Kate's DNA Frames PJ, 03 July 2008

Kates DNA Frames PJ Correio da Manha   Report - Month-long tests only yielded maternal family lineage   Henrique Machado 03 July 2008 - 00h30 Thanks to Joana Morais for translation   The existence of Madeleine's hairs in the boot of the car rented by the parents three weeks after the crime, near the substitute tyre, is considered as highly probable by the PJ. But the investigation was not able to prove that those traces belonged to the child: the hairs have no root ends, the CM established, and the final report of the laboratory of Birmingham – of the DNA mitochondrial tests - only guarantee that someone of Kate's lineage was inside the boot of the car. The Renault Scénic, remember, was rented by the McCanns three weeks after the disappearance of their oldest daughter. Therefore, any evidence that could prove her presence in the car would tie the parents to the crime. The simple detail of the hairs found in the boot having no root ends, where the nucleus of the cell is, makes the whole difference. Because if they had [root ends], "the nuclear analysis in any world laboratory would give 99.9 per cent of hypotheses of a hair to belong to a determined person", advanced a specialist to the CM. In this case, of Maddie. The experts as such were obliged to resort to the mitochondrial analyses, which can only give certainties of the hairs belonging to a motherly lineage: Kate or one of her three children. The Judiciary Police use of the sophisticated technology of Birmingham’s Laboratory had to do with the minuscule dimensions of the stains in the walls of the couple's apartment and in the car. The Low Copy Number technique enlarged by a million times the DNA chain, but, from then on, the cellular matter revealed signs of different persons. Indistinguishable [persons].   Critical   The profligate tests   One criticism of a research specialist is "the fact that the location of the crime [of the Ocean Club apartment] was not preserved. Everyone has gone through there, the house was rented before samples were taken, and that undermined the very tests which the British laboratory performed."   Gamble in the laboratory   "The criminal investigation cannot after one year be based on the work of the laboratory - the tests must be complementary," says the same source. By themself they hardly allow a prosecution.   PGR devalues   The Attorney General, Pinto Monteiro, yesterday devalued the closing of the case: "Throughout the world there are crimes that are not discharged."

An explanation of DNA related to hair samples

A normal cell carries two types of DNA - some in the nucleus which essentially describes the person, and this is made up of the father's nuclear DNA from the sperm and the mothers nuclear DNA from the nucleus of the egg. This is what they try to use to match the cells - and of course the nucleus needs to be there and intact for a full match. This DNA profile is unique to an individual. The second type of DNA is called mitochondrial DNA. This does not live in the nucleus but is in the cell in a part called the Mitochondria. This is used as the powerhouse of the cdell, it keeps the cell going and generates a lot of the proteins etc. This DNA does not come from the father - there is no room in the sperm for it - it all comes from the mother as part of the egg. It has been used to examine lineage over long periods of time but only relates to the female lineage (so even a male has only female mitochondrial DNA). The hairs retrieved from the Renault Scenic would only yield the mitochondrial DNA becasue as the hair is produced the nuclear DNA is destroyed, somehow the mitochondrial survives. Only a full, live cell such as the hair follicle would yield the nuclear DNA.

Report of PJ discards abduction theory, 05 July 2008

Report of PJ discards abduction theory Correio da Manha   05 July 2008 Translation by Joana Morais    CM reveals content of the document The main argument against the kidnapper entry through the apartment's window was given by the parents. Window too small to pass the child through it Group Witness contradicted Main Topics English Lab withdrew the final results Dogs scented blood in the house and in the car Kate and Maddie clothes had cadaver odour McCanns Neighbour heard child crying for more than one hour   * The animals detected cadaver odour in the apartment, the stuffed animal and Kate's clothes   Dogs decisive for PJ   British animals (both) agreed on the scent of "indications" in various places and objects   05 July 2007 Many thanks to Joana Morais and 'debk' for translation of these articles   The alerting of the British dogs specially trained to detect cadaver odor and human blood was decisive in making Kate and Gerry arguidos. Indications of where dogs detected cadaver scent and blood [Note: Diagram above is incorrect as it indicates cadaver odour beside the bedroom window. The odour was actually found outside the patio doors 'in the flowerbed of the yard'] Text beside dogs: Red dog (Eddie): 'Places where cadaver odour was detected' Orange dog (Keela): 'Places where biological vestiges were detected' Cadaver/Biological vestiges: 'Behind the sofa' (living room) Cadaver: 'To the side of the wardrobe' (parents bedroom) Cadaver: 'In the flowerbed of the yard' (outside patio door entrance) Text beside other items: 'Other vestiges' Cadaver: 'Piece of Madeleine’s clothing' Cadaver: 'Stuffed toy' Cadaver: 'Two pieces of clothing or Kate Healy McCann' Cadaver/Biological vestiges: 'Luggage area and car keys of the McCanns' Faced with the coincidence of the alerting of both animals, which signalled the same locations and objects related to the McCanns, the authorities were obliged to admit a possible involvement of Kate and Gerry in the disappearance of their daughter and to make them arguidos in order to confront them with evidence which could result in their incrimination – for, as [merely] witnesses, they could not opt to remain silent. According to what CM has discovered, in the final investigation report produced by the PJ the investigators explained that the animals only gave their detection signals in places and objects related to the McCanns: in the apartment where Madeleine disappeared (in the parent's bedroom, the living room and next to a side window), in the back patio, the family’s car (rented 24 days after the girl disappeared), two pieces of Kate's clothing and Maddie's stuffed animal – the one Kate never released in the days following the disappearance. In the McCann's friend's apartments, in the Luz village and in all the vehicles used by Robert Murat, the first to be made arguido, nothing was found by the dogs. Given these indications, reinforced by other detailed tests done in Portugal and England, the PJ interrogated Kate and Gerry and made them arguidos. The animals, Springer Spaniels, are heavily used in the UK in the search for missing people or homicide victims, with positive results. KATE JUSTIFIES DEATH ODOUR Kate McCann didn't negate the fact that her two pieces of clothes and the stuffed animal had been signalled by the English dogs trained to find cadaver odor and justified it by her profession. Madeleine's mother alleged that as a doctor at the Leicester health centre, she was present at six deaths directly before she came to Portugal on holiday, giving the same excuse for Madeleine's stuffed animal, that was with her in the months after her daughter disappeared. VESTIGES OF A CRIME Two specially trained dogs, used as criminal investigation assistants, detected cadaver odour in the McCann's bedroom, the living room, Kate's clothes, the girl's stuffed animal and the car key, as well as spots of blood in the boot of the car and the apartment living room. Main Article: PJ couldn't find child's body INVESTIGATION REVEALS ABDUCTION IMPOSSIBLE Final report describes dozens of diligences and unravels incongruences in the theory proposed by Maddie's parents Thirteen months after Madeleine disappeared, the PJ ended the investigation that continues to be marked by uncertainties. The final report, the CM today exclusively reveals, does not determine guilt but leaves new and strong doubts about the theory presented by the English child's parents. It describes in great detail the diligences done by the investigators – who tried, in every possible way, to confirm their hypothesis – and reveals that it was theoretically impossible to have happened. The witnesses don't make sense, especially not the way that one of the friends said she saw a man carrying a child almost an hour before the alert about the disappearance occurred. This would be Jane Tanner, who guarantees she surprised the unknown man in a street where Maddie's father and another witness also were. Both guarantee that they saw nothing, even though they were in the same line of sight. Tanner, who much later made a photofit of the supposed abductor, also said that the man carried the child in a horizontal position. The size of the window reveals that this could only have happened if the child were carried vertically. Being that as it may, the PJ tried through all possible means to find who could have taken Maddie. They did dozens of diligences related to suspects of sexual abuse. Elements were collected about those registered that could have been on holidays in the Algarve during that time period, in order to verify if there could have been any connection with little Maddie. In addition, all the other residents of the village were investigated. The PJ entered more than 400 houses surrounding the Ocean Club and found nothing. On the window where Kate guaranteed that Maddie was taken no vestiges of the girl were found. Only marks that confirmed the DNA of the girl's mother. The PJ's final report shows the details of an investigation that reached unprecedented levels. A couple was investigated that had allegedly tried to abduct another child, a fine toothed comb was used to research the clues that Maddie had been seen at a gas station. A crematorium was searched and Maddie’s genetic profile was compared to that of a child’s body found on the coast of the United States. The PJ investigated a supposed beggar and followed thousands of clues around the world. In vain. Nothing confirmed the proposed abduction theory. Change of versions: Laboratory was no longer certain ENGLISH RETREATED ON THE EXAMINATIONS They said the vestiges were compatible with Maddie's DNA, then later denied it. Dog's indications were not corroborated by science It was the strangest about-face in the investigation. The first examinations done by the English laboratory, a pioneer in the analysis of biological vestiges, said it was probable that the residues collected in the McCann's car were compatible with Madeleine's genetic profile. Months later – after the PJ had made the parents arguidos, according to the final report only because of indications that they had hidden the child's body – the laboratory ended up correcting their initial information. In the end, the examinations of the vestiges collected from the Renaul Scénic rented by the McCanns were not conclusive and it wasn’t even possible to determine the quality of the material, that is, to know whether it was bodily fluid or vestiges of blood. This scientific alteration, still not completely clarified, ended up leading the investigation to a dead end. The utilisation of the dogs that detected cadaver odors and blood are not valid within the Portuguese judicial system and it was necessary to scientifically corroborate the dog's detections. The PJ's decision to send the analyses to England was based on a question of credibility. The investigators didn't want the results to be disputed by the English, accepting therefore that the vestiges should be analysed in that country. USELESS TRIP TO ENGLAND In April of this year, Paulo Rebelo and two of the investigators for this process who were trying to understand the puzzle of Madeleine's disappearance went to Leicester to interview the British who spent holidays in Praia de Luz with the McCanns. From the final report, we now know that nothing conclusive was discovered from these interrogations. The PJ maintained the same close collaboration with the local police, but from the depositions they brought nothing new. The McCann friends limited themselves to confirming what they had said in the earlier interviews and the PJ left with empty hands from that city just north of London. CHANGES Paulo Rebelo, the new leader of the investigation after Gonçalo Amaral's exit, was at the Ocean Club several times, from which were collected a variety of vestiges. He was also in England, where he heard testimonies. NUMBERS 443 door to door interviews at Ocean Club apartments, done by the PJ, are part of 2000 diligences, formal and informal, undertaken during the investigation 134 village employees were heard by the inspectors in the days following the crime. The PJ also spoke with the 12 GNR officers that went through the apartment on the night of 3 May. 130 police and civil guard workers were involved in the first 24 hours of the search. On the following day, this number increased to 300. 188 garbage bins were searched with a fine-toothed comb in Praia da Luz, Lagos, in an attempt to find Madeleine's body. 30 square kilometers is the area covered in searches by all the land forces during the first days, in addition to the Maritime Police. OVER ONE HOUR CRYING Pamela Fenn remembers hearing the child uncontrollably crying Madeleine parents never contradicted that it was already a habit for their three children to be all alone inside the Praia da Luz apartment while they dined; a fact corroborated by several witness statements - the Oceans Club employees. Although the parents defended themselves by stating that they visited the children every half an hour, every night, the witness statement of neighbour Pamela Fenn crumbled the McCann couple's version, when she guaranteed to the PJ that she had heard Maddie crying out loud for one hour and fifteen minutes, two nights before the crime. The British woman lives at the first floor, just above the apartment rented by the McCanns and she told to the inspectors, that on the night of the 1st of May, at 22:30, she heard a child crying, and by the sound it was Madeleine. She guaranteed to the Judiciary Police that the child was uncontrollably crying for one hour and fifteen minutes, until the parents arrived. The neighbour heard the noise of the door at 23:45, when Kate and Gerry ended their usual gathering with their friends at the Tapas Bar – the Oceans Club restaurant at the pool side, where they had dinner daily. This testimony contradicts the daily routine of visits that the couple declared to have with their children – and the McCanns are not free from criticism by another British woman. Yvonne Martin, a British Social Care worker on holiday in Luz, who also blamed the McCanns negligent behaviour. Correio da Manha, print version, 5 July 2008, page 5 Judiciary Report Francisco Moita Flores The speculation surrounding the final report of the Maddie case would like to make one believe that the upcoming archival means the PJ have persecuted the child's parents without reason. This is a manipulated falsehood. The final report of any process does not find innocence nor guilt. Doing this is beyond the reach of the PJ. Their responsibility is just to describe the facts and relationships with the people involved. The report will narrate all the activities completed since the night of 3 May. It will tell which diligences were done, reveal the steps that took them to constitute as arguidos several players in this story. It will vigorously present the references for the searches, the tests, the diligences with the dogs, the activities done abroad to find the child, the news from the papers, the witnesses who directly or indirectly were involved in the case, the reconstitution of which so much was spoken and never was done. It will describe the facts. The Public Ministry will have to say whether there was abandonment of minors, whether or not the process should continue with more diligences, or conversely, further develop the homicide theory or, finally, archive with no further delays. PJ INVESTIGATES TRANSPORTATION One of the slowest pieces of the investigation was to collect and analyse all information relative to possible means of transportation/escape, by land, sea or air. In addition, all the images collected from tourists on holidays at that time, but, once again, nothing was found. This information was all compiled in an appendix attached to the process, with another containing just information on those suspected of sexual crimes. The PJ also created a dossier of all individuals with a history of violent crimes, with their lives being examined to the tiniest detail. It was important to determine if they could have had any connection with the abduction. VESTIGES: DELAYS The vestiges collected in the McCann's car were collected in August 2007. The test results should only have taken a few weeks. IML: TESTS IN PORTUGAL The first vestiges collected by the investigation were sent to the IML (Institute of Legal Medical). The tests were also not conclusive. ======================================= TIMELINE 3 May 2007: Disappeared Between 21h05 and 20h00. Madeleine Beth McCann, 3 years old, disappeared from the Ocean Club apartment in Praia da Luz. After 17h30 only the parents had contact with the girl. 14 May: First Suspect The British man, Rober Murat, is interrogated and constituted an arguido. The PJ performs searches at his home and telephone tapping, but never successfully connected him to the crime being investigated. 4 August: Blood Two trained dogs, from England, detected cadaver odor and vestiges of blood in the apartment, the yard, Kate and Maddie's clothes and the McCann's car 11 August: Death 100 days after Madeleine's disappearance, and after the search with the English dogs, the investigators publicly admit that the child could be dead 7 September: Arguidos Based on the results of the scientific team, Kate and Gerry McCann are interrogated again by the PJ and made arguidos 29 November: DNA Tests Portuguese and English technicians meet at the Leicester Police headquarters to debate the results of the DNA tests collected during the investigation 20 January 2008: Photofit The McCanns release a photofit based upon witness statements. Later they will admit that the man in the drawing was not involved in the crime English language version (click to enlarge) English language version (click to enlarge)

