
Detectives have asked British forensic experts to look for evidence the toddler was given pills on the night she disappeared and earlier occasions.
As Kate and Gerry McCann left their £600,000 home in Rothley, Leics, for a meeting with their solicitors in London, a senior Policia Judiciaria officer told of his misgivings about the case. The officer, who declined to be named, revealed that the absence of a body meant detectives only had forensic evidence and information from interrogations to build a case.
The admission comes only two days after the McCanns went on the offensive after being named official suspects, issuing a challenge to detectives: “Find the body and prove we killed her.”
The senior officer in the Policia Judiciaria admitted that the McCanns’ stance could destroy the case because detectives have “nothing concrete”. He admitted officers were still struggling to piece together events on the afternoon and evening of May 3. In particular, detectives have so far been unable to uncover the chain of events from 2pm until 10.41pm when the police were eventually called after Kate McCann said her daughter was missing.
“There are a lot of clues, signs and indications, but without more elements it’s impossible for us to determine what happened in those vital hours,” the officer said. “Even if the blood and traces gathered in the car or the apartment were confirmed to correspond 100 per cent to the little girl’s DNA, that wouldn’t prove anything.
“Those elements could only confirm – and at the moment we don’t even have that – that the little girl was in the apartment, which is plainly obvious, and in the car. In either of the cases, nothing would prove homicide, just that the body of the little girl had been transferred in the vehicle.”
The officer admitted that a number of fundamental questions remained to be answered, confirming the views of the McCanns’ high-powered legal team that the Portuguese authorities are a long way from presenting a strong case.
The officer went on: “We don’t know if Madeleine is dead and, if she is, how it all happened. Was she strangled? Could she have been beaten? They are all questions only the parents could clarify in an eventual confession.”
Kate and Gerry McCann strenuously reject claims of being involved in Madeleine’s death and disposing of her body, and challenged detectives on Wednesday to find their daughter and prove they killed her. A close friend said: “The legitimate question to ask Portuguese police is: Where is the body? Where is the evidence that Madeleine is dead?”
The case against the McCanns detailed in a dossier now before Judge Pedro Miguel dos Anjos Frias appears to rest mainly on potentially damaging forensic test results. These are said to include Madeleine’s DNA in traces of bodily fluid, as well as a mass of hair, discovered in the McCanns’ hire car which was rented 25 days after she vanished.
Portugal’s attorney general has indicated the investigation still has some way to go and suggested stricter bail conditions could be imposed on the couple. On Tuesday public prosecutor Jose Cunha de Magalhaes e Meneses ordered the 10 police files in the case to go before the judge.
In an effort to find a body, it is expected that fresh searches will be ordered in Praia da Luz, focusing on areas where roadworks were taking place when Madeleine disappeared. Officers are also expected to begin searching several sea-front locations, including caves and grottoes.
Police have already investigated a vessel owned by an English sailor in Lagos, 15 minutes’ drive from Praia da Luz. A source close to the case said: “One of the most credible possibilities would involve the body having been thrown in a sack of stones from a yacht.”
The yacht which came under police scrutiny was investigated after a computer owned by the only other suspect, expat Robert Murat, 33, was analysed and found to mention the sailor. Other theories suggest Madeleine’s body was disposed of at one of several waste incinerators.
The McCanns have already been advised by their British lawyers that the Portuguese would have difficulty prosecuting them if they do not find their daughter’s body. Portuguese police admit they fear no judge will allow the case to go to court without that key piece of evidence.
thanks, I’m an aussie and not familiar with the case you mention...but I will say this...from the experience with ‘The Dingo Ate My Baby’ case, I have learned there are people who so desperately want someone to be guilty, they refuse to consider any evidence to the contrary. It’s for that reason alone, that regretfully, (because there are cases where death is clearly deserved) I am against the death penalty.
Lindy Chamberlain might have been hung. As it was, she spent four years behind bars IIRC...it ruined her life and her family. Interviewed about this case on TV yesterday, she broke down in tears and I can understand why.
Interesting links there; thanks for posting them.
