THE SUN reported on October 21st, 2008
KATE McCann and three friends discussed child-snatchers hours
before daughter Madeleine disappeared, it has emerged.
Dr Russell O'Brien, one of the so-called Tapas Seven, told police
of the "haunting" conversation had while on holiday in
Portugal last year. He said it came up after another
father said he felt awkward photographing his own child.
Dr O'Brien, 37, was with his partner Jane Tanner, 37, Rachel
Oldfield, 37, and Kate, 40. He said: "We then had a
conversation about the ludicrous pressure on parents
that they can't take photos of their children.
"The other aspect of the conversation, which is doubly haunting,
was that we said, 'You're far more likely to get
clobbered by your uncle or your neighbour than some
random stranger'.
"Since this happened ten or 11 hours before Madeleine was abducted,
it seemed a very uncomfortable coincidence." The doctor,
of Exeter, Devon, made his comments in April as he was
quizzed by British cops at the request of the Portuguese
authorities.
THE DAILY MAIL reported September, 26th, 2007.
SNIFFER DOGS ‘ FOUND SCENT OF DEATH’ ON MCCANNS FRIEND
Friends of the McCanns faced fresh allegations yesterday after it
was claimed that sniffer dogs had found the "scent of
death" on one of them.
The same police dog which reacted to Mrs McCann's clothes - first
causing suspicion to fall on her - was alleged to have
smelled "death" on one of the friends who had dinner
with the couple the night Madeleine vanished.
Police sources briefed a Portuguese newspaper that two police dogs
from South Yorkshire, trained to detect corpses, human
remains and microscopic traces of blood, had reacted to
some items of clothing.
Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell denied categorically that any
such procedure had happened.
The newspaper did not reveal which of the friends' clothing was
meant to have triggered the reaction. Police in South
Yorkshire refused to comment.
Detectives are writing to British police asking them to
re-interview the seven friends the McCanns dined with on
the night Madeleine vanished.
Madeleine's parents were dining in a tapas restaurant just yards
from the apartment in the Mark Warner Resort in the
Algarve, Portugal, when their daughter disappeared.
She had been sleeping inside the apartment with her brother and
sister, twins Sean and Amelie.
According to reports from Portugal, all of those dining with the
McCanns that night face further police questioning
because their accounts of the night's events allegedly
clashed.
Leicestershire police have consistently refused to comment on its
role in the investigation and directed all questions to
Portugal.
A spokeswoman said: "As the inquiry into the disappearance of
Madeleine McCann is a Portuguese police investigation it
is not appropriate for us to comment on it.
Our role is to assist the Portuguese authorities, when and if they
request it, with UK based inquiries.
"But because it is a Portuguese investigation, and because of the
judicial system there, we are not able to disclose the
nature of those inquires."
The seven friends - who, with the McCanns, make up the Tapas Nine -
have been steadfast in their loyalty to Madeleine's
family.
The group - most of them doctors and professionals - was made up
of:
Dr Russell O'Brien, 36 A consultant in acute medicine at the Royal
Devon and Exeter Hospital, he knew Gerry McCann from
Leicester.
He was on holiday with his partner Jane Tanner and their two young
daughters.
At 9.25pm he left the restaurant for around 25 minutes to check on
one of the girls, who was ill.
He has been subject to a vicious Portuguese press campaign alleging
he was absent for over an hour when Madeleine went
missing.
He has threatened to sue, insisting: "These reports are completely
untrue and extremely hurtful."
Jane Tanner, 37
Dr O'Brien's partner. She arrived late at the tapas bar after
treating their sick daughter.
On the way, she passed the McCanns' apartment and saw a man
carrying a child.
Crucially, her description of the child's clothes matched
Madeleine's pink pyjamas.
Dr Matthew Oldfield, 37
Dr Oldfield, an endocrinologist at Kingston Hospital in South-West
London, went to check the McCann children at 9 25pm.
But he did not look inside the flat - simply listened from outside
to ensure Madeleine and the twins were not crying.
Rachael Oldfield, 36
Dr Oldfield's wife, a former lawyer who is now a recruitment
consultant.