Cadaver odour 'in the flowerbed of the yard', 05 July 2008

Correio da Manha reports (as above) that cadaver odour was detected 'in the flowerbed of the yard' at the rear of the apartment outside the patio doors. Is it possible that Madeleine could have woken, found her way out of the apartment and met with an accident? The Times revealed that there had been previous problems with Madeleine's sleep patterns: 'These days it was rare for Madeleine to wake up at all once she was in bed. If she did, she'd normally wander into her parents' bed, whether they were there or not. At home in Rothley, sometime earlier, they had begun a star chart for Madeleine staying in her own bed. The chart, still on display in the kitchen, was full of stars.' 'Sources close to the investigation also confirmed that police attention was solely focused on the back of the apartment, which leads on to a small garden easily accessible from a public path through a gateway."' reported the Daily Mail. (Pic above) Although a child's safety gate was in place at the top of these steps you will see that the wall, which would have been accessible to Madeleine if she had wandered into this patio area, has two different heights. At the top of the steps the wall is high, too high for a child to climb, but, just further along, the wall becomes dramatically shorter and, it would appear, easy for a child to scale or stumble over. The area immediately below this wall contains the flowerbeds. However, this is contradicted by the next picture... Click to enlarge (Pic above) This picture was taken by the police photographer on the actual night of May 3rd and it clearly shows a solid railing in place where the wall becomes shorter. What happened to this railing? Was it removed by the PJ for forensic testing or has it simply been consumed by the subsequent growth of the bushes? (2 pics above) These views show the flowerbed area at the base of the wall, immediately below the patio area. (Pic above) Aerial view of the courtyard area. Note: Mrs Fenn sitting on her balcony immediately above the McCanns apartment. (2 pics above) When Paulo Rebelo visited the apartment, on 29 October 2007, he paid particular attention to the patio and steps area. In the first picture he appears to be working through a scenario with his officers.

English combined depositions, 06 July 2008

English combined depositions Correio da Manha (no online link, appears in paper version only)   Maddie Case - Final Report – 'CM' exclusively reveals all the steps of the investigation   Article by: Eduardo Dâmaso/Tânia Laranjo 6 July 2008 Thanks to 'astro' for translation   The Polícia Judiciaria apprehended a memo that was typed by the McCanns and their friends, which describes in detail what each one of them did on the evening of the disappearance   The Polícia Judiciaria calls it a "typed report". It was appended to the process with the number 886 and elaborated by the English before they were formally questioned by the Polícia Judiciaria from Portimao after Madeleine's disappearance. For the authorities, the minute manner in which the description was made reveals that the group of English people intended to "remember the steps that they made on that evening". They described the facts, temporally and spatially, and those were the details that they revealed to the investigators. Everything in an absolutely coherent form, closing the door to emotion. It is never explained, for example, how the group, that also had their children asleep in their rooms within the resort, never followed the instinct of confirming whether they were safe, after Kate launched the alert over her daughter's disappearance. They came looking for Maddie, but failed to check if their own children had been abducted. This document is considered important and was taken into account in the final report, whose contents CM reveals in an exclusive. It is fundamental as far as it has removed any spontaneity from the depositions made by the English, including the McCanns, whose description of the hours prior to the disappearance were fundamental for the investigation. The final report contains a comprehensive description of the routines and of the last moments when Madeleine was seen alive, in order to clarify doubts and to try to overcome apparent incongruities. Gerry McCann guarantees that on that day – and contrary to what was usual – failed to accompany his friends during the afternoon snack at the beach area. Only the McCanns returned to their apartment earlier, as confirmed by the surveillance cameras at the restaurant where the friends were. The father assured that they collected their children at the crèche at around 5 p.m. and that on that day they immediately went to their lodgings with the children. At 7.30 p.m. they put them to bed, and around 8.30 p.m. they left for the Tapas bar, which is located near the resort's swimming pool. Around 9 p.m., Gerry guarantees that he went to check on his children: but he failed to enter Madeleine's bedroom and only later gave importance to the fact that the door was more open than he had left it. The alert to the little girl's disappearance was given at approximately 10 p.m., and one hour later the GNR was informed about the event. The English guarantee that they only alerted BBC at around 2 a.m. Passional crime was equated Apart from abduction, the PJ followed other leads. One of them was the possibility that a passional crime had taken place. In the final report, the investigators remember that they studied the possibility that the abduction was due to a vengeance against the parents. Nothing was discovered in that sense either, despite the fact that the life of the McCanns and the other English people was investigated. Details Several interrogations – In their final report, the PJ stresses that the English were comprehensively questioned in detail, on several occasions, with the purpose of collecting all the elements that were deemed relevant. Testing details - From the analysis of the interrogations, the PJ mentions in their final report that there were "important details that were not fully understood and integrated", which, according to the PJ, needed to be "tested and connected on the location of the event". Four questions that remained unanswered In its final report, the PJ lists the four questions that it would like to see answered during the reconstruction of the facts. A diligence that was not made because some of the English refused to return to Portugal. The first one concerns the real and effective proximity between Jane Tanner, Gerry McCann and Jeremy Wilkins (a witness that stood talking to Maddie’s father at around 9 p.m.). It is mentioned in the report that it is "unusual" that Gerry and Jeremy failed to see the alleged abductor that was seen by Tanner, given the fact that they were standing within the same small space. Another question that the PJ wanted to clarify was the situation of the window to the bedroom where Maddie was sleeping. According to Kate, it was open, but it was important to verify whether there was a draft that would allow for the curtains to move. The verification of the manner in which the children were checked upon also seemed important. If it was as intense as the witnesses stated, it made the entrance of an abductor almost impossible, who could only pass with the child in a vertical position, not a horizontal one, as Jane Tanner says she saw a man with a child. Finally, the inspectors wanted to know exactly what happened between 5.30 p.m. and 10 p.m. – the time at which Maddie was seen last, and the moment when the alert to the disappearance was given. Captions of photos: Gonçalo Amaral tried the reconstruction shortly after the facts. Then it was Paulo Rebelo's turn to suggest it. It was never done, because the English didn't want it Gerry and Kate's versions failed to convince the investigators Other notes: PGR [State Prosecutor] | Read the report already – Pinto Monteiro said yesterday that he has already read the final report, but excused himself from advancing what will be the Public Ministry's dispatch, in a case whose secrecy may end as soon as this month Concluded | No diligences – The PJ makes no suggestions concerning the manner in which the Public Ministry should act. It only says that it does not see any further diligences that could be useful to the investigation Nothing new | English The PJ says that the diligences that were requested through a rogatory letter, brought nothing new to the investigation. Which means that what happened on the evening of the 3rd of May was not established

Irishman saw Gerry carry Maddie, 07 July 2008

Irishman saw Gerry carry Maddie Correio da Manha   Final report: CM reveals everything about the investigation in an exclusive   07 July 2008 - 00h30 Thanks to 'astro' for translation    Martin Smith, an Irishman, told the Polícia Judiciaria that he saw a man carrying a child, that looked like Maddie to him, approximately around supper time on the 3rd of May. The deposition of the witness was collected right at the beginning of the investigation, but the lack of complementary elements about the individual who was carrying the child did not lead the investigators to other diligences. Days later, already back in his home country, Martin Smith contacted the Irish authorities. He asserted that when he saw the case on television and at the moment when he saw Gerry's face for the first time, when he was descending from an airplane, he had no doubts left. The man who carried the child on the day of the disappearance was her father. The information was sent to the Portuguese authorities during a phase when the PJ still centered the process on the abduction theory. And, according to the final report, the lead was not followed up because at the time when Martin says he saw Gerry, the latter was having dinner at the Tapas Restaurant. What the investigators established later on was that, after all, the reconstruction of the evening that was sustained by the group, was not straightforward. In truth, nobody knows at exactly what time each element of the group was present at the restaurant, given the fact that several of the English got up from the table in a more or less alternate manner during the dinner at the Ocean Club. The PJ later equated the hearing of the witness through a rogatory letter. But the diligence ended up not being carried out, given the fact that without complimentary evidence, no results would be reached anyway. The PJ's final report, which CM has been revealing in an exclusive, also reveals that the niece of Pamela Fenn, the neighbour from the upstairs apartment that heard the child cry for over an hour two days earlier, was questioned. She says that on the morning of the 3rd of May she saw a stranger looking at the bedroom window, a man who was later identified as a gardener. PJ report criticises detectives The final report from the Polícia Judiciaria in Portimao, which points to the unavoidable archiving of the process, criticises the private investigation that was developed by the McCanns with the help of Metodo 3. It forced elements of the PJ to follow many senseless leads. One of them, according to the report, concerned Gail Cooper's deposition. The witness, who was heard by the British authorities for the first time, spoke of a beggar, whom she had seen only once, and who might have taken the child. Months later, and already accompanied by the McCanns' advisor, Gail Cooper stated that she saw the same beggar three times, after all. And that on one of the occasions, she surprised him looking in a "strange" manner at the children in Maddie's group, when they were in a restaurant in Luz. Jane Tanner, who initially also failed to describe the face of the man whom she stated she had seen that night carrying a child, guaranteed that after all he matched the photofit that had been made by Gail Cooper. Meanwhile, the image was carried around the world and the PJ was forced to verify hundreds of leads that turned out to be false. Other leads Sightings The sightings lead the PJ to the most distant places in the world. On the same day and at the same time, Maddie was seen over four thousand kilometers apart. Traces of semen On one of the beds in the room of the McCann couple, a residue was collected that initially was thought to be of semen. It turned out to be saliva and matched another child that had been in the apartment before. Journalist heard The Spanish journalist who guaranteed that he had relevant data for the investigation, failed to add anything important. The friend’s contradictions Jane Tanner says that she saw a man carrying a child. The photofit was then publicised all over the world. Usage of the phone saved him A witness heard Gerry saying "don't hurt Maddie" on the phone. The PJ says that the mobile phone was activated in another area, at that time.

Murat's life rummaged within the case, 08 July 2008

Murat's life rummaged within the case Correio da Manha   Cleared - PJ unsuccessfully rummaged the life of the Anglo-Portuguese   08 July 2008 - 00h30 Thanks to 'astro' for translation   He had all the conditions to be a suspect, but he was never near the child, after all   Robert Murat gathered all the conditions to be a suspect. Kate remembered his face from the first searches and even asserted that he had told her about the resemblance between Maddie and his daughter, that lives with her mother in England. Friends of the McCann couple also stated that Robert had always followed the investigators closely, revealing an excessive interest in a case that did not concern him directly. When an English journalist alerted the authorities to Murat's commitment and curiosity and compared him to another case that had happened in London, where the suspect had actively participated in the searches, the investigators didn't hesitate. "Murat gathered the conditions to be pointed out as a suspect", the investigators explain in the final report – which CM has been reporting about in an – advancing into searches and telephone surveillance. In Robert Murat's house, very advanced technological means were used. In the final report, it can be read that technicians from the Algarve University used sophisticated equipment to allow for a detailed scanning of the subsoil. The telephones belonging to Murat and his friends were placed under surveillance but nothing was established. The computers were verified and the car and the house was examined by the English dogs, which are experts in the detection of cadaver or blood trace odours. To no avail. The Judiciaria completely discarded the possibility that Murat was involved in an abduction. Apart from that, members of the GNR and Ocean Club employees guaranteed that they never saw Murat on the first days of the searches, contradicting the English and Maddie's parents.   In England 81 Documents The McCanns are going to have access to 81 documents belonging to the investigation, before the secrecy of justice is lifted. The request was done by the couple lawyers, who want to know the data about the sightings and witness statements who point to abandoned leads. The documents are going to be sent by the PJ to the English Police in the following days. McCanns private life Between the documents that the British police will now disclose to the McCann Couple, subsequent to the recent decision by a High Court in London, are the requests for collaboration done by the Judiciary Police to determine several details of the lives in England of Maddie's parents and their eight friends, who were with them on holiday at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz.

Murat reaches a deal of thousands with the papers, 16 July 2008

Murat reaches a deal of thousands with the papers Correio da Manha   Maddie case - Lawyer ponders sueing the Portuguese state   Text: Henrique Machado 16 July 2008 - 00h30 Thanks to 'astro' for translation   Robert Murat's priority is "to finally stop being an arguido", 14 months after the Judiciaria of Portimao indicted him over the abduction of Madeleine. Only then "an eventual lawsuit against the Portuguese state will be pondered", lawyer Francisco Pagarete tells CM. For the time being, the deal of hundreds of thousands of euros in compensation from 11 British newspapers and Sky News has been confirmed. According to the television channel itself, the numbers that have been agreed upon with eight out of the 11 publications are known: between 313 thousand and 626 thousand euros. The outlines of the decision will be known tomorrow morning, during a hearing at the High Court in London. The newspapers who are initially at the issue are: Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star, Daily Mail, London Evening Standard, Metro, Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, News of the World, Sun and Scotsman. The agreement with Murat further includes a written apology, BBC News adds, and according to this channel, the full value of compensations may even reach 690 thousand euros. It is recalled that the lawsuit against the newspapers and Sky News, over defamation, was brought forward in April, and that in these cases, Murat, who will travel to England on purpose, has always been represented by the British law office of Simons Muirhead & Burton. Concerning the Scottish publication 'Scotsman', an apology to Murat was agreed upon back in May, over an article with "seriously defamatory and completely false" allegations. Concerning lawsuits that are already being pursued in our country, lawyer Francisco Pagarete advances that "for the time being they are two – criminal complaints against Portuguese newspapers – and there may be two further lawsuits but they are still being studied". As soon as he has access to the process, Francisco Pagarete will also "verify who gave false witness statements" in order to incriminate Murat. Then, "they will be sued". The couple's agreement 550 thousand pounds paid The other two arguidos, Kate and Gerry McCann, obtained compensation from the Express Group newspapers, for the amount of 550 thousand pounds. Apology The four newspapers in the group apologised to the couple.