One of the posts lists this:
THE EVIDENCE
1. In the Ocean Club Apartment
a) cadaver odour was detected by the English dogs behind a couch in the living room, close to a window that leads to the apartment’s back area
b) blood (a very small amount) on that window’s curtains; the curtains and the wall were washed
c) collected fingerprints belong only to the couple and their friends; there are no fingerprints from Robert Murat, the case’s first arguido
d) searches with dogs in the other apartments of the same block at the resort did not yield these results, only the McCann’s
The cadaver odour that was detected by the dogs indicates that the parents were with Madeleine after her death, and therefore must know what happened. This because, as they say, they were in the apartment until dinner time, at 8.30 p.m. It takes at least two hours for a corpse to release odours that can be detected by the dogs
2. In the Renault Scenic car (rented by the McCanns on May 27)
a) cadaver odour was detected by the dogs
b) a very reduced sample of human fluid, in the car boot. After being analysed in Birmingham, this fluid registered, according to the PJ’s director, Alipio Ribeiro, results that do not allow a 100% correspondence with Maddie’s genetic profile
c) hair that is compatible with Maddie’s genetic profile; there is doubt about whether they landed there by ‘transference’
3. In the Vista Mar villa (rented by the McCanns)
a) cadaver odour, detected by the dogs on clothes that belong to Kate, and on the pink soft toy
b) an English book, normally used by police, that focuses on the different types of crimes, as well as on what clues should be looked for to identify its perpetrators
c) a bible, on Kate’s bedside table, open at the Old Testament, at the passage that tells the death of King David’s son (God punished David with the death of his son, in order to force him away from sin and to return onto the path of good)
d) Kate’s diary, in which she writes about daily difficulties, in dealing with her children
4. Contradictions between the couple’s statements and those of their friends
a) Gerry says during dinner he got up to check on his children; restaurant staff says only two people from the group left the dinner table and those were Russell O’Brien and Matthew Oldfield
b) Russell arrived late for dinner and left at some point: he said his daughter had vomited and he was waiting for someone to change the bedsheets; the hotel staff say nobody requested clean bedsheets
c) Jane, Russell’s wife, says she saw a man passing on the resort’s street, carrying a child. An Irishman, who was at the same time in the same spot, says he saw nobody pass
In my opinion, I think the apartment evidence and the dog responses are damaging, as well as Gerry’s lie about the vomit and the sheets. I wonder why the media hasn’t reported it.
yes. there’s some things you just don’t throw into the wash.
Oh, and possibly under a road that was under construction. When I read that one about a week ago, I decided that they were just guessing and hoping.
Read #80 and #94. Then follow the links. It’s all there. There are suspects galore. I guess it’s easier to accuse and pressure the parents hoping they will panic and ‘drop’ something useful.
I have nothing further to contribute...other than to suggest keep an open mind.
It’s quiet extraordinary to observe how the parents are behaving exactly as Michael and Lindy Chamberlain did. They literally froze, showed no emotion at all. It might be the only defence one has against the feeding frenzy of the Press.
I’m sorry about your daughter.
For goodness sake! It was RUSSELL not Gerry!
The following relates to the family friend who maintained he checked on the children, found everything quiet, but didn’t open the door...
“Also the table waiters that were working in the resort’s restaurant – the Tapas, where the group of friends had dinner that night – didn’t notice much movement of checking on the children. One of them guaranteed to Sol that, since the beginning of dinner (which started between 8.30 and 9 p.m.), only two men got up, almost simultaneously.
One of them was Russell O’Brien, one of the doctors of the group, who was absent for most of the dinner and who returned to the table 5 minutes before Kate went to her apartment and noticed Maddie was missing. Russell then explained that his daughter was sick, and even “vomited so it was necessary to change her bed sheets”. One of the employees of the Ocean Club, who was heard by Sol this week, contradicts his version: “If that had happened, he would have to ask the housekeeping service for some clean sheets, which did not happen”.
Now I'm outa here. I cannot debate with people who cannot or refuse to READ!
thank you.
I do try to sympathasize with those suffering a similar loss.
I just have a hard time believing a grieving mom would throw her child’s favorite toy into the wash.
I would think most moms would hang onto that thing and smell it a dozen times everyday.
I know that’s the way I would be. I remember being shocked when my father-in-law got rid of all of my mother-in-law’s things - clothes, jewelry, everything - less than 2 weeks after she died. I guess people have different reactions to things, but I could never come to terms with that. It seemed very cold to me.
I’ve often thought about that since then, if something happened to my husband, it would take me some time before I could get rid of everything of his. But I guess everyone is different.
Remember Elizabeth Smart? The police blamed her father until she was found.
These folks have had reporters from around the world 24/7. Where could they go without all the reporters?
I think men deal with that sort of thing differently.
“The police blamed her father until she was found.”
There seemed to be an anti-mormom bias in that case.
I don’t remember anyone claiming there was any evidence against the dad.
