Evidence was manipulated - Correio da Manhã

Investigation – PJ believes that the McCann couple altered the crime scene in order to simulate the abduction.

Maddie’s parents accused of changing the disposition of the furniture and of washing the sofa

The Polícia Judiciária has no doubts that Maddie’s parents changed the disposition of furniture and objects in the apartment where Maddie disappeared from on the evening of May 3, 2007, in the Algarve, thus manipulating the crime scene in order to better justify the abduction theory that they always defended.

According to the Polícia Judiciária’s investigation, which from today onwards is public, the coincidence between the marking of cadaver odour and blood which was given by the sniffer dogs behind the sofa “indubitably” proves that the sofa was pushed against the wall after the little girl’s death. On the other hand, given the few indicia that was collected from this piece of furniture, which was located on the same spot where the dogs gave a signal, the Judiciária admits the possibility that it was “subject to washing” in order to eliminate eventual traces.

Soft toy placed on the bed

“There are strong indicia that they altered the crime scene, moving some of the furniture. The changes are indicators of simulation”, one of the PJ’s reports reads, also revealing that Maddie’s soft toy, which was found at the top of the bed where Maddie slept, was placed there at a posterior moment, given the fact that contrary to the soft toy, the bed failed to reveal cadaver odour.

“There was an intentional modification, in an attempt to take advantage for the simulation of the picture of abduction”, one can read in the process, where the investigators recall that the procedures from the family were in such manner as to conduct the investigation into the direction of the abduction thesis. The Polícia Judiciária believes that the false abduction was “worked by the group”, which made the investigators “waste time”.

McCanns mentioned death to the PJ

The possibility that Madeleine is dead was raised to the PJ by the McCanns themselves, who suggested contacting a person to indicate the spot where the cadaver could be found. “This fact became unexplainable for the elements of the investigation”, the PJ writes, remembering that in front of the journalists, the parents continued to manifest the hope that they would find their daughter alive.

The dogs never failed in 200 searches

In over two hundred searches, ‘Eddie’ and ‘Keela’, the sniffer dogs of the springel spaniel breed that were used in the investigation into the disappearance of Maddie, did not give a single “false positive result”.

The guarantee is given by English expert Martin Grime, who in the report about the search guarantees that the behaviour of the dog that is trained to detect cadaver odour “changed immediately after opening the front door of the apartment” where Madeleine McCann disappeared from.

“He went into the apartment with above average interest”, the document reads, explaining that the dog signaled inside the couple’s bedroom, in the living room, behind the sofa and next to the side window. The same signs were given by the dog that is trained to detect blood residues. The dogs signaled the same spots and objects that are related to the McCanns – house, car and clothes – which was decisive for being made arguidos.


No credibility

The deposition by Jane Tanner, who said she saw someone crossing the street carrying a child, was not considered credible by the PJ, which does not understand how the McCanns’ friend, upon seeing someone walking away from Madeleine’s apartment “did not act or speak out immediately”.

Everyone lies

The PJ says that the information that was collected from the McCanns and their friends was “worked upon” in order to strengthen the abduction theory. But it rapidly perceived that “everyone lies” in the issue of checking the children, further explaining that the family information, which in these cases is “fundamental”, was always “distorted”.

Files Process is public – From today onwards, the files of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine can be consulted at the Court of Portimão by lawyers, witnesses and journalists.

Brown Political pressures – Kate’s notebooks reveal that Maddie’s parents called the English prime minister, Gordon Brown, requesting for political pressure to be placed on Portugal.

Book Amaral recounts death – The former coordinator of the Maddie case recounts in his book ‘Truth of the Lie’, his thesis about the case and defends that the little girl was killed in the apartment and her body frozen.


source: Correio da Manhã, 04.08.2008, paper edition

Images speak louder than words - discussion at The 3 Arguido's

Gonçalo Amaral Interview

In an interview staged only a short walk from the regional PJ police headquarters in Faro over the weekend, Gonçalo Amaral, the former leading detective in the case involving the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, has an open and frank conversation with The Portugal News. Lambasted by the British media, and ignored by much of the Portuguese written press since the launch of his controversial book last week (which the Correia da Manhã newspaper has assisted in promoting), Gonçalo Amaral explains his reasoning behind certain methods of investigation, and stresses his actions to date have not been to accuse anyone, rather, he argues, his focus has been about the pursuit of truth.

The Portugal News: Did you leak information about the investigation to the media?

Gonçalo Amaral: I never had anything to do with leaks. We have to look at from where these leaks could have originated. A number of entities worked with us during the investigations and we cannot rule out the possibility that some of these leaks originated in Britain. As a matter of fact, when the FSS handed over their report to Portuguese police, we kept it under wraps, but a British daily was the first to appear with extracts of the FSS’s findings.

TPN: But how does that explain that some sections of the Portuguese press have printed confidential information that later proved to be accurate?

GA: Perhaps they had good sources of information, but we cannot conclude that they were given information by police in the Algarve.

TPN: The report leaked last week says that Gerry and Kate were made arguidos on the “merest possibility” that they were involved in the disappearance of their child. Is that accurate?