English want secrecy, 18 July 2008

English want secrecy Correio da Manha (no online link, appears in paper edition only)   CM reveals - 15 of the 19 genetic markers found   18.07.2008 Thanks to 'astro' fro translation   The McCanns want to hide the data from the Birmingham laboratory One magistrate and two policemen, including Stuart Prior, responsible for the connection with the PJ, were at the Court in Portimao yesterday, trying to convince the Public Ministry prosecutor Magalhaes e Menezes not to release the entire process of the disappearance of Madeleine from the judicial secrecy. One of the situations that the English want is that the preliminary report from the Birmingham lab, which mentions that "15 of the 19 genetic markers that were found in a residue that was collected from the couple's car boot, are a match [with the missing child]" is not made public. Their pretention was denied. Also the residues that were collected behind the sofa, according to the first report, "coincide with the corresponding components in the DNA profile of Madeleine McCann", which led the Portuguese police and also the English liaison officer to fundament their suspicions that the child died between 5.30 p.m. and 10 p.m. at the Ocean Club, in Praia da Luz, and that the body was transported in the car that was rented by the parents 22 days later. With the lifting of the judicial secrecy next week, some of those documents may be made public. CM knows that the fundaments of the preliminary report, allied to the elements that were collected by the investigation in the meantime, led the authorities onto the path of the parents as suspects of the child's death. Kate and Gerry McCann later alleged that there were no indicia against them, but another report, signed by Mark Harrisom, the English policeman who was assigned to help the Portuguese authorities, also peremptorily stated that the little girl was dead. The English officer even admitted the possibility that the body of little Madeleine had been thrown into the sea, and equally defended the potentialities of the sniffer dogs, that are experts in detecting odours of cadaver and blood. Details Extracted from the hair. Madeleine McCann’s DNA was extracted from several residues that were collected at the apartment. Among them, hair that was found on the little girl’s brush and also saliva that was collected from the pillow. 19. In Portugal, the collection of 19 genetic markers is demanded for the determination of paternity. But in other countries, like the USA, only 12 are demanded. 15. On the residues that were collected from the rented car's boot after the disappearance, 15 genetic markers that are identical to Madeleine were found. Traces of a crime Two dogs that are specially trained to assist in criminal investigation detected cadaver odour in the McCanns' bedroom, in the living room, on Kate's clothes, on the little girl's soft toy and on the car key, as well as blood traces in the car boot and in the apartment's living room. Theoretical contamination possible The second report from the English lab, which was sent after the child's relatives were made arguidos, raises theoretical doubts that end up annulling the first conclusions. The technicians say that if the residues that were collected are from one single source, then they belong to Madeleine. But if they were contaminated with DNA from Kate or Gerry (who present genetic resemblances because they are the biological parents), they may not belong to the child. Apart from that, according to the experts, the obtained results are so complex that they do not allow for an absolute reading. British technique can be verified The technique that was used by the English experts to verify the residues that were collected from the McCanns' apartment and car is one of the most sophisticated in the world. It is used in that country and in the United States because it allows for the extraction of DNA profiles from very tenuous residues, by augmenting the amplification cycles. Due to the fact that it demands for very expensive material, and leads to results that are difficult to decode, this technique has not earned followers in Europe yet. In these reports, which were sent to the Polícia Judiciaria months apart from each other, the authorities start by explaining the technique that is used, and state that they used a reference DNA sample from Madeleine McCann. That sample was obtained from "saliva stains that existed on the pillowcase". DNA from the rest of the family was also verified, because they contain similar genetic markers and to avoid any confusion with the results. Throughout the 22 pages of the report, which was signed by the same expert in both cases, it is frequent for the specialist in Microbiology and Biochemistry to admit that the complexity of the obtained data does not allow for a correct reading. Nevertheless, the laboratory has duplicated the residues, a fact that makes it possible for the same results to be contradicted by the Portuguese Forensic Medicine experts. According to what our newspaper was able to establish, some questions are still in the air and the foreseen archiving on Monday is certainly not going to clarify them. Namely the motive for the test results to have taken several months to be made known to the authorities, and having been altered in such a substantial manner. It should also be referred that separate tests were made afterwards, which originated other reports – they all continued to be inconclusive. Gerry is the father The possibility, which was advanced by a Portuguese newspaper, was never under investigation. Gerry is Maddie's and the twins' biological father, according to what the genetic profiles of the family members were able to confirm. Murat | Compensation – Murat is going to receive 757 thousand euros from British newspapers that recognized yesterday that they had published defamatory and false news about him. Archiving | Evidence – The archiving of the process, which is due to be announced on Monday, does not mean that the case is going to be buried. It may be reopened if new evidence appears. McCanns | Arguidos - If there is no final dispatch, Kate and Gerry remain as arguidos. Today, Robert Murat also maintains the same status.

English ignored complaint of paedophilia against one of the McCanns friends, 19 July 2008

English ignored complaint of paedophilia against one of the McCanns friends Correio da Manha    Statements - Doctor friends of the McCanns talked with the British police   19.07.2008 Thanks to 'astro' for translation   Dave Payne, one of the friends of the McCanns who were holidaying in the Algarve on the 3rd of May last year when Madeleine disappeared, was suspected of paedophile behaviour. Twelve days after Maddie disappeared, a couple revealed the strange behaviour of one of the group's members. Testimonies only reached the Judiciaria in January this year David Payne, one of the McCanns' friends that were on holiday in the Algarve on the 3rd of May last year, when Madeleine disappeared, was suspected of paedophile behaviour. The accusations were brought by a couple of friends that spent their holiday with part of the group in the summer of 2005 – themselves also English doctors. Twelve days after the British girl disappeared, Katherina and Arul could no longer keep the secret that had bothered them for two years and went to the police to make a statement. They revealed two conversations between Dave and Gerry, during which both revealed suspicious behaviour and indiciated sex with minors. According to what CM was able to establish, the depositions were given on the 16th of May. But they only entered the process on January 2008 and are included in the 13th volume of the process files. At that point in time, Kate and Gerry were already arguidos, the rogatory letters had already been issued and the English, including Dave, showed their reluctance in returning to Portugal. Touching the nipple Katherina made a statement that was eight pages long. She reported holidays in Mallorca with several English [people], including the McCanns and the Paynes. Two incidents left her with serious doubts about the friends' behaviour and led her to create suspicions that were never confirmed. The first one happened on a night when Gerry and Dave were talking about Maddie. Katherina does not know what they were saying but she remembers that Dave sucked on his fingers, pushing them into the mouth and pulling them out again, while his other hand traced a circle around the nipple, with a circular movement over the clothes. "That was done in a provocative manner", recalls Katherina, who says that it stuck to her memory. Days later, the scene repeated itself. The doctor saw Dave making the same gestures again, while he talked about his own daughter. Scared, Katherina said nothing about the incident. But she took special caution, asking her husband never to let the doctor come close to the bathroom when her daughter was having a bath. Arul went to the police to tell the same story. Katherina's companion confirmed the gestures that were made by Dave during the conversation with Gerry but asserted that he wasn't aware that they were talking about Maddie. He did find the behaviour in extremely bad taste, but didn't see it being repeated. The incident ended up forgotten in his memory and it was only the disappearance of Madeleine, who had also been with them on the Mallorca vacation, that revived it. During the deposition, Katherina went even further and said she had associated the gestures to someone who likes to watch child pornography. "I remember thinking whether he looked at the girls in a different manner", she concluded. Friends from school days Arul and Kate were friends from their school days. They have known each other for approximately 20 years and that was the motive that led the couple to accompany the McCanns on their holidays to Mallorca. Arul and Katherina did not know Fiona and Dave and they only met again once, during a dinner that gathered several couples. When Maddie disappeared from the Ocean Club, Katherina remembered the incident in Mallorca. And she immediately tried to verify whether Dave had again been accompanying the McCann couple, as the suspicions about his behaviour still stood. In the deposition that was made to the English police, Katherina says she decided to give a statement when she saw the TV images. Dave was among the same holiday group. Doubts in the case Irishman not heard – An Irishman who was spending holidays in Praia da Luz also went to the English police to report that on the night of the 3rd of May he saw Gerry carrying Madeleine towards the beach. He was never heard through a rogatory letter. Sending delayed – The difference between the date when the deposition was obtained and the time when it was sent is not explained in the process. CM knows that the English authorities did not provide an explanation, either. Bank account info – The PJ tried to know the bank account situation of every element of the group, in order to search for possible motives for the crime. But the English answers were laconic and did not help the investigation. Life stories – The life stories of Gerry and Kate McCann remain unknown. The PJ tried to verify whether Maddie's mother suffered from depression but never received her clinical records, because the judge did not allow it. Kate accused of conditioning the case An intercalary report from the Polícia Judiciaria, which was produced immediately before Kate and Gerry were made arguidos, accuses Madeleine's parents of having conditioned the investigation. The document is signed by an inspector and was directed to Gonçalo Amaral, who was then coordinating the process. The investigator then stated that the information that had been collected initially, was worked by the group in order to sustain the abduction theory. He guarantees that they all lied to protect themselves and even suggests that some could have been covering the crime up. The testimony from Janne Turner [sic]*, who guarantees that she saw a man crossing the street with a child in his arms, is also questioned. The policeman said that Janne [sic] was only two or three metres away from Gerry but he failed to see the man. And that, by stating that the man was headed towards Murat's house, she ended up orienting the investigation into a false direction, which led to an unnecessary waste of time. The same report exposes other contradictions in the English's depositions. Kate and Gerry say that they picked up their children from the crèche at 5.30 p.m., but while the former guarantees that they went for a half-hour run on the beach and only then returned to the apartment, her husband states that they went to play tennis during that period. After that, at around 8 p.m., one of the elements of the group reportedly went to the apartment that had been rented by the couple. Kate says that he was there only for 30 seconds and then left. Gerry speaks about half an hour. The policeman remembers that the time difference is what is needed between asking whether everything is well, or advancing in case a crime has to be concealed. Another situation that the authorities found strange was the fact that Kate, upon realising that Maddie had disappeared, remained inside the apartment for ten minutes. Only then did she ask for help, leaving the twins asleep in their cots while she returned to the restaurant. The policeman who wrote the report asks how it is possible that a mother facilitates the safety of her other children when it is certain that by that time she was already screaming that her daughter had been abducted. They could not see the apartment Another contradiction was pointed out by the inspector who was in charge of the Maddie case. The policeman remembered that the McCanns asserted that their position inside the restaurant was a strategic one, so they could see the apartment where their children were sleeping. But according to several testimonies, Kate and Gerry had their backs turned to the apartment. Click to enlarge from the scanned article above: CM shows the difficulty in abducting Maddie For the first time, a Portuguese member of the media shows images from inside the apartment, namely the room from where the English minor Madeleine McCann disappeared from, on the 3rd of May last year. Here the images and the infographics try to reconstruct the steps of an imaginary abductor, but also the state in which the PJ found the crime scene. from the same page: PJ admitted a simulation of the scenario The arrival of the dogs that detected cadaver odours and blood traces led the PJ to admit that some of the details where Maddie had been sleeping had been staged to sustain the abduction theory. One of the examples that were pointed out in one of the many reports that were written by the investigators was the fact that the soft toy was on the bed where Maddie slept, a bed that was partially undone. The animals detected odours on the child's toy, but they did not mark her death on that spot. Which led the PJ to admit that Maddie had died in another area of the house, and then the toy was taken to the bed because it was the most likely spot in case of an abduction. Other details were analysed, like the fact that the furniture was too well positioned and the sofa was completely pushed against the wall. Details Investigated leads – The final report is clear. All the leads were investigated, the abduction theory was verified into detail. But the investigation's main conclusions pointed towards the death of the child in the apartment, on the 3rd of May. 300 policemen were looking for Madeleine McCann during the first days. The PJ stresses that many among them spent several weeks sleeping only a few hours. 2000 diligences were made by the Judiciaria during their search for Madeleine. International cooperation was requested on several moments, to exclude several cases of false sightings. High costs – The PJ spared no costs throughout this investigation. Millions of euros were spent on the investigation into the disappearance, namely on the high payments that were made to the labs that collected the genetic profiles.   Suspicions - Dave's involvement is considered again   Parents refused technical help Works with endangered children and approached the McCanns in the Algarve. Found the behaviour strange Yvone, who earned credentials from the English government to work in situations that involve endangered children, was in the Algarve when Maddie disappeared but the McCanns refused her help. The specialist told the PJ, during two depositions that were made one month apart from each other, that she approached the couple after the first few hours and that the behaviour from both left her with suspicions about their involvement in the disappearance. The behaviour of David Payne, who was accused by a couple of doctors that spent holidays with him in 2005, of having attitudes that indiciated paedophile practices, also left Yvone intrigued. The McCanns' friend had called them aside and advised them not to speak to the technician. Yvone found another detail strange. David's face was not unfamiliar to her, and the technician believes he might have been inquired before, within some case of sexual abuse. She tried to remember when but failed to locate moment and the circumstances under which she had met him. The days went by and Yvone continued to think about the issue. She then sent a letter to the English police, where she pointed out the details that she had perceived. Namely, that the bedroom window had not been forced open, that it was not normal for a couple of doctors to leave their children alone and that Kate had reacted in an aggressive manner when she had approached her. She also alerted to the official statistics, that point towards the majority of these cases involving a cover-up from the families. Gonçalo Amaral's book upsets the English A delegation from the British justice left for London yesterday after having tried, in Portimao, to keep some details of the process under secrecy. The English, who according to what CM was able to establish, are upset about possible revelations that the book from the former coordinator of the PJ in Portimao may make, tried to request the instruction judge to maintain the secrecy on the forensics reports about the blood traces and cadaver odour that were collected from the apartment at the Ocean Club, but also other parts from the process. As far as CM was able to establish, the pretentions from the English delegation were denied, except in the case of the identity of persons that have condemnations or a police record of paedophilia which reside in the Algarve or were spending holidays in the region when the facts took place. The British that were in Portimao are policeman Stuart Prior, one of the senior liaison officers with the Portuguese police, a magistrate and a lawyer from SOCA, the British agency that specializes in investigation into organised crime. It is not known whether the trip was made under a rogatory letter or politically negotiated between the governments of both countries. "In defence of my good name" The book by Gonçalo Amaral is written in defense of his honour. "I felt the need to reinstate my good name, which was publicly rubbished while the institution that I belonged to for 26 years, the Polícia Judiciaria, didn’t allow me to defend myself, or did so institutionally", Gonçalo Amaral states in a text that justifies the book. In order to carry out that defence, he requested permission from the national directory but never obtained it. The book, which will be presented by Marques Vidal, a former director of the Judiciaria, is launched on the 24th of this month, during a session that is scheduled for El Corte Inglés, in Lisbon. On the Side Laboratory | Decisive test – The final report ended up being decisive for the foreseeable archiving of the process. In that document, which CM revealed, the possibility of DNA contamination was admitted. Archived | AG announced – The day after tomorrow, the AG will release a communication that will most likely announce the archiving of the process. The case will remain pending in Portimao’s Public Ministry, waiting for better evidence. Reconstruction | Stopped – The reconstruction of the evening of the disappearance was a diligence that was seen as essential in the process. It was stopped because some of the McCanns' friends did not agree to return. Wardrobe | Odour detected – The English dogs signaled traces of Maddie's death behind the sofa and in the bedroom wardrobe. On the bed, the animals didn't detect anything. Contamination | Traces – The authorities have no doubts that the contamination of the location made the investigation more difficult. During the first few hours, tens of people entered the bedroom. Removed | By phone – Gonçalo Amaral was the target of various attacks and was removed by Alípio Ribeiro, by phone, after making a statement to a newspaper. Letter | Paedophile register – Yvone, in the letter that she sent to the English police, wanted the authorities to verify whether Dave had a register of paedophile activities. (*Notes: Janne Turner is obviously a mistake - the name is Jane Tanner)

