Detectives investigating the
Madeleine McCann
case have consulted the chief
inspector who has been sacked from heading the inquiry amid claims of a lack of
leads, it has been reported.
Chief Insp
Goncalo Amaral was removed from the case
at the beginning of October after he accused the British police of only
following up lines of inquiry put forward by the missing girl's parents,
Kate
and Gerry McCann.
He was apparently convinced that the couple, who are formal
suspects in the
case, were involved in the disappearance of their four-year-old, who vanished
from
Praia da Luz in the Algarve on May 3.
His supposed theory, that Mrs McCann may have accidentally killed her daughter
and then relied on her husband to cover it up, was thought to have been
dismissed in favour of the idea that Madeleine had been abducted.
But it has emerged that the new police chief in charge of the investigation,
Paulo Rebelo, has met Mr Amaral on several occasions as part of his review of
the case. It is understood that a number of detectives who have worked on the
case, including Guilhermino Encarnacao,
the head of the Portuguese Policia Judiciaria in Faro, attended these meetings.
A police source told Portuguese newspaper 24 Horas:
"At the moment all the evidence that was collected by the original
investigation team is being re-evaluated."
Mr Amaral was a controversial figure throughout his time on the case. In June
it emerged that he was facing a criminal hearing for allegedly concealing
evidence after a woman jailed for the murder of her daughter claimed his
officers tortured her into making a confession.
Leonor Cipriano, 36, claimed she was forced to kneel
on glass ashtrays with a bag over her head as police hit her during almost 48
hours of questioning.
Mr Amaral, a father of three, strenuously denied covering up the alleged abuse,
which is said to have been carried out by three of his colleagues.
His latest involvement in the case comes only days after Mr Rebelo visited the McCann's
Ocean Club holiday
apartment to carry out a
re-enactment of events the night Madeleine went missing. Officers spent several
hours at the ground floor apartment and at one point a bundle was passed
through a half open window.
Despite a number of potential leads, police appear no closer to solving the
case.
One source close to the inquiry admitted that investigators "needed a
miracle" to solve the case, which has dragged on for nearly six months
without a breakthrough. Public prosecutor Jose Cunha de Magalhaes
e Meneses has already warned that the case against
the McCanns is not strong enough based on current evidence.
The couple, from Rothley in Leicestershire, have hired
private investigators in
Spain
who are working on the theory that Madeleine may have been snatched to order by
a paedophile gang and could still be alive in north
Africa.
Mr McCann, a cardiologist, is due to return to work this week at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester.
It is understood he will only carry out administrative duties on a part-time
basis until he and his employers feel he is ready to return to full-time
employment. |