GA: They were made arguidos on suspicion of two crimes: concealing a body and simulating an abduction and potentially the crime of abandonment. But saying they were made arguidos on the merest possibility that they were involved in the disappearance of their child is not true. The conclusions reached by the team investigating the crime, including colleagues in Britain, are the same as the five points I mention at the end of my book. Perhaps the conclusions reached in this latest report were made to facilitate the archiving of the case and findings were put across in a mild manner. Once you gain access to the case files, you will find that it was not due to a mere possibility.

TPN: What do we know about Madeleine’s disappearance?

GA: She was here on holiday. There is obviously no doubt that Madeleine existed. There is also no doubt that she went missing. The scheme employed to visit the children does, to a large extent, not correspond with the truth, it was probably used to safeguard the view that the children were safe [in the apartments on their own as their parents dined at the Tapas restaurant].

TPN: How often were the children checked upon?

GA: One of the first lines of the investigation was to interview the party that was on holiday with the McCanns to establish this.

TPN: What did you find at the apartment?

GA: No signs of forced entry. There were no signs of glove marks on the window. We compiled a report of the evidence we collected, but we are not here to accuse anyone.

TPN: Do you think more could have been done before archiving or closing the case?

GA: In my opinion, a number of things are still lacking: We should have continued investigating the parents in order to either charge them or rule them out as suspects. If I represented this couple, I would have insisted that police investigations continue. Not everything we do is to incriminate a suspect. Often a phone will be tapped in order to obtain information that will clear a suspect.

We worked long hours discussing a number of potential explanations for Madeleine’s disappearance; we did not insist solely that she had been abducted.

TPN: You say that politics prevented you from doing certain things during the investigation. What were those actions you would like to have taken?

GA: I found the intervention of the [then] British Ambassador strange, as besides the British Consul in Portimão already being involved in the case from the first morning of Madeleine’s disappearance, all diplomatic channels had been opened and were functional. With the arrival of the Ambassador, my colleagues and I thought it was odd, and to a certain extent made us feel limited in our investigations.

TPN: Did you ever receive orders to investigate in a certain manner?

GA: No we did not receive any orders. I don’t like talking about orders. But we felt limited.

TPN: Did the police offer a plea bargain to Kate McCann?

GA: No.

TPN: But did you not suggest she consider a plea bargain?

GA: We only explained the nature of certain crimes. Her lawyer was there, you can ask him.

TPN: Did Kate and Gerry McCann answer all the questions that you posed to them as fully as possible?

GA: Up until being declared an arguido, Kate, at the request of her lawyer, co-operated. When questions became of a nature that could incriminate her, she was made an arguido, her rights and duties were read out to her in English and thereafter she opted for the right to remain silent.

TPN: And Gerry McCann?

GA: He answered all questions, before and after being made an arguido.

TPN: When did the police first learn of the intention of the McCanns to leave Portugal?

GA: With the arrival of the sniffer dogs, I think back in August, the couple started showing a keenness to leave the country. As for these dogs, I have not seen or heard any scepticism in Britain, contrary to Portugal.

TPN: How can you explain the theory that Kate and Gerry used their hire car in the disappearance of their daughter when it was hired 25 days after she vanished?

GA: I don’t know. I was not the one who hired the car.

A bodily fluid was detected in the trunk of the car which was similar to that of Madeleine McCann in 15 of the 19 indicators of her profile.

TPN: Has this evidence been investigated further?

GA: No.

TPN: Why not?

GA: You will have to ask my former colleagues that question.

TPN: What evidence was there that someone had been watching apartment 5A prior to Madeleine’s disappearance?

GA: We spoke to a number of people who came forward.

TPN: Anyone suspicious mentioned in these statements?

GA: No. Perhaps just a British musician we later tracked down.

But in a reconstruction, witness testimonies, such as that of Jane Tanner and others, including restaurant workers, could be clarified further.

TPN: At what stage did you become suspicious of the McCanns and why?

GA: There were a number of inconsistencies detected during the first interrogations.

TPN: Such as?

GA: We were initially told by the parents that when they checked on the children they would use the front door. But Kate later said they used the other door. Because had they used the front door, they would have detected someone had forced their way into the room [where Madeleine and the twins had been sleeping].

But during these initial rounds of questioning, my team and I believed these inconsistencies were due to the McCanns and their friends trying to cover the fact they had left their children unattended, along with their possible lack of trust in the Portuguese police. This had a lot of weight for me in the beginning, especially as the law in Britain is far tougher concerning the abandoning of children.

TPN: Did you look into sex offenders, and what was the outcome?

GA: It is very difficult that a paedophile pre-selected Madeleine. It had to be very well planned. But all known sexual predators were investigated.

TPN: Did you have any evidence that Robert Murat and the McCanns or their friends knew each other previous to Madeleine’s disappearance?

GA: We tried to confirm this, but along with the assistance of the British police, we were unable to establish any connection. But we looked into all possibilities. Robert Murat purchased a last-minute ticket to come to Portugal a couple of days before Madeleine went missing, perhaps as it was cheaper to do so. But we had to investigate whether or not his visit coincided with Madeleine’s disappearance a couple of days later and whether he had been contacted to come here.