English defended the use of the dogs, 20 July 2008

English defended the use of the dogs Correio da Manha (no online link, appears in paper edition only)   Traces – Finding the trail of a death changed the direction of the investigation   20.07.2008 Thanks to Joana Morais fro translation   An exhaustive report explains the possible scenarios to hide a body and defends the animals' reliability   Mark Harrison, the English police who was designated to help the Polícia Judiciaria in the search for Madeleine McCann, wrote a report last summer, in which he defended the usage of the dogs that are experts in the detection of cadaver odours and blood traces. The discovery of the residues and the signalling of the trail of a cadaver thus ended up formally changing the direction of an investigation that had been limited to the theory of abduction until then. The report, which praises the Portuguese authorities' work, suggested that the animals should be taken to all the locations where the body might have been hidden. From the apartment that had been rented by the McCanns up to the crèche, through the beach and the church area.   Mark Harrison explained that it was necessary to analyse the scenarios of Madeleine having been killed that night and her body abandoned by a person on foot or by car. The expert added that despite the high costs of that search, it should be carried out in order to clarify the case. Dogs are reliable In the report, Mark Harrison says that it is very unlikely that the body was buried in the sand. The English policeman defends that a launch into the sea is the most likely scenario, while the body should also be searched for within an area of cliffs and dense bushes that lies east of Praia da Luz. The two English dogs were presented as an indispensable help to the investigation, after their abilities and the manner in which they are trained were explained in detail, as well as the fact that they both react to blood traces and cadaver odours, without a single episode of "false positives" in the investigations. In his report, Mark Harrison listed cases of success that offered a guarantee of reliability. And he asserted that if the dogs came to signal Maddie's death, then it would be a fact. Details High costs - Mark Harrison stressed the high cost of the dogs. Their daily rate amounted to one thousand euros; the cost of the trip for them and their handlers was of 2750. There was also the cost of the passport for the animals (450 euros), adding to the lodging, the food and the transportation of the vehicles that were necessary for the animals. False positives – Eddie, the dog that specialized in cadaver odour detection, has never given a false alert. He has participated in approximately 200 searches in homicide scenarios in Great Britain and never signalled any products that derived from meat or any other food item. Human blood – Keela was trained exclusively with human blood; blood that is subject to strict testing and which comes from hospitals. She locates contaminated guns, smells vehicles and clothing items, and accurately detects residues, even if the locations are subject to cleaning. ………………. Kate refused to answer the PJ Kate refused to answer tens of questions from the Polícia Judiciaria. After the first day of questioning, when she appeared in the company of her lawyer but was heard as a witness, Kate changed her stance. Being made an arguida and the fact that the authorities assumed that they admitted her involvement in the disappearance of her daughter Madeleine, led her to adopt a different attitude.   She refused to reply, for example, why she left the twins behind in the bedroom in order to call her husband and friends at the restaurant, after finding out that Maddie had disappeared. She also failed to explain why she had not searched for her daughter in the first moments, sitting on the bed almost without moving, and she offered no explanation for the fact that the preliminary test results from the English lab detected traces in the car boot and behind the sofa, traces whose DNA resembled Maddie's. Other details from her personal and professional life remained unanswered. Kate refused, for example, to explain whether or not it was true that before the holidays she had admitted she had a bad premonition. Whether or not she had ever complained that the twins were very restless or had ever admitted to deliver the guard of Maddie to a relative. Kate also remained expressionless when she was confronted with the possibility that she had quit working because she could not handle the pressure of raising the three small children. She did not explain how the cadaver odour was found on her clothes and on the soft toy that was normally used by Maddie, or why the dogs marked the death inside the apartment. Kate also chose not to clarify who had called Sky News, nor did she reveal whom she had called in the moments that immediately followed the disappearance. In her deposition, Kate was also confronted with the fact that her refusal to make a statement might hinder the discovery of her daughter's whereabouts. Nevertheless, she kept her silence.   Mother's DNA on the window The window had been forced open and the abductor had taken the child through it. That was the first possibility that was advanced by Kate to the authorities that collected residues on location. But the tests that were done at the IML [Portuguese forensics institute] ended up isolating just one DNA which did not belong to the child but rather to Kate. To the PJ, it is also practically impossible for anyone to carry the child out of that window, which does not even open completely. Gerry agreed to speak to the police On the day that he was made an arguido, Gerry agreed to answer all of the Judiciaria’s questions. Doubts about surveillance on the children The PJ found contradictions in the friends' testimonies concerning the manner in which the children were watched over. Denied the use of sedatives on the children Kate and Gerry have always denied to the PJ that they medicated the children or used any sedative to make them sleep. Maddie's parents thus stated that their children went to bed early simply because they were used to that, and it was not even usual for them to wake in the middle of the night. CM knows that months after Maddie disappeared, Kate suggested to the Judiciaria that the twins should be tested in order to find out whether they had been sedated that night. Something that the investigators found strange, given the fact that being doctors, they both knew that any residue would have disappeared by then. This was considered to be another indicator that Kate and Gerry were not telling the whole truth about what happened on the 3rd of May, hiding what had happened to the child.   .................................... Notes Recorded PJ taped action – The dogs' search was recorded by the Polícia Judiciaria. The handler also wrote an extensive report that translated the signs that had been detected by the animals during their search for traces. TIR English address – Kate stated her identity and her residence and gave her English address. Therefore, the return home was not considered to be an escape from justice. Return Postponed promise – When they returned home, the McCanns promised to return if it was necessary to make a statement. The reconstruction was requested, but the friends boycotted it.

PJ wanted to hear the McCanns again, 21 July 2008

PJ wanted to hear the McCanns again Correio da Manha (no online link, appears in paper edition only)   Rogatories - Judge didn't validate the diary immediately   21 July 2008 Thanks to 'astro' for translation   Today, the process is most likely to be archived. Ten months ago, the PJ asked for the reconstitution of the crime and a new questioning of the couple Pinto Monteiro promised a solution for the Maddie case for today. The archiving of the process is most likely to be announced on the General Attorney’s Office’s website, after more than a year of an investigation that was made of breakthroughs and retreats. The Judiciaria lost some battles and diligences that were not carried out may have compromised the discovery of the truth. That is the understanding of Gonçalo Amaral, who launches the book ‘The Truth about the Lie’ next week, in which he promises to explain the reason why he believed in the child’s death and in the involvement of the parents in concealing the cadaver. CM knows that Gonçalo Amaral was not alone in this fight. Only days after Kate and Gerry were questioned and after they returned to England, the PJ inspector who was in charge of the process defended that he wanted to hear the couple again and that they should be subject to a more serious coercion measure. He also requested the reconstitution of the facts. In a dispatch that is dated September 19, Magalhaes Menezes, a prosecutor of the Republic, manifested himself against it. He said it was an unnecessary diligence, because Kate had refused to answer and Gerry had clarified little or nothing. Concerning the change in the coercion measures, he said there was no legal basis for any modification. The couple had given their English address when they were made arguidos, and remained available to be contacted at that residence. Later on, when the PJ made the requests again, the magistrate ended up admitting to the new questioning. But he postponed the decision for a later moment in time, because he understood that hearing the friends and the numerous persons that the PJ had requested might raise new questions. It should also be noted that the judge kept some reservations about the requests that were made by the Judiciaria’s investigators. Concerning Kate’s diary, for example, the judicial magistrate argued that only later would it be possible to know whether it could be validated, because it revealed facts from Maddie’s mother’s private life. Judge Pedro Frias refused the Public Ministry to access the text messages that were sent and received by Gerry McCann, alleging that the messages were telephone interceptions and that judicial authorizations could not be given after the occurrence. Mysteries of the process Investigating the friends – A strong suspicion, prompted by three testimonies, fell over one of the McCann couple’s friends. But that doctor returned to his country after the disappearance and he did not explain many of the questions for which the PJ had no answers. The Judiciaria failed to understand his life story. Reconstitution – Right after the interrogation of Kate and Gerry, the PJ requested the reconstitution of the facts. The English were asked to return to Portugal for the diligence to be carried out. Kate and Gerry ended up accepting, but the friends denied it. The Polícia Judiciaria did not carry out the reconstitution and the archiving of the case, waiting for better evidence, renders the diligence useless. Irishman not heard – An Irish citizen who stated he saw Gerry carrying a child on the evening of the 3rd of May should have been questioned again through a rogatory letter. But that was not fulfilled, and his deposition ended up not being obtained. What was known was that the witness made himself immediately available for a deposition. Text message register – The PJ wanted to access the contents of the text messages that were sent and received by Gerry during the hours immediately before and after his daughter’s disappearance. The Public Ministry validated the request, but the judge did not defer the pretention, considering that it would be equal to listening operations. And that at that point in time, there was no judicial permission for them to be carried out. Clinical records – The Public Ministry decided that the PJ should not access the clinical records of Madeleine and the twins Sean and Amélie. The prosecutor sustained that such would violate the privacy of the children and their parents, and the evidence might be considered null. For the magistrate, the request was not duly sustained, either. To find out whether Dave saw Madeleine in the apartment The last time that Maddie was seen by someone outside the group was at around 5.30 p.m. on the 3rd of May. After that, only David Payne asserts to have seen Maddie in the apartment, when he went there to exchange a few words with Kate. The PJ mistrusts that thesis and ends up having doubts about the time span of the disappearance. There are also contradictions about the time that Dave spent inside the apartment. Kate says they only exchanged two or three words, but Gerry guarantees that his friend stayed inside the house where his children were, for half an hour. The fact that three witnesses launch suspicions about Dave made it fundamental to clarify this situation. Brother-in-law washed the car due to fish smell Gerry’s brother-in-law was also heard in a rogatory letter. He was the usual driver of the Renault Scénic and he explained to the police that he had washed the car boot because one day he had perceived that fish blood had spilled from the bag that he had just acquired at the supermarket. Alexander also added, in April this year, when he was questioned by the investigators, that one day he had noticed a strange smell in the car. But he guaranteed that was due to the fact that they usually transported waste in the car boot. He also said that the twins’ nappies were usually placed there, and that was the reason for the intense smells. Trip to London without results It was the last great hope for the investigation. Already in the possession of the final documents from the English lab, which launched strong doubts and rendered the results from the residues that were found inside the car that was rented by the McCanns 22 days after Maddie disappeared inconclusive, the Polícia Judiciaria from Portimao made themselves available to watch the questioning of the McCanns’ friends. Paulo Rebelo, who had substituted Gonçalo Amaral, and two other investigators went to Leicester, but returned empty-handed. It was in April this year and the hearings were held at the English police’s headquarters, a few kilometers from the couple’s house. But the witnesses added little or nothing and in many moments pointed towards what they had already told the Portuguese authorities after the disappearance. The PJ’s final report, which is most likely to prompt the dispatch for archiving by the Public Ministry today, reinforces just that and it is ultimately accepted that the investigation has reached a dead end. Many situations remain unclear, namely how it was possible for Jane Tanner to have seen a man carrying a child while Gerry, who was standing two or three metres away, saw nothing; and how an abductor could have carried a child horizontally, through a small window that only half opened. Notes Teachers | Heard – The PJ heard Madeleine’s teachers through a rogatory letter. They guaranteed that Madeleine was happy with the McCann couple and that there had never been any incident. Mitchell | Guaranteed innocence – Clarence Mitchell, the couple’s spokesman, was questioned on the 28th of April. He guaranteed that he had accepted to work with the McCanns because he had believed in their innocence.

