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THE lover of official suspect Robert Murat yesterday hit back at claims she
was involved in the abduction of Madeleine McCann.
Michaela Walczuch has twice been interviewed by
police who also searched her house following the disappearance of the
four-year-old on 3 May.
The 34-year-old was identified by two fresh witnesses in recent days who
claimed to have seen her with a child resembling Madeleine.
The first, a Portuguese lorry driver, came forward to claim he saw Ms Walczuch hand over the missing youngster two days after she
vanished. He has told private investigators hired by Kate and Gerry McCann that
he saw a woman resembling Ms Walczuch with a child he
believed was Madeleine on a road outside Silves,
about 25 miles from the apartment in Praia da Luz
where she vanished.
A Spanish tourist also claims she spotted the German-born mother-of-one in
remote Moroccan town on the day she is convinced she saw Madeleine there.
Isabel Gonzalez, 60, says said she is “sure” a blonde woman she encountered in Zaio on June 15 was Walczuch.
But yesterday Ms Walczuch said she had an alibi that
proves she is “absolutely not involved” in Madeleine’s disappearance. The
34-year-old from Lagos
is prevented under Portuguese law from talking to the press as she is
considered a witness in the police investigation.
But yesterday a friend claimed she was miles away at a Jehovah’s Witness
meeting on 3 May, the night that Madeleine vanished. He said: “Yes she was at a
church meeting in Lagos
on the night Madeleine went missing.
“She told police this when she was questioned (on May 14) and they have
confirmed her story.” He added: “She is absolutely not involved in Madeleine’s
disappearance and has proved it to police.”
Ms Walczuch has described the two sightings as
“ridiculous” and is now threatening legal action over allegations linking her to
Madeleine’s disappearance. Her friend Francisco Pagarete
says Ms Walczuch could not be the person identified
in Silves as her car was at the mechanics that day
following problems with the gear box.
Mr Pagarete, who is Robert Murat’s lawyer said: “On
the day they say she was seen, Michaela was probably in Lagos, because at that time her vehicle was
in the garage.”
He added: “That is a fact known to the police. “She does not know for sure what
she did that day because her diary, which she keeps religiously every day, is
one of the objects taken by the Policia Judiciaria-which has still not been
returned.”
However agents from Metodo 3 claim the woman seen on
5 May was driving a hire car. The detectives have described the vehicle as very
unusual in Portugal
in terms of its make, model and colour. They claim these details will allow
them to identify the user quite easily.
British expat Murat, 34, has remained a suspect for more than six months but
Portuguese police do not believe there is enough evidence to charge him.
Walczuch lives five miles from Praia da Luz in Lagos
with her estranged husband Portuguese husband pool-cleaner Luis Antonio, 47,
and their eight year-old daughter.
She set up a property business called Romigen with
Murat. In a bizarre living arrangement Murat lived at the flat for six months
to conduct an affair with Walczuch while Antonio was
still there.
The relationship was blamed by friends for the breakdown of the British expat’s
11-year marriage to wife Dawn, 41. She was first interviewed by police about
Madeleine’s disappearance on May 14, along with her lover Murat, 33, and
Antonio.
Murat was named as an arguido or formal suspect in the case that day. Last
night a Jehovah’s Witness said Michaela Walczuch had
been an active member of the one-hundred-strong congregation but had since
stopped coming to church.
Joaquim Silva said: “Michaela used to come to the
church but she stopped attending meetings about three months ago.” Mr Silva
confirmed that the religious group hold mid-week meetings on a Thursday night
between 8.30pm and 10.15pm as well as on Sundays. Madeleine McCann disappeared
from her parents’ holiday apartment on a Thursday night.
Located in the ground floor of a high-rise apartment the church is situated in
a run-down area part of Lagos
close to the ancient walls of the old town. A sign on the outside of the
building is the only indication that premises is a
church.
An aluminium door with darken windows leads into the single-story worshipping
hall. ends Silves was the
scene of the attempted child abduction last year. Three-year-old Carolina
Santos, who is blonde with blue eyes, was found being led away from the family
cafe near the town of Silves by a man last year.
Her parents described how they had left Carolina
playing at the front of the roadside cafe when she was approached by a
Moroccan-looking man who tried to entice her away.
Father Abel Santos, 40, said: “We were busy working in the kitchen and came out
to find out she wasn’t there. “I searched around for her and saw her some way
away on the road with a man I took to be Moroccan.
“We started towards them shouting and Carolina
stopped and turned towards us. He disappeared around the bend.” His wife Lina, 28, added: “It was very strange because Carolina is very shy and
doesn’t go with strangers. “When I asked her what happened she said he told her
that he had another little girl for her to play with.
“There was no other girl. I was so scared. If we hadn’t come out at that moment
I don’t know what would have happened.” The couple reported the incident to the
police but they were told they could not make a formal complaint as no crime
had been committed. |
