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THE prime suspect in the abduction of Madeleine McCann last night revealed
he has no sympathy for her parents.
As expatriate Robert Murat challenged detectives to charge him or clear his
name, he defiantly declared: “All I am bothered about is myself.”
He said his life has been destroyed by allegations that he kidnapped the
four-year-old and is terrified his nightmare will continue for years unless
Madeleine is found alive soon.
Murat, 33, even astonishingly claimed that he believes more people are now
praying for police to admit he is innocent than for Madeleine’s safe return.
Last week the Briton underwent four days of intense interrogation by Portuguese
police over contradictions in the alibi he gave for the night Madeleine
vanished from the family’s holiday complex at Praia da
Luz on the Algarve.
Murat is now preparing for further interrogation next week following the return
of vital DNA evidence.
Speaking at his villa, Casa Liliana, 100 yards from
where the toddler was snatched on May 3, the former estate agent admitted he
has considered running away but has decided to see his ordeal through for the
sake of his family.
He said: “I have not thought about Gerry and Kate McCann or what they are going
through because all I am bothered about is myself and
what is going to happen to me, not them.
“I can’t carry on living like this, no human being could. I am an innocent man.
I am not a paedophile or any of the other things I have been called. I have
done nothing wrong.
“I wake up with this nightmare every morning and I go to bed with it every
night. This has had a terrible effect on my family both here in Portugal and back in Britain.
“I am the only suspect and it could take years for them to release me from the
investigation. I was questioned all last week but it’s still far from certain
what is going to happen.
“They have to find enough evidence to present a judge with a case, and it
appears they do not have enough information to do that.
“If they let me go it will look like they have no idea and they do not want to
do that. There is a huge difference in the mentality of the Portuguese police
and detectives in the UK.
“When anything bad happens in Portugal
people disappear, they run and they hide and now I understand why they do it.
“I have thought about it but it would not be fair on my family. The law here
dates back to the days of fascism and it shows. I am putting my life at risk
just by speaking like this.
“At the start of this, people were praying for the little girl to be found but
now those same people are wanting me to be cleared.
They are thinking about me and my nightmare. The attention is on me.
“I have a four-year-old daughter but I have not been able to see her while all
this has been going on.
“My ex-wife Dawn also has a son who I have brought up like my own. Last year
his lung collapsed and this year he needs to have another operation. It hurts
me that I cannot be there for him.
“The police are just going over the same ground over and over again and I am
not even allowed to tell my side of the story. It makes me so angry I want to
punch something. Certain people think I should be in prison but the police
obviously cannot find enough evidence to do that, so why should I be made to
live like this? I am in a corner and I cannot defend myself.”
Looking gaunt and pale, Murat said he has tried to lead a normal life but found
it almost impossible because he is under constant police surveillance.
He added: “I refuse to hide myself away from the world but my fate is in the
hands of the police. I can see no light at the end of the tunnel.”
Yesterday Madeleine’s mother, Kate, 38, returned to Britain for the first time since
her daughter vanished 73 days ago.
She flew back to join her husband, Gerry, who is in the UK meeting
child abduction experts. |
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