"The Attorney General does not say that they are innocent", 22 July 2008

"The Attorney General does not say that they are innocent" Correio da Manha (no online link, appears in paper edition only)   Process archived – Gonçalo Amaral reacts for CM   22 July 2008 Thanks to 'astro' for translation   Former investigator of the Judiciaria promises facts that help to solve the crime   The archiving of the process "is not a declaration of innocence" about Maddie's parents, Gonçalo Amaral reminded the CM yesterday. "The Attorney General's Office does not say that they are innocent" and the former senior officer from the Judiciaria in the case investigation, who was convinced of Kate and Gerry's guilt since the beginning, for covering up the death, expects it "to be reopened at any moment". The now retired coordinator knows what the PJ lacked to solve the crime, but points towards the clues in his book, 'Maddie – The Truth about the Lie', which is to be presented on Thursday. For now, all the loose ends in this investigation remain unanswered. The irremediable contradictions in the deposition made within the group; an Irish tourist and his family who guarantee with a certainty of 80 percent that they saw Gerry on his way to the beach, carrying a child, on the evening of the crime; dogs that were specially trained by the British police that detected the presence of blood and cadaver odour in the apartment, in the car and even on Kate's clothes; the British couple who described to the police the suspicious behaviour that they detected in conversations between Gerry and David Payne, members of the group, and which indicated sex with minors. Maddie was mentioned. Gonçalo Amaral promises to speak about "facts" on Tuesday, after having been removed from this case in October 2007 and moved from the PJ in Portimao to Faro. Still, according to a communication from the Public Ministry that was published yesterday, no "evidence of the practise of any crime by the arguidos" Kate, Gerry and Robert Murat was obtained, with the latter already removed from the possibility of an abduction approximately one year ago. The Public Ministry safeguards that any "serious, pertinent and consequent" diligences may lead to the reopening of the inquest, but Kate and Gerry McCann, in a statement that was read out yesterday, say it is "difficult to describe how despairing it was". "We welcome today’s news [yesterday], although there is no reason for celebrations." The process was archived without any arguidos.   "Damaged the investigations" Maddie's parents reacted to the communication from the Attorney General's Office, from a hotel in Rothley, Leicester, three hours later. "We believe that the fact that we were made arguidos has damaged the investigations" in the sense of finding their daughter alive, Kate said, hoping now to have access to the process. "For now", they do not intend to return to Portugal. Communication from the Attorney General's Office   Through a dispatch dated of today (21/07/08), issued by two magistrates from the Public Ministry who are competent for the case, the archiving of the inquiry concerning the disappearance of minor Madeleine McCann was determined, because no evidence of the practise of any crime by the arguidos was obtained. II Thus the condition of arguido for Robert James Queriol Eveleigh Murat, Gerald Patrick McCann and Kate Marie Healy ceases, and the coercion measures that had been imposed on them are declared extinct. III The hierarchical complain, the request for opening of an instruction or the reopening of the inquiry may take place, required by who has the correspondent legitimacy. IV The inquiry may be reopened on the initiative of the Public Ministry or at the request of any interested party, if new elements of proof appear that give origin to serious, pertinent and consequent diligences. V After the legal deadlines run out, the process may be consulted by any person that reveals a legitimate interest in such, within respect of the formalism and the limits that are imposed by law. Lisbon, July 21, 2008 The Attorney General Details Amaral already expected it The archiving of the process "does not shock" Gonçalo Amaral, who even "expected it", said the lawyer for the former PJ coordinator who lead the investigation. But António Santos adds that Amaral believes that "the indicia were enough to go further, if there were more diligences that had been directed at certain facts". Abandonment remains unpunished Gonçalo Amaral’s lawyer says that, as a jurist, he has seen many Portuguese parents punished for "abandonment of minors", and does not understand why the McCanns remain unpunished after they left children alone in an apartment. Absolute freedom The coercion measure that was imposed on the arguidos, term of identity and residence, is extinguished. The most expensive investigation ever in Portugal   The Judiciaria's final report about the case is clear: "With the lab tests alone, large tens of thousands of euros were spent." The dogs that smelled cadaver odour and traces of bodily fluids from Maddie in the apartment and in the car cost over one thousand euros daily, each. The accounting has yet to be made but this was the most expensive case ever in the history of Portuguese criminal investigation. The final report also contains the synthesis of the priority that was given to this inquest, which was lead by Paulo Rebelo in its final phase and that at a given moment, mobilised over 300 investigators: "The PJ, like in probably no other investigation in Portugal, did not spare exceptional human and financial efforts". Tests – Contamination of residues was possible "Is there Maddie's DNA?" An English expert said that DNA that is identical to Maddie McCann's could have been a hazard The comparison of the results from a biological residue and the determination that it is effectively DNA from a specific person is very far from being an exact science. Complementing the report from the English lab where the residues that were found by the dogs were sent to, the forensics expert sent the Polícia Judiciaria an email where he guaranteed that the conclusion about the traces that had been collected from the car boot was complex. "Is there Maddie's DNA?" the expert asked, then replying that there was no single answer. This means that, while it is true that 15 of the 19 markers corresponded to the English child (which allows for a high probability), it is also true that the individual components in Madeleine's profile were not uniquely hers. And he explained: "It is important to underline that 50 percent of Madeleine's profile is shared by each parent". That is where the doubt lies. As the genetic profiles of the relatives could not be separated, it had to be admitted – even if only theoretically or due to "hazard" – that the match was a symbiosis of residues from the mother and the father. John Lowe, forensics expert, further adds that several questions would always remain unanswered. Namely to know when and how the DNA was deposited, from which type of bodily fluids it came from and whether or not a crime had been committed. It is further worth mentioning that those residues had been collected from the rental that was rented after Maddie's disappearance – which makes it impossible for the child to have been riding the vehicle. The report from the English lab says that it is not possible to demonstrate that the collected residues belong to Kate and Gerry, but it then adds that it is not possible to prove the contrary, either. Notes Rogério Alves Predictable – For Madeleine's parents' lawyer, the archiving of the process was predictable, but the main issue remains unclear: the whereabouts of the child, that has been missing for one year and two months. Robert Murat End of a nightmare – Robert Murat, the Anglo-British citizen who was initially suspected of being involved in Maddie's disappearance, is one of the parties that is satisfied about this outcome: "It’s the end of a nightmare", his lawyer says. PJ Portimao No comments – The Criminal Investigation Department of the Polícia Judiciaria in Portimao, coordinated by Paulo Rebelo, excused itself from commenting on the archiving of the Maddie process. Isilda Gomes A different outcome – The Civil Governor of Faro, Isilda Gomes, stated yesterday that she "would have preferred a different outcome" for a case that mobilised Portugal. An outcome that cleared the doubts, according to her opinion. A. Pina Tourism without breaks – António Pina, the president of the Tourism Region of the Algarve, guarantees that Maddie's disappearance did not affect tourism in the area, clarifying that it is "a very isolated case". Luz Against archiving – A report by Lusa agency pointed yesterday to criticism from inhabitants and tourists in Praia da Luz towards the archiving, considering that the Maddie case "is badly told". Englishwoman "Mystery within the group" – Chris Edward, an English tourist on holiday in Luz with her six-year-old son, told Lusa that she does not feel any insecurity at the Ocean Club. And she observed that the Maddie mystery lies within the group of friends. Exclusive G. Amaral’s book in 'CM' – The revelations from the former coordinator of the Polícia Judiciaria in Portimao can be read on the 24th. The book will be distributed with 'CM's edition of that day and is a fundamental piece of this case.

"Madeleine died in the apartment", 23 July 2008

"Madeleine died in the apartment" Correio da Manha 23 July 2008 Thanks to Astro for translation Pre-publication 'CM' [Correio da Manha] today starts the exclusive publication of excerpts from the book by Gonçalo Amaral, who believes that Madeleine McCann died inside the apartment at Praia da Luz. The episode of the holidays in 2005, in Mallorca – which raises suspicions about a friend of the couple – and the DNA results are the first parts. "Madeleine Beth McCann, aged two and a half, and her twin siblings, at that time only a few months old, go away on holidays in the company of the parents, on the island of Mallorca. Three other couples of doctors and their children go along with them. [...] S.G. had attended the university in Dundee, between 1987 and 1992, where he met the future mother of Madeleine. K.G. only met Gerry McCann on his wedding with Kate Healy, around 1998, in Liverpool. After that event, the couple S.G. and K.G. become intimate friends with Madeleine's parents, meeting often, spending weekends together, keeping in touch over the phone. On the third or fourth night in Mallorca, after dinner, eating and drinking, while sitting around a table on the patio outside the house, K.G. watches a scene that makes her fear for her daughter's wellbeing, and that of the other children. She was sitting between Gerry McCann and David Payne, when she heard the latter ask whether she, maybe referring to Madeleine, would do 'this', then starting to suck on one of his fingers, which he pushed in and out of his mouth, insinuating a phallic object, while at the same time, with the fingers of his other hand, he traced circles around his nipple, in a provocative and sexual manner. At the moment when K.G. looked at Gerry McCann and David Payne with stupefaction, a nervous silence took place. Then everyone continued to chat as if nothing had happened. This episode left K.G. with serious doubts about David Payne's relationship with children. On another occasion, K.G. would once again see David Payne making the same gestures, this time while speaking about his own daughter. During that holiday period, it was the fathers who usually bathed the children, but from that moment on, K.G. never allowed David Payne to come close to her daughter. After those holidays in Mallorca, K.G. only met David and Fiona Payne on one occasion, and has not spoken to them since. [...] What is written above was reported to the English police on the 16th of May 2007, only thirteen days after the disappearance of Madeleine, by the couple S.G. and K.G. It was information that was important and pertinent for the investigation. Yet, nothing was transmitted to the Portuguese police. [...] I think that it was only after I left the investigation, maybe in late October 2007, that K.G.'s deposition was sent to the Portuguese police. It is legitimate to ask: for what reason did the English police, apparently, conceal that testimony for six months? When did they find out that David Payne, who had organised the trip to Mallorca, and who had been signalled with anomalous behaviour towards children, was the same who organized the trip to Portugal, that he was part of the holiday group in the village of Luz where Madeleine had been integrated, that he was the first family friend who could be seen at Kate McCann's side after the child's disappearance (as seen further ahead) and that on the date of the deposition he was still in Portugal, and could be confronted with these statements? [...] In early September, a few days before the McCann couple was constituted as arguidos, Superintendent Stuart Prior travels to Portimao. He brings a first preliminary report [from the forensics lab in Birmingham], and comes to discuss the state of the investigation with us. During a meeting in our office, with the Portuguese and the English investigation teams, Stuart shows his disappointment with the results of the tests. This is where the saga of the FSS reports starts. We read the report and we do not agree with Stuart's disappointment. The blood residues that were collected from the floor, behind the sofa in apartment 5A, as well as the blood residues that were recovered from the boot of the car that was used by the McCanns, are the issue. We talk about blood residues because the CSI dog is trained to detect only that bodily fluid. The reports that were used to based the decision on, which were written by experts Mark Harrison and Martin Grime, are clear: the CSI dog was used to locate human blood. The Low Copy Number, the technique that is used to determine the DNA from those samples, does not determine from which bodily fluid the DNA comes from. In the first case, it can be read that an incomplete DNA result was obtained, because the sample contained little information, presenting low level DNA indications that come from more than one person. But all the DNA components that are confirmed, match the corresponding components from Madeleine’s DNA profile! Concerning the second case, after an explanation about the DNA components of Madeleine's profile, and concluding that it is represented by 19 alleles, it is concluded that 15 are present in the tested sample. This means that 4 alleles are missing to obtain a 100% conclusive match. According to the experts from that lab, those 15 were not enough to conclude, with a high degree of certainty, that we were looking at Madeleine's DNA profile, even more so because the Low Copy Number found 37 components in the sample. Those 37 components were apparently there because at least three individuals had contributed to that result. Although 15 components from Madeleine's DNA profile had been found, the result was considered to be complex. But this first preliminary report went further. In it, the scientist had the unusual care of explaining that in many of the profiles of the lab experts, elements from Madeleine's DNA profile are present. This means that a good part of the DNA profile of any person can be built by three donors. It is understandable. Two questions were immediately raised. The first one: what use was a DNA profile, in terms of criminal evidence, if it can be the combination of three or more donors. The other question was simple: why did the DNA profile from those three donors contribute for 15 components of Madeleine's DNA profile and not that of anyone else, like for example, the scientist who performed the test? But the surprises from the preliminary reports would go even further. [...]" ........................................................................................... What the former policeman's book tells us Gonçalo Amaral decided to write the book in order to recover his own freedom of expression. Removed from the investigation by Alípio Ribeiro, the former coordinator of the PJ in Portimao believes that Madeleine McCann died in the apartment at the Ocean Club on the evening of the 3rd of May 2007. And he also believes that the parents simulated the abduction and concealed their daughter’s body, after a tragic accident inside the apartment. Directors' war The national director of the PJ, Almeida Rodrigues, said yesterday that his predecessor, Alípio Ribeiro, "was not noticed for being a good investigator". He thus responded to the criticism that had been made by Alípio about the archiving of the Maddie case, which he considered to have happened "too soon".