TPN: How do you see the lawsuit that you might face over your book?

GA: My book is based on facts. It could be a good occasion to take all the case files to court and compare what I wrote with that which is contained in the files.

TPN: What next lies ahead for you?

GA: I have had a number of proposals, but in October I am intending on starting my practical training as a lawyer, as I already have a law degree, but never practised.

Brendan de Beer

Edition: 970

Source: The Portugal News

Mr.Amaral: Matter of Fact on Mitchell Veiled Threats

Discover the differences

"A criminal investigation does not have to be politically correct."

Those who knew me through the media formed an opinion based on my connection with the so-called Maddie Case. During the investigation, even after having being removed, I was a target of the most terrible accusations by the British press, by some commentators at “service in our square” [sic – meaning Portuguese media pundits] and by a gentleman named Clarence Mitchell, whose role is not very well understood. On the eve of the publication of the book that you already know, this gentleman was sending me warnings: "that I should be very careful" – be amazed!

I want to leave clear that I find unacceptable this tone coming from a subject of the oldest Democracy of the World. Be careful, why? Because I can slip on a banana peel fallen in the side walk? Is Mr Mitchell concerned about my security or my health? I do not think so. We all understand his menacing tone.

In Portugal, we are not used to people speaking to us in that way. Nor is this the opinion that we have of the British people, but there are always some people that clash. A criminal investigation does not have to be politically correct, not even to fear veiled threats. The book only contains facts and does not contain any accusation. So the differences stand out.


Gonçalo Amaral, Former Coordinator Criminal Investigation


Source: Correio da Manhã


translation by astro

joanamorais

Specialist in Forensic Medicine, Pinto da Costa supports the thesis followed by Gonçalo Amaral, which points to the death of Madeleine McCann.

Talking with Pinto da Costa – Forensic Medicine Expert

Reversed Investigation

In the book ‘The Truth of The Lie’ Gonçalo Amaral, the PJ coordinator who was removed from the ‘Maddie Case’ has no doubts about the death of the girl. Pinto da Costa follows his considerations.

Specialist in Forensic Medicine, Pinto da Costa supports the thesis followed by Gonçalo Amaral, which points to the death of Madeleine McCann. The professor does not understand the reason why the analyses done by the British laboratory are not conclusive and he manifests the conviction that, soon or later, the truth will be known. The biggest problem, according to the President of the Portuguese Section of International Transparency [sic], resided in the incorrect way the investigation was carried out. Pinto da Costa understands that the death hypothesis should have been pursued since the beginning.

Do you believe in the thesis defended by Gonçalo Amaral, according to which Madeleine McCann died accidentally in the night of her disappearance?

It does seem possible that that has taken place based on the circumstances of the cadaver dogs who signalled [death triggers] the existence of a cadaver and, also of blood with the genetic profile of the girl.

The English Laboratory said the analyses are not conclusive...

What the Laboratory concluded was that, in a total of 19 alleles [genetic markers], 15 are present in the sample examined. In Portugal, in order to guarantee the authenticity of progeny [descendants, children], that is, in the paternity tests we use 15 alleles. Therefore, the results obtained by the British Laboratory are extremely significant. Thus, they seem, pertinent in the consideration that the child could have died in the apartment. Another hypothesis is that she could have died outside and then the body was moved inside [the apartment].

Isn’t there, in Portugal, technical capacity to do this kind of analyses?

Yes, they could have been done in Portugal. I believe that either the Scientific Police Laboratory of the Judiciary Police or the various Forensic Medicine Institutes have the conditions to perform them. That did not happen possibly for the reason that the persons at issue were of English nationality.

The explanation given by Gonçalo Amaral, that the corpse was frozen or preserved in cold, for more than 20 days, also seems plausible?

What I believe is that the body was not totally decomposed. There are situations when the cadaver is preserved more or less without adding any substance, like ice, for example. Besides, we should not forget that this is the body of a child and not of an adult, who decays more rapidly.

Do you believe the Truth will be discovered?

Yes, when all entities involved are at a distance. The midwives fight, the truths are discovered. [Portuguese Proverb: "Zangam-se as comadres, sabem-se as verdades."]. The process has so many contradictions that, it is impossible to have one truth.

And what exactly is at the origin of so many contradictions?

The fact that the investigation started incorrectly. It should have started with the exaggeration of the positive and with the assumption that the child was killed. Even because the existence of maltreatment is a reality and in these cases, the number one suspect is the father, not the stepfather, the uncle or any other person. At another side, the scene should have been put immediately in custody to avoid its violation, because the examination of the scene is fundamental. The parents presented the abduction hypothesis, but those who do a criminal investigation have to have their ‘heads cold’ [‘cuca fria’- meaning open and objective mind], as they say in Brazil, and cannot deviate from the essential. The investigation was done in reverse.