She is one of four witnesses who claim to have seen the first
suspect, British expat Robert Murat, near the McCanns'
flat.
Last month she angrily dismissed reports that police had
intercepted phone calls and emails between the McCanns
and their friends which contradicted the group's earlier
statements.
Mrs Oldfield accused Portuguese police of "throwing mud when we are
not able to defend oursleves"
David Payne, 41
Mr Payne is a senior research fellow in cardiovascular sciences at
Leicester University
He and his wife and mother-in-law joined the group at 8.55pm.
They are believed to have been the only ones using a baby monitor
to check on their two children.
Mr Payne has said: "All these smears and rumours are overshadowing
the important thing, which is to get Madeleine back."
Dr Fiona Payne, 34
Mr Payne's wife, she is understood to have told police she saw Mr
Murat shortly after Madeleine vanished.
Dr Payne and her husband stayed on in the Algarve to support the
McCanns. When the couple were made official suspects,
she said: "It's an outrage - a preposterous accusation."
Dianne Webster
Dr Payne's mother. She has given no public interviews.
Dr.Russell O’Brian in Leicestershire the video for his first
interview seemed to have ‘Technical failure’.
Russell read Jane Tanners,( his partners) statement to remind him
of the events .
(Is it within the law to allow a witness to check anothers
statement ? or ,was this to make sure they both agreed ?
It seems Leicestershire Constabulary make up their own
rules where these Doctors are concerned.)
RUSSELL O’BRIAN "I have been given the opportunity to refresh my
memory at the start of the report by Jane Tanner
(partner) and it allowed me to see these documents,
which have been done in the presence of DC 1578 Gierc,"
said O 'Brien.
(O'Brien was interviewed twice, on 8 and April 10, 2008, but
strangely, his first interview could not be recorded on
video because, according to British police, there would
be a "technical failure")
The second interview, Russell O'Brien by the officer Andrew Gierc,
was recorded on video.
O’BRIANS partner JANE TANNER gave her witness statement to PJ May
4th, 2007
The time 11.30 am
JANE was clear about the type of clothing she saw the ‘abductor’
wearing.
He was wearing linen type cloth trousers, beige to golden in
colour, a “duffy” sic type jacket (but not that thick).
Note: Jane does not mention jeans nor long hair.
KATE McCANN
Did not give her statement until 2.20 pm the afternoon
of May 4th.
KATE AND JANE WOULD HAVE HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO GET THEIR
STORY STRAIGHT
Kate ate and Jane would have had plenty of time to talk
about the man she saw and what he was wearing Thus at
around 9pm, her husband went to the apartment to make sure the twins, as well
as Madeleine, were OK, then he went back to the
restaurant.
Her husband said that the children were doing well and that he had
bumped into the person with whom he had played tennis, a
person who has two children.
At the same time, one of the group of friends, Russell, went to see
his children, without checking on the interviewee's
children.
Later, a member of the group, Russell's partner Jane, when she went to her apartment to see her children at around
9.15pm, saw from the back [rear] about 50 metres away,
on the perimeter road of the club,
a long-haired person, in what she thinks were jeans,
with a child in his arms and walking very quickly. But she is better able to tell you about that herself.
Kate said ,Jane saw 'a long haired person she thinks
with jeans.
Was Kate trying to set up Jane Tanner ? it is a
possibilty,
person
but later changes to his
arms
not really sure if it was
a man or woman.
Kate when she spoke to Yvonne from SS said Madeleine had been taken
by a couple. Were at this point all options on the
table.
Janes rogatory statement and how important for the
officer to know she did not take jeans on holiday.
Reply “Yeah. Erm, I’m just trying to, well I’ve walked out of the,
walked out of the, erm, the Tap, you know, walked sort
of into the reception of the Tapas Bar and obviously
walked up the road.
I remember I was wearing, because it was cold, I’d got Russell’s
big, I’d borrowed one of his, erm, fleeces, so I’d got a
big sort of fleece, it probably came down to about here,
but then I’d got flip-flops on and cropped trousers,
because I’d only got,
I didn’t take jeans, I know I didn’t take jeans on
holiday,
and then.