Cadaver was frozen or kept in the cold, 24 July 2008

Cadaver was frozen or kept in the cold Correio da Manha    24 July 2008 Thanks to Joana Morais for translation   Exclusive Interview with Gonçalo Amaral: Cadaver was frozen or was kept in the cold Gonçalo Amaral regrets that a 'fact-finding inquiry (sindicância) to the investigation was done". In the first interview where he talks about the process, he defends that Maddie died at the Ocean Club. The book is launched today in Lisbon and promises to re-launch controversy. Interview with Gonçalo Amaral in Correio da Manha today "The investigation was syndicated" Gonçalo Amaral laments that "the investigation was syndicated". In the first interview during which he speaks about the process, he defends that Maddie died at the Ocean Club. The book is launched in Lisbon today and promises to launch the controversy again Correio da Manha – As the case investigator, what is your thesis? Gonçalo Amaral – The little girl died in the apartment. Everything is in the book, which is faithful to the investigation until September: it reflects the understanding of the Portuguese and the English police and of the Public Ministry. For all of us, until then, the concealment of the cadaver, the simulation of abduction and the exposure or abandonment were proved. What led you to indict the McCanns over all of those crimes? It all starts with an abduction theory that is forced by the parents. And the abduction is based on two facts: one is Jane Tanner's testimony that says she saw a man passing in front of the apartment, carrying a child; the other is the bedroom window, which, according to Kate, was open when it should have been closed. It was proved that none of that happened. How was it proved? Jane Tanner is not credible: she identifies and recognizes different people. She starts with Murat, later on someone else is mentioned, according to the drawing done by a witness, and she already says that is the person, completely different from Robert Murat. Jane Tanner's testimony drove the abduction theory. In order to advance into that direction, it would be necessary to give her credit: there was no other indicium of the abduction. And the issue of the bedroom window, where Maddie and her siblings slept, is vital. It leads to simulation. This means, whether or not it was open when Jane says that she saw the man carrying the child. The little girl’s mother, Kate, is the only person that mentions the open window. Does that undo the abduction theory?   There lies the solution. To be closed or not, is a strong indicium for simulation. And why does one simulate abduction, rather than simply saying that the child has disappeared? She could have opened the door and left… Do Kate's fingerprints reinforce the simulation theory? They are the only fingerprints on the window. And in a position of opening the window. Did Kate have suspicious attitudes? She goes out for dinner and supposedly leaves three children asleep. She returns, one is missing, she goes out, leaving the window wide open with the twins asleep. And the night, according to what she says, was very cold… What about Maddie's bed? It carries no signs that anyone was in it. Nor does the chair or the bed under the window. And there are no imprints from strangers. The reconstitution is missing. It was not carried out 10 or 15 days after the facts, because the resort was full of tourists. We trusted that it could be carried out at a later date. It couldn't. Did you request data about the group? At 8 a.m. on the 4th, the request was made to the English liaison officer, but [the data] never arrived. What did you want to know? Who the people are, their antecedents. And the child, whether or not there are complaints against the parents or others. How she behaved in school, to find out if she was the target of abuse. How important is the Irish witness within the case? He explained where he and his family had seen, at 10 p.m. on the 3rd of May, a man carrying a little girl. And it wasn't Murat. They did not see the face, but they described the athletic and clumsy manner in which he carried the child. That was back in May. When the McCanns returned to England, the witness, watching Gerry get off the plane and walking across the asphalt carrying his child, had a realization. By the manner in which he walked and the clumsy way that he carries the child, he is 70 to 80 percent certain that it was the person he saw that evening. Says he and say the other members of the family. What did you do? On the days before I left Portimao we were taking care of that trip to Portugal. Then, the hearing of that witness was requested through a liaison officer from the Irish police in Madrid, which took months. During that time, the witness was approached by persons that are connected to the McCanns' staff, I don’t know with what intention. They felt pressured. Later on, the hearing arrived and he maintains the probability of 70 to 80 percent that it was Gerry who carried the little girl towards the beach. Couldn't that have been included in the rogatory letter? It could and it should. The ideal would have been for him to come to Portugal, as a key witness. Just like the couple of doctors that describe the situation in Mallorca. Once the abduction theory was set apart, how was the death theory built? With the elements that exist, we could only reach an accident, natural death, any cause without the intervention of another person. We were cementing evidence and advancing to understand what happened to the little girl's body. Also based on information from the British lab, about residues that were found inside the car that was rented by the McCanns. Where and how could they have hidden the body for over twenty days? That was what we were trying to find out. Searching within their friends, because the couple had a lot of acquaintances. We tried to understand where the little girl could have been during those twenty something days. Out of reach from the searches. Yes. There was information that the couple had been seen walking towards a certain apartment block, we were trying to understand which apartment it was. Who had access to that apartment. But everything stopped. How do you interpret that stopping of everything, when you left? It almost looks as if the investigation was syndicated. It was even said that the blood that was found was not human. The dogs only smell human blood. The sample that is collected and taken to England, to be analysed with the Low Copy Number technique, is microscopic. The technique does not allow them to state whether it is blood or any other type of fluid – but it guarantees that it is human. The family tried to justify itself. Later on, a brother-in-law and a cousin of Kate said that they had carried steaks in the trunk that had thawed, even garbage, but no. The dogs follow neither garbage smell nor non-human blood. Then there is a witness, that was never heard, a jurist that lived next to the couple, in the second house [villa] outside of the apartment, saying that the car trunk was left open during the night, for airing. But maybe that was because of the garbage… Within the theory of the parents' involvement, can you reconstitute that night?   We had already concluded, long before the Irish witness, that if those persons were involved, there was only one possibility. It pointed towards the beach. Not only because of what [locations] they knew but also due to the terrain’s conditions. In that area, it is not easy to dig a hole. One either knows where holes already exist, or it is not possible, within a short time lapse, to decide where to place a corpse without knowing the area. If there was involvement, it would have been towards the beach area. Which is later corroborated by the Irish witness. At the time when the Irish tourist reportedly saw Gerry, there are various witness statements that place the child’s father at the Ocean Club. They are not credible. The employees are unable to tell at what time the persons were there, for how long each one of them stayed away when they say they went to the apartments. And the group is not credible. They say that on the previous nights, every 30 minutes, each one of them went to check only on his own children; but on that night, between 9.30 and 10 p.m., someone curiously goes to check that apartment, almost every five minutes, leaving the rest unchecked. And what about Gerry? He justifies some of the time with a trip to the toilet. That is not five minutes, then he meets another individual outside. Hence the need for the reconstruction. To find out how long it took them to get to the apartments, what route they walked, etc. A reconstruction that should be joint with the restaurant's movement, because when it is said that they asked for the food from 9 p.m. onwards, there was one person who ordered a steak. And that steak was heated again because someone was not there. It is necessary to find out whose steak that was. He was away for a much longer time period… An adult carrying a child, until the beach, how long [does it take]? Fifteen minutes. How was it possible for the apartment to be rented out after the crime? The apartment was immediately fully contaminated by the parents' action, before the police arrived. A complete fair was built there and at a certain point, dogs were demanded to come inside the house. You admitted the possibility that the children had been given sedatives. The twins, with the lights on, with the lights off, with a crowd of people going in and out, slept until 2 a.m., when they were carried into another apartment. Even then, they continued to sleep. That sleep is not normal. But the Judiciaria did nothing. Once again, we were inhibited. We thought about asking the parents to test their hair, in order to understand whether there were sedatives, but as soon as it was found out, it would be said that we were suspecting the parents, and it was being avoided at all costs that it became public that those suspicions existed. How is there room for speculation about the DNA tests? It was those results that allowed you to advance with the arguido status. The speculation is done by the scientist who performs the test. He starts out by saying, in his preliminary report, that it was easy to say that it was Maddie. Then he raised other questions. Of course nobody can be accused, based on that data alone. "The cadaver was frozen" Correio da Manha - What do you think happened to the body? Gonçalo Amaral – Everything indicated that the body, after having been at a certain location, was moved into another location by car, twenty something days later. With the residues that were found inside the car, the little girl had to have been transported inside it. How can you state that? Due to the type of fluid, we policemen, experts, say that the cadaver was frozen or preserved in the cold and when placed into the car boot, with the heat at that time [of the year], part of the ice melted. On a curb, for example, something fell from the trunk's right side, above the wheel. It may be said that this is speculation, but it's the only way to explain what happened there. If the body was hidden in the beach area first, was it always out of reach for the searches? The beach was searched at a time when it is not known whether the body was still there. Using dogs, but sniffer dogs have limitations, like the salted water, for example. Later on, it may have been removed. "We should have done phone tapping" Correio da Manha – Did you feel political pressure during the investigation? G.A. – Inhibition. One of the mistakes was that we did not advance on this group with everything that legally was within our reach: Tapping, surveillance. It was necessary, for example, to recover the clothes that the little girl was wearing when she left the crèche to go home. There, we thought: if we go, it will immediately be said that we suspect the parents. That inhibition happened throughout time. And that led you towards the abduction. We had to prove that there was no abduction, in order to focus on those persons afterwards… How does the pressure appear? Right on the morning of the 4th of May, with a consul calling the embassy and saying that the PJ wasn't doing anything. Then an ambassador. Next, an advisor and the English prime minister. "Payne is the last one to see her" Correio da Manha – When do testimonies concerning David Payne's behaviour indicating sexual practices with minors arrive? Gonçalo Amaral – In May. Something went wrong with that group during a holiday: David Payne made revealing gestures concerning behaviour towards children. Even towards Maddie. We asked for information but it arrived after the 26th of October. They sent the information without giving it any importance. What exactly did arrive? A couple of doctors spent holidays in Mallorca, in 2005, with David Payne, the McCanns and another couple. The lady says she saw Payne with his finger in his mouth, making a movement in and out, while rubbing his nipple with the other hand. And he was talking about Maddie, next to her father. Those statements should have been given a different treatment by the police. It was relevant to access the information, about doctors, who are just as credible as anyone else. What else remains unclear concerning David Payne? He will be the last one to see Maddie alive after 5.30 p.m., when she leaves the crèche. He meets Gerry playing tennis and asks him about Kate and the children. Gerry answers that they are in the apartment and he goes there. He returns 30 minutes later. Kate says it was 30 seconds. There is something not quite right here. ........................................................................................ Pre-publication The evidence and the results of the case "Arriving this far, it is important to make a deductive summary about this case. Which means, to reject what is false; to set aside what cannot be proved, because it is insufficient; to consider as valid and certain what has been proved. What is proved Therefore: 1. The abduction theory is defended by Maddie's parents since the first moment; 2. Within the group, only her parents stated that they observed the open window in the missing girl's bedroom; the majority cannot witness it faithfully because they arrived at the apartment after the alarm was raised; 3. The only statement outside of the group that mentions the open window and the raised shutters comes from Amy, one of the Ocean Club's nannies, who points her observation towards 10.20/10.30 p.m., which is some time after the alarm was raised and does not prove that it was open like that at the time when the crime happened; 4. The set of depositions and witness statements exposes a high number of imprecision, incongruence and contradictions – which, in some cases, may be typified as false testimonies. In particular, the key statement for the abduction theory, from Jane Tanner, which loses all credibility due to the fact that it successively evolved throughout various moments in time, becoming ambiguous and disqualifying itself; 5. There is a cadaver that has not been located, a conclusion that is validated by the English EVRD and CSI dogs and corroborated by the preliminary lab test results. Certainties until October "For me, and for the investigators that worked with me on the case until October 2007, the results that we reached were the following:   1. The minor Madeleine McCann died in apartment 5A at the Ocean Club, in Vila da Luz, on the evening of the 3rd of May 2007;   2. An abduction was simulated;   3. Kate Healy and Gerald McCann are suspected of involvement in the concealment of their daughter’s cadaver;   4. Death may have resulted from a tragic accident;   5. There is indicia of neglect in the guard and safety of the children." "Decisive diligence was never carried out" "The Smith family [Irish witnesses] is available to make a formal recognition. We had already contacted the Smith family, from Ireland, whose patriarch was prepared to travel to the Algarve, to give a new statement and for a formal recognition […] following the recognition that he had made on television of the man who on the 3rd of May, in Vila da Luz, walked towards the beach carrying a little girl, a little girl that they had recognized as being Madeleine McCann. "The man that the Smith were talking about was, with a high degree of certainty, Gerald McCann, who they had seen on the English television news, on the day that the McCann couple returned [on their definitive trip] to the United Kingdom. That man that came down the airplane stairs and walked on the asphalt, carrying a child, was apparently the same man who, on the evening of the 3rd of May, walked into the direction of the beach, carrying Madeleine, who seemed to be deeply asleep. "When the situation was presented to the National Director of the Polícia Judiciaria [Alípio Ribeiro at that time], he agreed with what was being suggested to him, [namely] the coming to the Algarve, at our expenses, of the elements of the Smith family that were able to testify the facts." McCanns erased all the telephone calls The calls on the couple's mobile phones were erased, with the exception, in Kate's case, of a call from her husband at 11.17 on that night of the 3rd of May, minutes after the disappearance was known. But this call is not registered on the mobile phone that belongs to Gerry, who erased all the phone calls of that day, presumably after he called Kate at that time. This fact, that was never clarified in terms of its motivation, intrigued the investigators.

McCanns' detectives investigated, 25 July 2008

McCanns' detectives investigated Correio da Manha (no online link, appears in paper edition only)   25 July 2008 Thanks to 'astro' for translation   Private investigators that were hired by the McCann couple are the target of a criminal process at the PJ's Directory in Faro, for suspected extortion and attempted murder. The case took place a few months ago and involved a former inmate who was paid by detective agency Método 3 to supply information that he allegedly had obtained in prison, from Joao Cipriano, the uncle of Joana, who was killed 4 years ago, also in the Algarve. Joao Cipriano allegedly told the former inmate that he owned recent photographs of Joana and that he also had information that is related to Madeleine McCann. After the money was received, the information was not given and the individual was allegedly molested by the detectives, filing a complaint with the PJ in Faro for attempted murder (being run over by a car in a rural area with an uneven terrain). The investigators from Método 3 were also suspected of persecuting Robert Murat for several months, trying to find elements to incriminate him. Tracking devices were detected on the Anglo-British citizen's vehicle.