Source: Jornal de Notícias, paper edition - 26 July 2008

Note: Professor Pinto da Costa was the Director of the Portuguese Forensic Institute [INML] for several years.


by astro

joanamorais

Abuse of Power: Kate McCann Forced Political Pressure on the Investigation

Revelations –Maddie’s mother’s notes prove Gonçalo Amaral right

Kate McCann forces political pressure

The English prime minister called the couple directly and the British diplomacy took care of the travelling

“To increase the political pressure”. The phrase, by Kate McCann, written among the notes that were found in her house and which the Polícia Judiciária (PJ) had apprehended, is clear about the manner in which Maddie’s parents intended to manage their daughter’s disappearance, bringing it into the press’ first pages and turning it into a case with political outlines.

On the morning of the 23rd of May 2007 (twenty days after Maddie’s disappearance), before they left for the Sanctuary of Fátima, Kate and Gerry left Gordon Brown a message. Maddie’s mother describes it as a form of “raising the political pressure” and reveals that the present prime-minister – at that date, he was not in functions but had already been confirmed as Tony Blair’s successor – answered her only three hours later. He spoke with Gerry, was “very sympathetic and gave strength”, tells Kate, who describes the visit to the catholic sanctuary as overwhelming, potent and emotional.

On the same day in the afternoon, Gordon Brown called Maddie’s parents again. Kate’s notebooks do not report the conversation but one is able to understand that the purpose was to create political pressure, forcing the PJ to act swiftly.

Today, at more than a year’s distance from the child’s disappearance and after the case has been archived, Kate’s notes expose the pressures that were reported by the former coordinator of the case, Gonçalo Amaral, who from the moment when he was removed from the investigation, realized that the process would not produce an accusation.

With an investigation that was initially inclined towards the abduction theory, partly forced by the McCanns, the evidence of the pressures by the couple also explains the British press’ posture in the coverage of the case, mainly from the moment when Madeleine’s parents went from victims to suspects and arguidos. With the British prime minister himself supporting the McCanns, through direct and frequent phone calls that are revealed by Kate, it became almost impossible for the English government to help an investigation that had indicated the parents as guilty.

Apart from the contacts with Gordon Brown, Kate’s notebooks reveal other important allies. From the hiring of Clarence Mitchell, who at that point in time worked for the government, as an assistant, until the conversations with the wife of Tony Blair, the former British prime minister.

Mitchell actually had a pivotal role in the propaganda machine that was built by the McCanns within a few days, and which counted on the great help from the British diplomacy in all the trips that were carried out by Kate and Gerry.

The first and most media-exposed [trip] – to Rome, to be received by Pope Benedict XVI – was suggested by the assistant, on the 27th of May, after speaking to Francis Campbell, the British ambassador at the Vatican. “Rome is already preparing itself”, Kate wrote, anticipating that visit as what would become the “main” news on that day. One day later, the visit and the audience with the Pope were already confirmed, with a program that was prepared in a detailed manner.

On the 30th of May, after leaving the British consulate in Rome, Kate and Gerry, accompanied by the ambassador, made a strategic stop “for the photographers to catch an image looking at the Basilica”, and continued towards the Vatican, where they spent a few minutes with Benedict XVI. A moment that was described as very emotional, positive and important, and that summoned “loads of” journalists and photographers, which is definitely a concern that is always present with the couple.

After Rome, Madrid, Berlin and Morocco followed, trips with the purpose of publicizing Madeleine’s face and which always relied on passages through consulates or receptions by British ambassadors and political representatives of the corresponding countries.

According to Kate’s notes, the days started or ended with meetings, phone calls and emails. Cherie Blair, the wife of Tony Blair, Gordon Brown’s predecessor, was one of Kate’s contacts, as demonstrated by the reports of the 17th of July. Before Kate gives Sky News an interview, she speaks with Cherie, who agrees to make a 20 second videoclip about Maddie for the English channel. On that same day, Blair himself pledges assistance and makes himself available for whatever is needed.

Kate’s notes:

“Left a message for Gordon Brown to call us in order to increase the political pressure” – Kate McCann, 23rd of May

“Gordon Brown called and spoke with Gerry – very sympathetic and gave strength. Somewhat emotive feeling afterwards” – Kate McCann, 23rd of May

“Clarence spoke to us about a possible visit to the Vatican. Rome is already preparing itself. Francis Campbell was spoken to” – Kate McCann, 27th of May

The ambassador’s solidarity

On the 4th [of May], only hours after the alert of Madeleine’s disappearance was given, Kate wrote in her notes that the English ambassador, John Buck, had been in the apartment offering them his solidarity. She also noted the presence of two employees from the consulate and stressed the strong presence of the media on location. “There is news appearing in the United Kingdom”, Maddie’s mother remembered, also noting the “worrying” and “boring” presence of Yvone, the English social security technician who tried to understand whether there was anything in the family’s life that might explain the child’s absence.

It should be referred that on that very same day, the ambassador met with senior officials from the PJ to understand the outlines of the case.

The news

Abduction theory – On the first days after Maddie’s disappearance, on the 3rd of May 2007, the abduction theory was the only one that was mentioned in the news. “Give back our Madeleine”, the parents appealed, not admitting any other possibility.

Visit to Fátima – Twenty days after Maddie’s disappearance, the McCann couple went to pray at the Sanctuary of Fátima. But before that, they called Gordon Brown in order to increase the political pressure.

Brown’s pressure – Only five days after the McCanns’ contact with the British prime minister, Gordon Brown’s pressures on Portugal because of the Maddie case were already known.