It took a year for my grandmother to discard my grandfather’s belongings. Same with my stepdad and my mother’s stuff. Even now, five years later, except for her clothes which he felt would better serve someone poor and he donated (same with my grandmother) everything else in the house is the same. Pray he finds a real nice lady ya’ll. He needs a comfort. It’s been five years and he loves her like it was yesterday (thank goodness he loved her so much. we should all be so lucky)
I guess so. He was a man that didn’t show his emotions. Maybe it was too painful for him to have remembrances of her around. I don’t want to come across as judging him for it. But I remember the night she died, the nurse at the hospital told us she probably wouldn’t make it through the night & he went home. I stayed with her because I didn’t want her to be alone, even though she was pretty out of it. Still, I couldn’t stand the thought of her dying alone. I was with her when she passed and I’ve always been glad I stayed. We all deal differently.
I do think Madeleine’s mother knows more than she is saying though.
That is beautiful. I will remember him in my prayers tonight, he sounds like a wonderful man.
When my middle brother shared my mother's birth control pills with my youngest brother when we were children, one was 5 the other was 3. All medications were keep in a locked box above the refrigerator. The boys threw the box down several times to get into it.
The Emergency Room was busy that summer.
The senior Portuguese detective jointly in charge of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is set to face a criminal hearing into an alleged cover-up involving another missing girl.
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
Not saying I believe the McCanns and I'm not ready to throw the Portuguese police under the bus. Do I think she's alive though? Probably not. There's something fishy going on here just not sure what it is.
I guess my children are smarter than your brothers. Heehehee :p
The Tapas Nine: McCann friends whose loyalty comes at a cost
By NEIL SEARS - More by this author »
Last updated at 00:41am on 15th September 2007
Madeleine: the seven people dining took turns to check on the missing child
The seven people dining with Gerry and Kate McCann at the Ocean Club tapas bar on the night of May 3 have all steadfastly defended their friends.
But their loyalty has had a cost.
According to reports from Portugal, all have come under suspicion and face further police questioning because their accounts allegedly clashed.
The group - most of them doctors and professionals - was made up of:
Dr Russell O'Brien, 36.
A consultant in acute medicine at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, he knew Gerry McCann from Leicester.
He was on holiday with his partner Jane Tanner and their two young daughters.
At 9.25pm he left the restaurant for around 25 minutes to check on one of the girls, who was ill.
He has been subject to a vicious Portuguese press campaign alleging he was absent for over an hour when Madeleine went missing. He has threatened to sue, insisting: "These reports are completely untrue and extremely hurtful."
images at link.
Clockwise from top left, Fiona Payne, Jane Tanner, Russell O' Brien, Rachael Oldfield Read more...
Judge to call Kate McCann back to Portugal Team McCann: the supportive PR campaign 'Disgraceful lies': Kate McCann's father speaks out
Jane Tanner, 37
Dr O'Brien's partner. She arrived late at the tapas bar after treating their sick daughter.
On the way, she passed the McCanns' apartment and saw a man carrying a child. Crucially, her description of the child's clothes matched Madeleine's pink pyjamas.
Dr Matthew Oldfield, 37,
Dr Oldfield, an endocrinologist at Kingston Hospital in South-West London, went to check the McCann children at 9 25pm.
But he did not look inside the flat - simply listened from outside to ensure Madeleine and the twins were not crying.
Rachael Oldfield, 36,
Dr Oldfield's wife, a former lawyer who is now a recruitment consultant.
She is one of four witnesses who claim to have seen the first suspect, British expat Robert Murat, near the McCanns' flat.
Last month she angrily dismissed reports that police had intercepted phone calls and emails between the McCanns and their friends which contradicted the group's earlier statements.
Mrs Oldfield accused Portuguese police of "throwing mud when we are not able to defend oursleves"
David Payne, 41
Mr Payne is a senior research fellow in cardiovascular sciences at Leicester University
He and his wife and mother-in-law joined the group at 8.55pm.
They are believed to have been the only ones using a baby monitor to check on their two children.
Mr Payne has said: "All these smears and rumours are overshadowing the important thing, which is to get Madeleine back."
Dr Fiona Payne, 34.
Mr Payne's wife, she is understood to have told police she saw Mr Murat shortly after Madeleine vanished.
Dr Payne and her husband stayed on in the Algarve to support the McCanns. When the couple were made official suspects, she said: "It's an outrage - a preposterous accusation."
Dianne Webster.
Dr Payne's mother. She has given no public interviews.
n.sears@dailymail.co.uk
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I agree with you. It STINKS!
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