MADELEINE McCann died in her family’s holiday flat,
the officer who led the case into her disappearance
claimed yesterday.
But
ex-Chief Inspector Goncalo Amaral said Maddie was not
killed in the apartment.
He said he
was convinced that Maddie — who vanished from the
Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007,
shortly before her fourth birthday — will never be found
alive. Amaral was kicked off the case after five months
for publicly criticising British police.
He stopped
just short of accusing Maddie’s parents Kate and Gerry
of killing her, telling Portuguese TV: “It’s not that
she was killed in the apartment, but she died there.
"The
parents were suspects and there were indications which
made them suspects.”
In a
separate interview, he accused British and Portuguese
cops of being influenced by a “campaign” by Kate and
Gerry, of Rothley, Leics.
Their
spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: “Mr Amaral has
consistently made these allegations. Kate and Gerry and
their friends have nothing to do with Madeleine’s
disappearance.”
Portuguese
authorities are due to review the completed case file to
decide if further action is required. That could let
now-retired Amaral publish a book about the case.