McCanns at the Vatican - The trip to the Vatican and the audience with Pope Benedict XVI were suggested by advisor Clarence Mitchell, who mobilized the British diplomacy in order to take the McCanns to Rome.

“Former PJ director pulls the rug from under his successor’s feet”

The former President of the Republic, Jorge Sampaio, said to SIC yesterday that it is “truly unheard of, from the point of view of institutions and of the prestige that we must defend before foreign countries, that the former director of the PJ, a joint prosecutor [Alípio Ribeiro], came out to criticize the archiving [of the process of the disappearance of Maddie] when it was him who managed that process, and I also presume that the constitution of arguidos [of Kate and Gerry McCann] was not entirely unknown to him. I think this is an amazing thing in terms of pulling the rug from under the feet of colleagues that succeeded him in his post. There is no democracy that justifies this”, according to Sampaio.

Concerning Gonçalo Amaral, the former President considers that “if he has factual data that is important for the reopening of this instruction, then he should present them”.

Book Complaint advances – The McCanns say that a lawsuit for defamation against Gonçalo Amaral is “likely”, because of the book, but also against Portuguese newspapers for reproducing its contents.

Amaral Everything in the process – The McCanns’ spokesman says that “from the Attorney General’s statements, they are innocent before the law”, but Amaral recalls that his statements are in the process.

Portimão Presentation – Gonçalo Amaral launches his book in Portimão today. The session is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Municipal Museum. Porto and Braga are his next destinations.

Book Reserve your copy – “The Truth of the Lie”, Gonçalo Amaral’s book, will be distributed again next week, on a date that is yet to be scheduled by CM. Reserve a copy at your kiosk.

Malinka Receives 250 thousand euros – Apart from Robert Murat, also the Russian Sergey Malinka and his [Murat's] girlfriend at that time, Michaela Walczuch, will receive approximately 250 thousand euros in compensations from the British press.

Tomorrow – The management of news in the British press

Source: Correio da Manhã

Translation by Astro


by Joana Morais

http://joana-morais.blogspot.com/

http://proud-of-the-pj.blogspot.com/2008/07/political-pressure-spin-that.html

Interview with Gonçalo Amaral: Cadaver was frozen or kept in the cold

Exclusive Interview with Gonçalo Amaral: Cadaver was frozen or was kept in the cold

Gonçalo Amaral regrets that a 'fact-finding inquiry (sindicância) to the investigation was done". In the first interview where he talks about the process, he defends that Maddie died at the Ocean Club. The book is launched today in Lisbon and promises to re-launch controversy.

Interview with Gonçalo Amaral in Correio da Manhã today

“The investigation was syndicated”

Gonçalo Amaral laments that “the investigation was syndicated”. In the first interview during which he speaks about the process, he defends that Maddie died at the Ocean Club. The book is launched in Lisbon today and promises to launch the controversy again

Correio da Manhã – As the case investigator, what is your thesis?

Gonçalo Amaral – The little girl died in the apartment. Everything is in the book, which is faithful to the investigation until September: it reflects the understanding of the Portuguese and the English police and of the Public Ministry. For all of us, until then, the concealment of the cadaver, the simulation of abduction and the exposure or abandonment were proved.

What led you to indict the McCanns over all of those crimes?

It all starts with an abduction theory that is forced by the parents. And the abduction is based on two facts: one is Jane Tanner’s testimony that says she saw a man passing in front of the apartment, carrying a child; the other is the bedroom window, which, according to Kate, was open when it should have been closed. It was proved that none of that happened.

How was it proved?

Jane Tanner is not credible: she identifies and recognizes different people. She starts with Murat, later on someone else is mentioned, according to the drawing done by a witness, and she already says that is the person, completely different from Robert Murat.

Jane Tanner’s testimony drove the abduction theory.

In order to advance into that direction, it would be necessary to give her credit: there was no other indicium of the abduction. And the issue of the bedroom window, where Maddie and her siblings slept, is vital. It leads to simulation. This means, whether or not it was open when Jane says that she saw the man carrying the child. The little girl’s mother, Kate, is the only person that mentions the open window.

Does that undo the abduction theory?

There lies the solution. To be closed or not, is a strong indicium for simulation. And why does one simulate abduction, rather than simply saying that the child has disappeared? She could have opened the door and left…

Do Kate’s fingerprints reinforce the simulation theory?

They are the only fingerprints on the window. And in a position of opening the window.

Did Kate have suspicious attitudes?

She goes out for dinner and supposedly leaves three children asleep. She returns, one is missing, she goes out, leaving the window wide open with the twins asleep. And the night, according to what she says, was very cold…

What about Maddie’s bed?

It carries no signs that anyone was in it. Nor does the chair or the bed under the window. And there are no imprints from strangers.

The reconstitution is missing.

It was not carried out 10 or 15 days after the facts, because the resort was full of tourists. We trusted that it could be carried out at a later date. It couldn’t.

Did you request data about the group?

At 8 a.m. on the 4th, the request was made to the English liaison officer, but [the data] never arrived.

What did you want to know?