Oh I’m sidetracking a bit, but that’s why I knew one of the
pictures in the paper wasn’t from the holiday, because I
hadn’t got jeans on the holiday with me, so. Erm, yeah,
and I’d got cropped trousers on and just flip-flops, so
I can remember sort of walking,I couldn’t walk that
quickly because I’d got these silly flip-flops on and I
couldn’t walk that, that well in them, so to speak.
Wilkins saw Tanner May 3rd standing outside what he thought was her
apartment wearing a purple dress. Did Tanner change her
clothes that night and if so why? . There has been talk
of Kate changing clothes but it looks like it may have
been Tanner.
TANNER from her ROGATORY STATEMENT:
"I remember what I was wearing because it was cold, I'd borrowed
one of
RUSSELLS'S FLEECES."
"BUT I did not take JEANS with me to PDL:
NEWS OF THE WORLD
-----------------
Maddie DNA clue in airport bag
Traces found on fleece and stained jeans
By Dominic Herbert, 03/11/2007
A BAG of clothes containing DNA linked to Madeleine McCann has been
found dumped by a road in Portugal.
The white carrier bag was discovered in a layby two weeks ago near
Faro airport, the News of the World can reveal.
Maddie's parents Kate and Gerry McCann have learned the bag
contained a blue fleece jacket and a pair of adult jeans
with traces of DNA that contained "moderate" links to
the missing four-year-old.
There was also a SHOWER CURTAIN inside.
News of the find came as it emerged police hunting for the
youngster have asked the Mafia to help.
Crime godfathers in Morocco-where there have been several alleged
sightings of Maddie-have been told cops will scale back
drug busts if they do.
Meanwhile, the bag, found by a passer-by, was sent to a UK lab in
Birmingham for forensic tests.
A leaked report showed experts concluded the clothes contained
bodily fluid and traces of hair that could have come
from Maddie.
Other items recovered from the bag included a white flannel, a
green elastic band, a light green child's T-shirt with a
green flower on the front and a pink and blue pencil
case with a pink heart motif.
A source said: "The bag could be crucial. The DNA isn't an exact
match to Maddie's, but it does link.
"It is the first clue found outside the apartment complex and could
provide a trail."
The report-which was handed to detectives ten days ago-was obtained
by the News of the World from Portuguese police sources.
The jeans contained more than 60 different stains
The report concluded:
"The blue fleece and jeans were
found to contain traces of congealed skin and hair.
"They were found to contain DNA characteristics that
could be attributed to Madeleine McCann." No traces of
Maddie's DNA were found on any of the other items.
The fresh clues will give Kate and Gerry, both 39, renewed hope of
finding their daughter alive six months after she
disappeared. Last night a friend of the McCanns said:
"It potentially suggests that someone has taken her then
disposed of the clothing.
They have done it near Faro which could imply they have gone in the
direction of the airport. It backs up the idea she was
abducted."
Last Sunday the News of the World revealed that the crack Spanish
detective agency hired by the McCanns, Metodo 3, are
convinced the youngster was snatched to order then
smuggled from Portugal to Morocco.
Last night it looked like Mafia bosses will agree to use their
underworld connections in the hunt for Maddie.
The DNA 'EVIDENCE' was reported November 3rd 2007
We then had this report dated November 11th 2007
DAILY MAIL REPORTED., NOVEMBER 11th 2007
Madeleine: Changes in evidence from Tapas Nine could
'dramatically change investigation'
09 November 2007
Changes in the evidence of two of the so-called Tapas
Nine could "dramatically change" the Madeleine McCann
investigation, it was claimed yesterday.
The pair who allegedly want to correct their version of
events were named yesterday in a Portuguese newspaper as
Russell O'Brian and his partner Jane Tanner.
Miss Tanner has given a key account of seeing a man
carrying a child away from the McCanns' apartment. Both
her and Dr O'Brian deny that they have contacted police
to change their statements........ |