Kate forced political pressure, 26 July 2008

Kate forced political pressure Correio da Manha    Revelations – Maddie's mother's notes prove Gonçalo Amaral right   26 July 2008 Thanks to 'astro' for translation   The English prime minister called the couple directly and the British diplomacy took care of the travelling   "To increase the political pressure". The phrase, by Kate McCann, written among the notes that were found in her house and which the Polícia Judiciaria (PJ) had apprehended, is clear about the manner in which Maddie's parents intended to manage their daughter's disappearance, bringing it into the press' first pages and turning it into a case with political outlines. On the morning of the 23rd of May 2007 (twenty days after Maddie's disappearance), before they left for the Sanctuary of Fatima, Kate and Gerry left Gordon Brown a message. Maddie's mother describes it as a form of "raising the political pressure" and reveals that the present Prime Minister – at that date, he was not in functions but had already been confirmed as Tony Blair's successor – answered her only three hours later. He spoke with Gerry, was "very sympathetic and gave strength", tells Kate, who describes the visit to the catholic sanctuary as overwhelming, potent and emotional. On the same day in the afternoon, Gordon Brown called Maddie's parents again. Kate's notebooks do not report the conversation but one is able to understand that the purpose was to create political pressure, forcing the PJ to act swiftly.   Today, at more than a year's distance from the child's disappearance and after the case has been archived, Kate's notes expose the pressures that were reported by the former coordinator of the case, Gonçalo Amaral, who from the moment when he was removed from the investigation, realised that the process would not produce an accusation. With an investigation that was initially inclined towards the abduction theory, partly forced by the McCanns, the evidence of the pressures by the couple also explains the British press' posture in the coverage of the case, mainly from the moment when Madeleine's parents went from victims to suspects and arguidos. With the British prime minister himself supporting the McCanns, through direct and frequent phone calls that are revealed by Kate, it became almost impossible for the English government to help an investigation that had indicated the parents as guilty. Apart from the contacts with Gordon Brown, Kate's notebooks reveal other important allies. From the hiring of Clarence Mitchell, who at that point in time worked for the government, as an assistant, until the conversations with the wife of Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister. Mitchell actually had a pivotal role in the propaganda machine that was built by the McCanns within a few days, and which counted on the great help from the British diplomacy in all the trips that were carried out by Kate and Gerry.   The first and most media-exposed [trip] – to Rome, to be received by Pope Benedict XVI – was suggested by the assistant, on the 27th of May, after speaking to Francis Campbell, the British ambassador at the Vatican. "Rome is already preparing itself", Kate wrote, anticipating that visit as what would become the "main" news on that day. One day later, the visit and the audience with the Pope were already confirmed, with a program that was prepared in a detailed manner. On the 30th of May, after leaving the British consulate in Rome, Kate and Gerry, accompanied by the ambassador, made a strategic stop "for the photographers to catch an image looking at the Basilica", and continued towards the Vatican, where they spent a few minutes with Benedict XVI. A moment that was described as very emotional, positive and important, and that summoned "loads of" journalists and photographers, which is definitely a concern that is always present with the couple.   After Rome, Madrid, Berlin and Morocco followed, trips with the purpose of publicising Madeleine's face and which always relied on passages through consulates or receptions by British ambassadors and political representatives of the corresponding countries. According to Kate's notes, the days started or ended with meetings, phone calls and emails. Cherie Blair, the wife of Tony Blair, Gordon Brown's predecessor, was one of Kate's contacts, as demonstrated by the reports of the 17th of July. Before Kate gives Sky News an interview, she speaks with Cherie, who agrees to make a 20 second videoclip about Maddie for the English channel. On that same day, Blair himself pledges assistance and makes himself available for whatever is needed. Kate's notes: "Left a message for Gordon Brown to call us in order to increase the political pressure" – Kate McCann, 23rd of May "Gordon Brown called and spoke with Gerry – very sympathetic and gave strength. Somewhat emotive feeling afterwards" – Kate McCann, 23rd of May "Clarence spoke to us about a possible visit to the Vatican. Rome is already preparing itself. Francis Campbell was spoken to" – Kate McCann, 27th of May ………………………. The ambassador's solidarity On the 4th [of May], only hours after the alert of Madeleine's disappearance was given, Kate wrote in her notes that the English ambassador, John Buck, had been in the apartment offering them his solidarity. She also noted the presence of two employees from the consulate and stressed the strong presence of the media on location. "There is news appearing in the United Kingdom", Maddie's mother remembered, also noting the "worrying" and "boring" presence of Yvone, the English social security technician who tried to understand whether there was anything in the family's life that might explain the child's absence. It should be referred that on that very same day, the ambassador met with senior officials from the PJ to understand the outlines of the case. ………………………….. The news Abduction theory – On the first days after Maddie's disappearance, on the 3rd of May 2007, the abduction theory was the only one that was mentioned in the news. "Give back our Madeleine", the parents appealed, not admitting any other possibility. Visit to Fatima – Twenty days after Maddie's disappearance, the McCann couple went to pray at the Sanctuary of Fatima. But before that, they called Gordon Brown in order to increase the political pressure. Brown's pressure – Only five days after the McCanns' contact with the British prime minister, Gordon Brown's pressures on Portugal because of the Maddie case were already known. McCanns at the Vatican - The trip to the Vatican and the audience with Pope Benedict XVI were suggested by advisor Clarence Mitchell, who mobilised the British diplomacy in order to take the McCanns to Rome. …………………………… "Former PJ director pulls the rug from under his successor's feet" The former President of the Republic, Jorge Sampaio, said to SIC yesterday that it is "truly unheard of, from the point of view of institutions and of the prestige that we must defend before foreign countries, that the former director of the PJ, a joint prosecutor [Alípio Ribeiro], came out to criticize the archiving [of the process of the disappearance of Maddie] when it was him who managed that process, and I also presume that the constitution of arguidos [of Kate and Gerry McCann] was not entirely unknown to him. I think this is an amazing thing in terms of pulling the rug from under the feet of colleagues that succeeded him in his post. There is no democracy that justifies this", according to Sampaio. Concerning Gonçalo Amaral, the former President considers that "if he has factual data that is important for the reopening of this instruction, then he should present them". …………………………… Book Complaint advances – The McCanns say that a lawsuit for defamation against Gonçalo Amaral is "likely", because of the book, but also against Portuguese newspapers for reproducing its contents. Amaral Everything in the process – The McCanns' spokesman says that "from the Attorney General's statements, they are innocent before the law", but Amaral recalls that his statements are in the process. Portimao Presentation – Gonçalo Amaral launches his book in Portimao today. The session is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Municipal Museum. Porto and Braga are his next destinations. Book Reserve your copy – "The Truth of the Lie", Gonçalo Amaral's book, will be distributed again next week, on a date that is yet to be scheduled by CM. Reserve a copy at your kiosk. Malinka Receives 250 thousand euros – Apart from Robert Murat, also the Russian Sergey Malinka and his [Murat's] girlfriend at that time, Michaela Walczuch, will receive approximately 250 thousand euros in compensation from the British press. Tomorrow: The management of news in the British press

Secrets of Kate: Walks were staged, 27 July 2008

Click to enlarge Secrets of Kate: Walks were staged Correio da Manha      Notebooks of Maddie's mother reveal tactics with the British press   27 July 2008   Kate and Gerry McCann have controlled the media reporting their daughter's disappearance. In order not to be criticised by the British Press, Madeleine McCann's parents offered photoshoots, some of them during their usual morning walks – which were apparently routine but turned out to be pre-arranged, as Kate's personal notes reveal.   Get all the exclusive details in the edition of 'Correio da Manha' this Sunday   *   Kate managed the news and controlled the English Correio da Manha    Maddie case – Press was manipulated in exchange for photoshoots   27 July 2008 Thanks to 'astro' for translation   The McCann couple took four hours to outline their strategy, went out for walks on request from the British photographers and escaped the Portuguese   Kate and Gerry McCann controlled the British media in the news coverage of their daughter's disappearance. In order to avoid criticism from the English press, Maddie's parents offered photoshoots, some of them during their usual morning walks in the Algarve – which were apparently routine, but previously arranged, as Kate's notes reveal. "The British journalists were annoyed because they found out too late that I had been in the United Kingdom. It ended up with Justine receiving loads of phone calls and arranging for a photoshoot on the way to the church, to pacify them", Kate writes on the 5th of July, revealing a tactic that was adopted in the first days after the 3-year-old girl disappeared.   "Dress up and go for a walk. It had been requested by photographers and agreed that for sentimental reasons it would be good". This walk happened on the 7th of June, three days after Kate registered that she had been "annoyed" about the presence of Portuguese journalists outside the apartment. Before that, on the 19th of May, the photoshoot for the English newspaper 'Sunday Mirror' was previously arranged: "Us spending time with the twins for the Sunday papers". In the same notes, Kate expresses distress about the Portuguese and the German journalists. On the 11th of June, in Morocco, after Kate made a positive evaluation of the trip because there were so many photographers present, the doctor remembers "noticing" Portuguese journalists. "We didn't want to give them a story", decided the McCanns, who classify the questions from the Portuguese as "sleazy and unexpected", even after preparation meetings that last "four hours": "I was very angry at a journalist today. I told her not to do so much detective work." Concerning the editor of the 'Sun' newspaper, on the 11th of July Kate was assured that there would be no "adverse publicity": "She was really nice. Perfect solution", Maddie's mother noted. Clarence replaced Justine when the tension rose   Clarence Mitchell was the first one to offer his face for the McCanns. He met Gerry on an occasion when the latter was returning from England, at the end of May 2007, at a time when he was part of the Consular Assistance Group, representing the Foreign Office. He took over the couple's defence on the 22nd of May, but returned to England in the mid-summer, when he was replaced by Justine McGuinness, who directed the campaign to search for Madeleine from the 22nd of June onwards. The tensions between the McCanns and Justine were never evident. But the fact that she abandoned the couple's defence immediately after they were made arguidos and returned to England, remains unexplained. Now, it becomes clear that the tension came from before. Justine and Gerry had already discussed the honoraries. The advisor wanted to receive overtime and demanded a payment that was above what had initially been agreed. On the 28th of July, the tension between the family and the spokeswoman was obvious. Kate wrote in her notes that she [Justine] did not have good "interpersonal aptitudes" and that she could even be very "unpleasant". Kate remembered that there had been an argument between Justine and a relative and that Gerry had tried to calm them down. "It all ended well", Kate McCann concluded, but still seriously doubted the advisor's character. Journalists far away from the house   The McCanns' first days in England were subject to intense media attention. They allowed themselves to be photographed with their children again, after they had agreed exclusives with televisions and newspapers to cover the return. Days later, Clarence Mitchell opted for another strategy. He agreed with the English journalists that those would never persecute the McCanns again. In exchange, the couple's spokesman would supply fortuitous meetings, and in case the journalists would fail their compromise, he would exclude them from his contact list. Everyone accepted. When in March CM [Correio da Manha] tried to speak to the McCanns without going through Clarence Mitchell, we were intercepted by the police. The couple demanded that Portuguese journalists be forbidden from getting close to their house, and their neighbours were advised not to speak. Robert Murat sues the McCann couple's friends Robert Murat, the first arguido in the case of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, is going to sue some of the McCann couple's English friends.   According to news in yesterday's edition of 'Sol' newspaper, the Anglo-British citizen is going to advance with complaints over the crimes of perjury and slanderous denunciations, alleging that the English lied in the depositions that they gave to the Polícia Judiciaria with the purpose to incriminate him. Robert Murat, who is going to receive hundreds of thousands of euros in compensation from 11 British newspapers, was made an arguido only 11 days after the little girl disappeared, on the 14th of May 2007, after several friends of Kate and Gerry McCann referred his presence in the Ocean Club apartment on the fateful evening of the 3rd of May 2007, in Praia da Luz. Notes Newspapers Gerry is brilliant – "Gerry was brilliant again", Kate wrote in one of her usual accounts after the meetings with journalists, during which it was her husband who did the talking. Maddie 14 months ago – Madeleine McCann disappeared 14 months ago from the apartment where she was on holidays with her parents, in the Algarve, on the evening of the 3rd of May 2007. Investigation Case archived – The investigation started by focusing on the abduction theory and then on the possibility of an accidental death followed by the concealment of the cadaver. The process ended up archived. Tomorrow: How Kate McCann lived the first day without Maddie

Kate irritated with the PJ on the first day, 28 July 2008

Kate irritated with the PJ on the first day Correio da Manha   Kate's notes - Mother of Madeleine did not like to be interrogated   28 July 2008 - 00h30   Kate McCann did not like the Policia Judiciaria. On her first day without Maddie, a few hours after having seen her daughter for the last time in the apartment that they all shared in the Ocean Club, the mother of the child did not hide her discomfort in front of the investigators.   Read all the exclusive details in Monday's edition of Correio da Manha   *   Policeman irritates Kate for not offering coffee Correio da Manha   Kate's notebooks - Madeleine's mother did not like to be questioned   28 July 2008 Thanks to 'astro' for translation   Reports of the first day without Maddie tell of discomfort when faced with the investigators who searched for her daughter Kate McCann did not like the Polícia Judiciaria. On the first day without Maddie, a few hours after she had seen her daughter for the last time, in the apartment that they all occupied in Praia da Luz, the child's mother didn't hide the discomfort in face of the investigators. In her writings, which were apprehended months later by the same PJ, Kate complained about the treatment that she had been given during her first questioning: "Nobody offered us a drink or food. All the policemen were informally dressed and smoking. No sympathy was shown. […] The police officer who drove us to the PJ was asking me questions and then he typed them down. Slow", says Kate, who also didn't like the fact that she had to return to the Judiciaria a short while later. "We got a phone call from the PJ saying that we had to return. We turned around and returned at 200 kilometres per hour. Scary once again", Kate continues, sparing the rest of the police forces no criticism. "The GNR appeared without being certain of their role – they seemed to be doing nothing", she underlined. Kate equally didn't like to speak to Yvone, the English Social Security employee who worked at the Department of Child Protection and who later told the Leicester police that she had found the behaviour of the parents and of one of the friends to be strange. "Also Yvone. A bit boring, worrying, because I didn't know who it was", Kate reported. In the same writings, and still remembering the 4th of May (the notes started to be written at a later date, allegedly upon medical advice), Kate McCann recollects that the British ambassador offered her help. And that there were also technicians from the consulate on location, and Madeleine's mother remembered a conversation with Robert Murat, during which he told her about his daughter and her similarities with Maddie.   Notes of Kate McCann   The GNR appeared uncertain about their role. They seemed to be doing nothing.   Nobody presented the police. No one offered us a drink or food. All the policemen were dressed informally and smoking. There was no sympathy shown and it was far from reassuring.   We left with the PJ and they drove at an exaggerated speed. I was very angry. Needless, frustrating, I felt so powerless."   May 4   British woman wanted to help the couple Yvone was on holidays in the Algarve when she heard that Maddie had disappeared. The technician, who is an expert in cases of endangered children, rushed to offer her help, but later guaranteed to the police that she had not been well accepted. Yvone also said that David Payne, one of the friends, had advised the McCanns not to speak to her. She found the parents' behaviour strange. Kate admits her daughter's death Despite having only admitted it publicly in August, Kate assumed the possibility that her daughter was dead on the day after the disappearance. "Is she dead?" she questions herself in her notebooks, in a register of the 4th of May, after she was heard at the PJ in Portimao. The hypothesis that her daughter's disappearance is connected with paedophilia also haunted her: "Thinking about paedophiles makes me want to pull the skin off." Police in force in the Algarve During the first days after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, the Polícia Judiciaria only admitted the theory of abduction of the little girl in public, and mobilised extraordinary means into the Algarve. The directory of Faro, which is directed by Guilhermino Encarnaçao, was joined by brigades from Lisbon and elements of the Central Directory of Banditism Combat (DCCB), including its director, Luís Neves. With the investigations centred on the abduction theory and with extraordinary means mobilised, alerts were sent to the borders, to the airports and to the Spanish authorities. The PJ even asked for the population's cooperation to find Maddie, and one day later, Guilhermino Encarnaçao guaranteed that he already had a photofit of the child's [abductor], which would not be publicised. Praia da Luz and its surroundings were patrolled by GNR men, car stop operations were set up on the roads that exit the Algarve, and the garbage collection was also followed. A total of approximately one hundred men from the Polícia Judiciaria were moved into the Algarve as early as in the first few hours after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, which happened on the evening of the 3rd of May. Tomorrow: The McCanns' relationship with the suspects