Who the people are, their antecedents. And the child, whether or not there are complaints against the parents or others. How she behaved in school, to find out if she was the target of abuse.

How important is the Irish witness within the case?

He explained where he and his family had seen, at 10 p.m. on the 3rd of May, a man carrying a little girl. And it wasn’t Murat. They did not see the face, but they described the athletic and clumsy manner in which he carried the child.

That was back in May.

When the McCanns returned to England, the witness, watching Gerry get off the plane and walking across the asphalt carrying his child, had a realization. By the manner in which he walked and the clumsy way that he carries the child, he is 70 to 80 percent certain that it was the person he saw that evening. Says he and say the other members of the family.

What did you do?

On the days before I left Portimão we were taking care of that trip to Portugal. Then, the hearing of that witness was requested through a liaison officer from the Irish police in Madrid, which took months. During that time, the witness was approached by persons that are connected to the McCanns’ staff, I don’t know with what intention. They felt pressured. Later on, the hearing arrived and he maintains the probability of 70 to 80 percent that it was Gerry who carried the little girl towards the beach.

Couldn’t that have been included in the rogatory letter?

It could and it should. The ideal would have been for him to come to Portugal, as a key witness. Just like the couple of doctors that describe the situation in Mallorca.

Once the abduction theory was set apart, how was the death theory built?

With the elements that exist, we could only reach an accident, natural death, any cause without the intervention of another person. We were cementing evidence and advancing to understand what happened to the little girl’s body. Also based on information from the British lab, about residues that were found inside the car that was rented by the McCanns.

Where and how could they have hidden the body for over twenty days?

That was what we were trying to find out. Searching within their friends, because the couple had a lot of acquaintances. We tried to understand where the little girl could have been during those twenty something days.

Out of reach from the searches.

Yes. There was information that the couple had been seen walking towards a certain apartment block, we were trying to understand which apartment it was. Who had access to that apartment. But everything stopped.

How do you interpret that stopping of everything, when you left?

It almost looks as if the investigation was syndicated.

It was even said that the blood that was found was not human.

The dogs only smell human blood. The sample that is collected and taken to England, to be analysed with the Low Copy Number technique, is microscopic. The technique does not allow them to state whether it is blood or any other type of fluid – but it guarantees that it is human.

The family tried to justify itself.

Later on, a brother-in-law and a cousin of Kate said that they had carried steaks in the trunk that had thawed, even garbage, but no. The dogs follow neither garbage smell nor non-human blood. Then there is a witness, that was never heard, a jurist that lived next to the couple, in the second house [villa] outside of the apartment, saying that the car trunk was left open during the night, for airing. But maybe that was because of the garbage…

Within the theory of the parents’ involvement, can you reconstitute that night?

We had already concluded, long before the Irish witness, that if those persons were involved, there was only one possibility. It pointed towards the beach. Not only because of what [locations] they knew but also due to the terrain’s conditions. In that area, it is not easy to dig a hole. One either knows where holes already exist, or it is not possible, within a short time lapse, to decide where to place a corpse without knowing the area. If there was involvement, it would have been towards the beach area. Which is later corroborated by the Irish witness.

At the time when the Irish tourist reportedly saw Gerry, there are various witness statements that place the child’s father at the Ocean Club.

They are not credible. The employees are unable to tell at what time the persons were there, for how long each one of them stayed away when they say they went to the apartments. And the group is not credible. They say that on the previous nights, every 30 minutes, each one of them went to check only on his own children; but on that night, between 9.30 and 10 p.m., someone curiously goes to check that apartment, almost every five minutes, leaving the rest unchecked.

And what about Gerry?

He justifies some of the time with a trip to the toilet. That is not five minutes, then he meets another individual outside. Hence the need for the reconstitution. To find out how long it took them to get to the apartments, what route they walked, etc. A reconstitution that should be joint with the restaurant’s movement, because when it is said that they asked for the food from 9 p.m. onwards, there was one person who ordered a steak. And that steak was heated again because someone was not there. It is necessary to find out whose steak that was. He was away for a much longer time period…

An adult carrying a child, until the beach, how long [does it take]?

Fifteen minutes.

How was it possible for the apartment to be rented out after the crime?

The apartment was immediately fully contaminated by the parents’ action, before the police arrived. A complete fair was built there and at a certain point, dogs were demanded to come inside the house.

You admitted the possibility that the children had been given sedatives.

The twins, with the lights on, with the lights off, with a crowd of people going in and out, slept until 2 a.m., when they were carried into another apartment. Even then, they continued to sleep. That sleep is not normal.

But the Judiciária did nothing.

Once again, we were inhibited. We thought about asking the parents to test their hair, in order to understand whether there were sedatives, but as soon as it was found out, it would be said that we were suspecting the parents, and it was being avoided at all costs that it became public that those suspicions existed.

How is there room for speculation about the DNA tests? It was those results that allowed you to advance with the arguido status.

The speculation is done by the scientist who performs the test. He starts out by saying, in his preliminary report, that it was easy to say that it was Maddie. Then he raised other questions. Of course nobody can be accused, based on that data alone.

“The cadaver was frozen”

Correio da Manhã - What do you think happened to the body?

Gonçalo Amaral – Everything indicated that the body, after having been at a certain location, was moved into another location by car, twenty something days later. With the residues that were found inside the car, the little girl had to have been transported inside it.

How can you state that?

Due to the type of fluid, we policemen, experts, say that the cadaver was frozen or preserved in the cold and when placed into the car boot, with the heat at that time [of the year], part of the ice melted. On a curb, for example, something fell from the trunk’s right side, above the wheel. It may be said that this is speculation, but it’s the only way to explain what happened there.

If the body was hidden in the beach area first, was it always out of reach for the searches?

The beach was searched at a time when it is not known whether the body was still there. Using dogs, but sniffer dogs have limitations, like the salted water, for example. Later on, it may have been removed.

“We should have done phone tapping”

Correio da Manhã – Did you feel political pressure during the investigation?

G.A. – Inhibition. One of the mistakes was that we did not advance on this group with everything that legally was within our reach: Tapping, surveillance. It was necessary, for example, to recover the clothes that the little girl was wearing when she left the crèche to go home. There, we thought: if we go, it will immediately be said that we suspect the parents. That inhibition happened throughout time.

And that led you towards the abduction.

We had to prove that there was no abduction, in order to focus on those persons afterwards…

How does the pressure appear?

Right on the morning of the 4th of May, with a consul calling the embassy and saying that the PJ wasn’t doing anything. Then an ambassador. Next, an advisor and the English prime minister.

“Payne is the last one to see her”

Correio da Manhã – When do testimonies concerning David Payne’s behaviour indicating sexual practices with minors arrive?

Gonçalo Amaral – In May. Something went wrong with that group during a holiday: David Payne made revealing gestures concerning behaviour towards children. Even towards Maddie. We asked for information but it arrived after the 26th of October. They sent the information without giving it any importance.

What exactly did arrive?

A couple of doctors spent holidays in Mallorca, in 2005, with David Payne, the McCanns and another couple. The lady says she saw Payne with his finger in his mouth, making a movement in and out, while rubbing his nipple with the other hand. And he was talking about Maddie, next to her father. Those statements should have been given a different treatment by the police. It was relevant to access the information, about doctors, who are just as credible as anyone else.

What else remains unclear concerning David Payne?

He will be the last one to see Maddie alive after 5.30 p.m., when she leaves the crèche. He meets Gerry playing tennis and asks him about Kate and the children. Gerry answers that they are in the apartment and he goes there. He returns 30 minutes later. Kate says it was 30 seconds. There is something not quite right here.

Pre-publication

The evidence and the results of the case

“Arriving this far, it is important to make a deductive summary about this case. Which means, to reject what is false; to set aside what cannot be proved, because it is insufficient; to consider as valid and certain what has been proved.

What is proved

Therefore:


1. The abduction theory is defended by Maddie’s parents since the first moment;


2. Within the group, only her parents stated that they observed the open window in the missing girl’s bedroom; the majority cannot witness it faithfully because they arrived at the apartment after the alarm was raised;


3. The only statement outside of the group that mentions the open window and the raised shutters comes from Amy, one of the Ocean Club’s nannies, who points her observation towards 10.20/10.30 p.m., which is some time after the alarm was raised and does not prove that it was open like that at the time when the crime happened;


4. The set of depositions and witness statements exposes a high number of imprecision, incongruence and contradictions – which, in some cases, may be typified as false testimonies. In particular, the key statement for the abduction theory, from Jane Tanner, which loses all credibility due to the fact that it successively evolved throughout various moments in time, becoming ambiguous and disqualifying itself;


5. There is a cadaver that has not been located, a conclusion that is validated by the English EVRD and CSI dogs and corroborated by the preliminary lab test results.

Certainties until October

“For me, and for the investigators that worked with me on the case until October 2007, the results that we reached were the following:
1. The minor Madeleine McCann died in apartment 5A at the Ocean Club, in Vila da Luz, on the evening of the 3rd of May 2007;
2. An abduction was simulated;
3. Kate Healy and Gerald McCann are suspected of involvement in the concealment of their daughter’s cadaver;
4. Death may have resulted from a tragic accident;
5. There is indicia of neglect in the guard and safety of the children.”

“Decisive diligence was never carried out”

“The Smith family [Irish witnesses] is available to make a formal recognition. We had already contacted the Smith family, from Ireland, whose patriarch was prepared to travel to the Algarve, to give a new statement and for a formal recognition […] following the recognition that he had made on television of the man who on the 3rd of May, in Vila da Luz, walked towards the beach carrying a little girl, a little girl that they had recognized as being Madeleine McCann.

The man that the Smith were talking about was, with a high degree of certainty, Gerald McCann, who they had seen on the English television news, on the day that the McCann couple returned [on their definitive trip] to the United Kingdom. That man that came down the airplane stairs and walked on the asphalt, carrying a child, was apparently the same man who, on the evening of the 3rd of May, walked into the direction of the beach, carrying Madeleine, who seemed to be deeply asleep.

When the situation was presented to the National Director of the Polícia Judiciária [Alípio Ribeiro at that time], he agreed with what was being suggested to him, [namely] the coming to the Algarve, at our expenses, of the elements of the Smith family that were able to testify the facts.”