Kate tried everything to accuse Murat, 29 July 2008

Kate tried everything to accuse Murat Correio da Manha      Kate's notebooks - McCann's and friends against the Anglo-Portuguese   29 July 2008   Kate McCann tried everything to blame Robert Murat for the disappearance of her daughter, and with that objective in mind and the help of friends, committed herself to finding evidence to convince the Polícia Judiciaria about the involvement of the British-Portuguese.   Get all the exclusive details in this Tuesday's edition of 'Correio da Manha'   *   Kate tried everything to accuse Murat Correio da Manha    Kate's notebooks - McCanns and friends against the Anglo-Portuguese   29 July 2008 Thanks to 'astro' for translation   Madeleine McCann's mother engaged in collecting indicia that would lead to the accusation of the Anglo-Portuguese [man] over the little girl's disappearance   Kate McCann bet everything into blaming Robert Murat over the disappearance of her daughter, and it was with that purpose in mind and with the help of friends that she engaged in collecting evidence and in convincing the Polícia Judiciaria of the Anglo-Portuguese [man's] involvement. On the day that Murat is made an arguido, already after friends of the McCanns referred his presence in the surroundings of the apartment on the evening of the disappearance of Madeleine to the authorities, Kate registered in her notes that she had become "very hopeful, excited about this". Three weeks later, Kate, who met frequently with the PJ during the investigation, writes that "Robert Murat continues to be the main suspect". "For good reason", she adds, lamenting that there is not "strong evidence".   When three of the friends are called to the PJ to repeat their statements following contradictions about the presence of Murat at the Ocean Club, on the 11th of July, Kate tries to excuse her friends with the fact that they were questioned in the presence of the Anglo-Portuguese [man]: "What happened was that they were questioned in the room, sitting beside Murat and his lawyer. He apparently said that they were lying, which made them quite angry. They started thinking that he was certainly involved. What was he hiding???" In her notes dated July 18, almost two months after Maddie's disappearance and at a time when there are starting to appear indicia against the McCanns, Kate sounds disheartened and reinforces the accusations against Murat: "I had lots of hope that there would be progress in Murat's situation. I'm sure that he is involved and I feel like killing him, but I can't". Nine days later, Madeleine's mother receives a message from a woman that tells her that Murat tried to photograph the granddaughter of a friend, also three years old and blond, and Kate sends "the whole" information to the PJ. "I'm certain that he is guilty and I just want to scream", she writes on the 27th of July. Premonition with Malinka Sergey Malinka, aged 23, had been living in Praia da Luz for eight years. He was a friend of Robert Murat – one of the first suspects of the disappearance of Madeleine – and he ended up becoming involved in the turmoil of suspects because he was the last person to contact the Anglo-Portuguese [man] after the child disappeared. He was also close to Murat because he set up the online page for Romigen – the company that belonged to the Anglo-Portuguese and to Michaela Walczuch. Although Malinka was only heard as a witness, he ended up becoming involved in the abduction. The questioning was hard and outside the PJ, the agents' irritation could be heard because the questions remained unanswered. His phone was tapped, just like Murat's, but nothing relevant was detected. In her notes, Kate refers to Malinka as one of the persons involved in the little girl's abduction. The first indication is dated June 5 and also concerns Murat. "Robert Murat continues to be the main suspect and for good reason, but unfortunately there isn't strong evidence. Malinka and Michaela are also very much in the scene. I always had a bad premonition, uncomfortable, about Malinka. He is cold", wrote Kate, who later on supplied information to Método 3, a Spanish detective agency, telling them that a witness had seen Michaela transporting a child. It is recalled that Malinka, of Russian nationality, was heard by the PJ on the 16th of May, two days after Murat was made an arguido and the PJ searched his house. The Russian was damaged because there were equally suspicions in his past. Malinka reportedly engaged in sexual relationships with minors, which turned him into a potential predator. The fact that he is a computer expert led the Polícia Judiciaria to admit that he might have abducted Maddie. Jane Turnner (sic) guaranteed that Murat carried Maddie   Jane Turnner (sic), one of the Englishwomen that accompanied the McCanns on their holidays in Praia da Luz, guaranteed after the first few hours upon the disappearance that she saw a man carrying a child walking towards Casa Liliana (where Murat lived). Later on – and also facing the suspicions that befell the Anglo-Portuguese [man] - Jane said she was almost certain that the man she had visualised for a few seconds only was in fact Robert Murat. The witness' statement was considered to be credible during the first hours and strengthened the suspicions that befell the Anglo-Portuguese [man]. Robert Murat ended up being the target of a search on the 14th of May and was heard at the PJ on that same morning, denying any involvement in the child's disappearance. The lack of indicia ended up determining his release.   Notes of Kate McCann   News about Murat. Initially very hopeful, excited about this, probably too much. May 14   Murat continues to be the main suspect and for good reason, but unfortunately there is no strong evidence.   June 5   I had lots of hope that there would have been progress in Murat's situation and that they had more things about him. We have no understanding of it, is to lie with how many teeth have (Note: Currently seeking clarification on this sentence). Thinking about it causes so much anger and hatred in me. I am sure that he is involved and I want to kill him, but I cannot.   July 8   I am certain that he is guilty and I just want to scream.   July 27   Suspicions Profile accused him – The English experts that elaborated the profile of the abductor guaranteed that in Murat's case it fitted to 90 percent. Accusations from friends - A former friend of Murat gave the PJ a deposition telling that the Anglo-Portuguese [man] had strange behaviours when he was a child. It was one more fact against him. Touched documents – Called during the initial phase of the process to work as a translator, Murat was caught by the PJ touching the inquiry's documents. Tomorrow: Kate reacts to the police's first suspicions

McCanns pressure PJ, 30 July 2008

McCanns pressure PJ Correio da Manha      Kate's notebooks - English diplomacy in defence of Maddie's parents   30 July 2008 - 00h30   When the Polícia Judiciaria suggested that the apartment where Maddie had disappeared from might be contaminated, due to the responsibility of the parents themselves, who failed to immediately contact the authorities, thus allowing for several persons to enter the bedroom, the McCanns set the British diplomacy in action to "take care" of the matter.   Get all the exclusive details in Wednesday's edition of Correio da Manha   *   McCanns pressure PJ Correio da Manha   Kate's notebooks – English diplomacy in defence of Maddie's parents   Ana Luísa Nascimento/Eduardo Dâmaso/Tânia Laranjo 30 July 2008 Thanks to 'astro' for translation   Couple didn't admit any responsibility in their daughter's disappearance and called the British ambassador, John Buck, to "take care" of the matter When the Polícia Judiciaria suggested that the apartment where Maddie had disappeared from might be contaminated, due to the responsibility of the parents themselves, who failed to immediately contact the authorities, thus allowing for several persons to enter the bedroom, the McCanns set the British diplomacy in action to "take care" of the matter. "How does anyone dare to insinuate that our daughter's life may be in danger because of us?!" Kate writes in her notes dated June 17, showing she is "very angry". The McCanns didn't lose any time. "Gerry took the matter up". Madeleine's parents only needed to "call the ambassador" and a few hours later they had the guarantee that "the Portuguese police are going to publish a statement to clarify what was said". "Olegario de Sousa was very embarrassed", Kate writes in her notes, after the couple stated that they were "prepared to do whatever is necessary" if the police didn't clarify Kate and Gerry's role in the investigation. Three days later, Kate writes that Olegario de Sousa needed to "wisen up" and reveals that she feels they are "going nowhere". The "frustration" with the PJ starts being registered by Kate right after her daughter's disappearance. After an alleged sighting of Maddie in Morocco, on the 11th of May, Kate accuses the PJ of not having acted swiftly enough and of not doing everything that they can, given the fact that when they arrive in Marrakesh there are only images of the garage from the 14th onwards. "If the authorities had acted swiftly, we would now hold this potentially important information. She deserves better. We need everyone involved to give their best", Maddie's mother criticises. Bed remained intact One of the criticisms that is launched by Gonçalo Amaral in the book "Maddie, The Truth of the Lie", was the contamination of the apartment. The alert to the authorities was given very late and the GNR didn't protect the collection of the first residues, either. When the PJ arrived at the house, everything had already been rummaged. There were hundreds of fingerprints spread all over the apartment, tens of useless residues that only made the lab technicians waste time. One detail was, however, retained by the investigators. The bed where Maddie had allegedly been abducted from remained intact. The child's soft toy was also impeccably placed next to the pillow, in a scenario that seemed to have been set up. On the window through which Kate says the abductor took Maddie, there were only her own fingerprints. Kate's notes: "Frustration with a police employee: asking me where my little Madeleine might be…" May 14 "Very upsetting. If the authorities had acted swiftly, we would now hold this potentially important information. She deserves better. We need everyone involved to give their best" June 12 "How does anyone dare to insinuate that our daughter's life may be in danger because of us?" June 17 English attacked Gonçalo Amaral Gonçalo Amaral, the coordinator of the Maddie case during the first five months, who never believed in the abduction theory, was harshly attacked by the English press – which is controlled and manipulated by the McCanns. The former Judiciaria inspector, who retired after a career of 17 years and published his theory about the disappearance of Maddie in a book, was removed from the case on the 2nd of October, the day of his 48th birthday. When the investigation quit being focused on abduction, after the first DNA results and the action of the forensics dogs, Gonçalo Amaral was accused of being a "drunk". The English tabloids, even the more temperate 'The Times', wrote that the Portuguese inspectors at the Polícia Judiciaria, [who were] responsible for the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, had two hour lunch breaks, during which they ingested alcoholic drinks. Apart from the "well watered" meals, the British journalists accused Gonçalo Amaral of working only four hours per day. The case which revealed itself as less of an investigation than a political and diplomatic process, ended up hastening the retirement of Gonçalo Amaral, who reports the pressures that he suffered, in the book 'Maddie, the Truth of the Lie'. The former coordinator of the process remains convinced that Madeleine McCann accidentally died on the evening of the 3rd of May, in the Ocean Club apartment where she was on holiday. Manipulated press The McCanns controlled the English press – which constantly attacked the Portuguese police – in order not to become the target of unfavourable news, and in exchange offered previously arranged photo shoots. This is admitted by Kate in her notebooks, namely on June 15, when she arranged "a photo shoot on the way to the church to pacify them". The editor of 'The Sun' newspaper guaranteed to Kate, on the 11th of July, that there would be no "adverse publicity". "She was really nice. Perfect solution", Kate concluded. Tomorrow: How Kate managed the relationship with the twins.

Kate tried to hide twins' tantrums, 31 July 2008

Kate tried to hide twins' tantrums Correio da Manha   Kate's notebooks – Sean and Amelie were only 18 months old   31 July 2008 Thanks to 'astro' for translation    The concern with the image was such that Madeleine's mother became anxious when Amelie cried in front of the Portuguese journalists. Notes reveal some moments of tension   Kate McCann's notes are filled with details about the twin children and the manner in which they dealt with the rest of the family. Maddie's mother tells about the children's everyday life and often reveals some tiredness over the energy of the smaller ones. Sean and Amelie were born from 'in vitro' fertilization, just like Maddie, but apparently they failed to notice their sister's absence. Kate often tells that her two smaller children kept their own routines and she even reveals some guilty feelings over trying to get on with life with some normalcy. It can also be perceived in some of the writings that Kate wanted to avoid the tensions with her smaller children to become known by the media. Just like she describes it about a tantrum from Amelie dated June 4, when the little girl started yelling in the car. "They fell asleep. Sean instantly, Amelie only after throwing a big tantrum while we tried to sit her into the baby seat – all in front of the Portuguese media!!! – and then we stopped on the way so we could cuddle them outside of the car trunk. I sometimes worry that Amelie may be missing Maddie more than we thought. Maybe I'm being paranoid?", writes Kate, who on the next day left her children in the crèche again. "After a shower and breakfast, take Sean and Amelie to the Kids Club". On the 14th of June, Kate shows her tiredness again, not only over Maddie's disappearance but also over the care that the smaller ones demanded. "Sean slept with me most of the night after half an hour of hysterics at half past midnight", she reveals, while three days later she complains again that her children now fall asleep at a later time. "I tried to take Sean and Amelie to bed at around 7.30 p.m. but it took rather long again – especially AMELIE", Kate recognises. On the 21st of June, Kate is ironical about the children's behaviour: "Sean and Amelie's biological clocks seem to have changed now. They go to bed later and they get up later!!! I think they are becoming Portuguese", says Kate, who on the 4th of May, during the first questioning, guaranteed that her children always went to bed at 7.30 p.m.   Kate's notes   "They fell asleep. Sean instantly, Amelie only after throwing a big tantrum while we tried to sit her into the baby seat – all in front of the Portuguese media!!!" - June 4   "Again we wake up relatively late, around 7:30 a.m., preceded by notification of the good morning by Sean and Amelie (...) After a shower and breakfast, take Sean and Amelie to the Kids Club." - June 5   "Sean slept with me most of the night after half an hour of hysterics at half past midnight." - June 14   "Sean and Amelie's biological clocks seem to have changed now. They go to bed later and they get up later!!! I think they are becoming Portuguese." - June 21   Photographed during walks   In her notebooks, Kate tells that the walks with the twins were agreed with the English press. They were often photographed entering and exiting the apartment at the Ocean Club, in Praia da Luz. Tension with her mother and support from her father The disappearance of Madeleine McCann generated several tensions within the McCann family, namely between the McCann couple, but Kate's notes clearly reveal that the most difficult was the relationship with her own mother.   Despite the fact that her parents immediately travelled to the Algarve, just like several aunts that helped to take care of the twins during the times that followed the disappearance of Madeleine, Kate only found support with her father. In her notes dated June 8, 2007, Kate reports that she was "upset and angry" with her mother. "At this moment, I could do without this kind of thing – I have enough to think about and emotionally exhausted", the doctor wrote, recalling an argument during a walk with the twins in the Algarve. Five days later, at a time when Kate's parents return to the United Kingdom, Madeleine's grandmother shows her indignation with her daughter's attitude, at the same time when she ends up being appeased by her father. In her notes dated June 13, Kate writes that her mother calls her complaining about not hearing from her since the previous day, and saying she had "an awful day". "I explained to her that I had been told that someone had given us the location of my daughter's body. Did she know that? No!!!" Kate remembers, referring to a letter from a supposed abductor that had been received at a Dutch newspaper. After the argument with her mother, Kate talks with her father, a conversation that calmed her down: "Deep down, he was very strong and he said some very sweet things". PJ went to London to fetch diary Kate McCann's diary, which is considered to be fundamental by the investigators due to the fact that it reveals the profile of Madeleine's mother, led the Polícia Judiciaria to England to try to apprehend it but it was never validated as evidence and the process ended up being archived.   The document, which started to be written by Kate upon advice from a psychiatrist after her daughter’s disappearance, was discovered by the police in the Ocean Club apartment, in the Algarve, and was initially photocopied and analysed. But it was only in April, during their last trip to England, that the Polícia Judiciaria was granted permission to formally apprehend the original document, a fundamental diligence that had been requested in September so it could be valued as evidence. But the judge that held the process decided to postpone the validation of the diary, which therefore could not be taken into account within the Polícia Judiciaria’s investigation – and in the meantime, the Public Ministry ended up archiving the case. The authorities believed that Kate's notes revealed her personality, and therefore were determinant for the investigation, but they ended up never being able to use them as evidence. Initially, the police only appended the copies of the document to the process, and the original was not apprehended because it juridically fitted within the concept of private correspondence, which is subject to a stricter regime. Meanwhile, the McCanns returned to the United Kingdom, which forced the Polícia Judiciaria to request the apprehension of the diary through rogatory letters, which took months to receive a reply. Tomorrow: How they dealt with extortion cases   *   Note: The twins were actually 2 years and 3 months old when Madeleine was reported missing.