McCanns erased all the telephone calls

The calls on the couple’s mobile phones were erased, with the exception, in Kate’s case, of a call from her husband at 11.17 on that night of the 3rd of May, minutes after the disappearance was known. But this call is not registered on the mobile phone that belongs to Gerry, who erased all the phone calls of that day, presumably after he called Kate at that time. This fact, that was never clarified in terms of its motivation, intrigued the investigators.


Source: Correio da Manhã

“The Truth of the Lie”: Release of Gonçalo Amaral’s Book on the Maddie Case

The book “The truth of the Lie ", which promises controversial revelations on the Maddie case, is launched tomorrow. The SIC reveals today the first excerpts. The work has the signature of the man who directed great part of the investigations but ended up being removed. The lawyer of the couple McCann, Rogério Alves, said to the SIC that he does not comment fiction.

Gonçalo Amaral says that he wants “to put back the good name that was vilified in the public domain" without the Judicial Police allowing his own defence.

In the first pages of the work, the author highlights since then the unusual treatment given to the couple McCann, which in the words of the inspector were treated with "tweezers".

Much was spoken also about the attitudes of Gerry and Kate McCann and Gonçalo Amaral reports several situations in which he found the coldness of the couple strange facing the tension of the investigations.

In one of the situations the inspector speaks about the mother of the child, Kate, who before the possibility to find the daughter appears bothered with the speed reached by the car of the police. [This was after a new information of a possible sighting of Madeleine was given to the police, the mother instead of being anxious looked annoyed with the entire situation]

In another case it was the father who aroused the attention of the inspectors: in the middle of a negotiation, with a possible kidnapper, the doctor “was sucking casually one lollipop while reading banalities in sites of the Internet and talking about rugby and football with one of the English police officers.”

Gonçalo Amaral believes that "Madeleine died in the apartment 5A of the Ocean Clube, on the 3rd of May of 2007, but he does not discard the hypothesis of having been accidental".

Contacted by SIC, Rogério Alves, he refused to comment on the book by Gonçalo Amaral. “While lawyer of the family McCann, I only comment reality, I do not comment fiction", said the lawyer.

Excerpts of the book “The Truth of the Lie "

P. 11
“This book appears out of the necessity that I felt of putting back my good name that was vilified in the public domain without the PJ has allowing me to stand up for myself ”.

P. 19
“The mistake was that we treated the couple 'with tweezers'. They were treated with privileges. It is that, that is not normal”.

P. 26
“It seems that the Judiciary Police is a ‘stepmother’ [Portuguese expression, meaning the PJ as an institution was never good to its officers] with its servants, it never knew how to defend them ”.

P. 38
“It was pertinent to know if Madeleine was the biological daughter of the couple McCann, the information requested does not arrive, but the English ambassador is already arriving. It is not normal this preoccupation of the English diplomacy ”.

P. 48
“A hand print was found in the balcony window at the rear [of the apartment]. It was corresponding to one of the police elements ”. (protocol of proceedings is lacking)

P. 54
Sightings:
“Kate appears bored because of having being obliged to return and bothered with the speed reached by the police car We found strange that she didn’t show signs of hope with the possibility of the girl being recovered ”.

P. 67
“The PJ should have had persons to analyse all the news, being preoccupied by what the parents and friends would say to the public opinion. What did not happen ”.

P. 68
“It is not usual that common citizens, to whom a daughter just had disappeared, nominate press advisers”

P. 71
“The English service secret already had, after the facts, the couple and the group of friends under surveillance. If that was right such an information was never accessed by the Portuguese police”

P. 81
“The medical registries (of Madeleine) requested with insistence were not given to us, due to great difficulties raised in England”.

P. 92
Attempt of extortion
"Gerry McCann was sucking casually one lollipop while he was reading banalities in sites of the Internet and was talking about rugby and football with one of the English police officers.”

Sentence of the English police officers “Do not forget that he starts cutting people in half shortly afterwards of the breakfast”.

P. 165
“There were signs of death in the apartment. It was concluded that that cadaver odour could only came from Madeleine McCann”.

P. 168
“The toy had cadaver odour”

P. 214
Conclusions
“Madeleine died in the6 apartment 5 A on the 3rd of May of 2007
A simulation of kidnapping took place
Kate and Gerry are suspected of corpse's occultation [hiding the cadaver]
The death might have happened as a result of an accident
There are signs of negligence in the safe keeping and security of the children”

"It is not a declaration of innocence" - Gonçalo Amaral

“The Attorney General does not say that they are innocent”

Former investigator of the Judiciária promises facts that help to solve the crime

The archiving of the process “is not a declaration of innocence” about Maddie’s parents, Gonçalo Amaral reminded the CM yesterday. “The Attorney General’s Office does not say that they are innocent” and the former senior officer from the Judiciária in the case investigation, who was convinced of Kate and Gerry’s guilt since the beginning, for covering up the death, expects it “to be reopened at any moment”. The now retired coordinator knows what the PJ lacked to solve the crime, but points towards the clues in his book, ‘Maddie – The Truth about the Lie’, which is to be presented on Thursday.


link to Joana's article here