Police think Madeleine is dead

Deleted Express articles from the Maddie Case Files
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POLICE THINK MADDY IS DEAD

Sunday August 12,2007
By Matt Drake


A TOP police officer searching for Madeleine McCann last night admitted for the first time that they believe she is dead.

The Portuguese detective heading the investigation said they had uncovered fresh evidence, which added “intensity” to the possibility that she was killed in the family’s holiday apartment.

And after a week of intense sniping he said Kate and Gerry McCann and their holiday party were not being treated as suspects. On the 100th day of Madeleine’s disappearance, Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa yesterday confirmed that renewed searches by British sniffer dogs had revealed clues that could point to the four-year-old’s death.

Blood found inside the bedroom where Madeleine was sleeping is being analysed by forensic scientists in Britain.
The blood samples are expected to be returned by the end of this week and the McCanns have been told to brace themselves for the worst.

The springer spaniels used in the latest search are trained in the UK to trace the scent of decomposing flesh even months after it has been moved.

Confirming that the McCanns were not suspects, Mr Sousa said: “We have already said that the couple, the McCann couple, they are not suspects on the case and at this moment they stay in the same position.

“They are victims of this crime because they have lost their little child and they are witnesses in the case.”

Reacting to Mr Sousa’s comments, a spokeswoman for the McCann family said: “It is obviously heartening that the police in Portugal have finally confirmed that Kate and Gerry McCann are not suspects following the hurtful and unhelpful comments that have been made this week.

“Kate and Gerry understand that the police in Portugal are working hard to do everything in their power to find Madeleine McCann. They continue to hope and pray that Madeleine is still alive.”

A family friend said Portuguese police had never told Madeleine’s parents they now believed there was a strong line of inquiry to suggest she was killed in their apartment.

The friend added that it was “extraordinary” they had “not had the decency” to do this before stating it in an on-the-record interview.

The dramatic police statement came as Madeleine’s clearly devastated mother faced her darkest hour last night, marking 100 days since her daughter vanished.

Shaking with emotion, Kate issued a heartbreaking plea for people not to give up on the “journey of hope” at a church service in Praia da Luz.

Kate and Gerry were greeted by scores of holidaymakers and local residents as they attended the poignant service of prayers. Mrs McCann told well-wishers how hard every passing day had been without any word of Madeleine.

A fresh wave of speculation in the local press alleged that police had switched the focus of their investigation to the couple after uncovering “proof” that Madeleine had died around two hours before she was declared missing.

Last night the McCanns were under growing pressure to answer the allegations that Madeleine may have died even before they left their holiday apartment to join friends for dinner in a tapas bar 40 yards away.

Kate and Gerry have found themselves the target of a vicious hate campaign in Portugal, fuelled by leaks from inside the police inquiry. It has also been claimed that locals in Praia da Luz were referring to them as “these b****y McCanns” and wanted them to go home.

Yesterday another report highlighted the fact that the family’s Renault Scenic hire car had been seized by police before undergoing a fingertip examination by forensic experts.

Justine McGuiness, who is acting as a spokeswoman for the McCanns, confirmed that the silver car had been taken away last Monday by the police but had been returned to Madeleine’s parents two days later.

Gerry’s mother, meanwhile, hit back at the cruel smear campaign, branding the speculation as “obscene”. Eileen McCann said anyone who knew the couple would be horrified by the latest claims.

“It’s very upsetting. Gerry called me the other night and told me the Portuguese police had changed their tactics during interviews.

“They won’t give them any information about the investigation now, but the idea of Kate or Gerry being involved is ridiculous. Kate and Gerry love those children more than they love themselves. The allegations are just obscene.”

During the service yesterday the couple pointedly thanked locals for their support over their three-month ordeal.

Father Haynes Hubbard, the Anglican chaplain of the Algarve, who led the service, said those in church did not agree “for one second” that they should return home.

He went on: “Those of you who live in and around Luz, whose lives have been affected by this, will join me to say thank you to Kate and Gerry for staying here and allowing us to be part of this struggle with them.

“It would be easier for us if they left, but it wouldn’t be right.”

The service – themed as “100 Days of Hope” – included prayers for Madeleine and other missing children as well as short addresses by both the McCanns.

Kate, her face etched with grief as she clutched Madeleine’s favourite soft toy, Cuddle Cat, said: “I would like to welcome you all here today to join us in some special prayers for Madeleine and all children who suffer around the world at this moment. As you are aware it is 100 days now since our little girl was taken from us. Every day feels so hard without Madeleine.

“I could talk all day about how wonderful, how precious Madeleine is, but suffice to say we all miss her so much and our lives aren’t complete without Madeleine.

“On behalf of Gerry, myself, Sean and Amelie (the couple’s two-year-old twins) and all our friends and family, and especially Madeleine, we would like to thank you all, especially the people here in the community of Luz, for your continued support, hope and prayers through this difficult time.

“Please stay with us as we continue our journey of hope and please keep Madeleine in your thoughts and prayers.”

Her husband, who was wearing a green T-shirt with an appeal for information about his missing daughter, thanked the local community for its “overwhelming support”.

He said: “Madeleine has been missing for 100 days. We have not given up hope that we will be reunited with her. We will not stop looking for her until she is found.”

The church pews had been decorated with yellow and green ribbons and there was a picture of Madeleine and a heart on the wall at the back.

Many families with babies and young children attended the service, which focused on children and included Away in a Manger. Members of the congregation lit candles and placed them on the altar creating a sea of light at the rear of the church.

When Kate and Gerry emerged from the church they were greeted by loud applause from waiting holidaymakers and residents of the Algarve resort.


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POLICE: WE KNOW WHO KILLED MADELEINE

Thursday August 16,2007
David Pilditch and Martin Evans in Praia da Luz


DETECTIVES leading the Madeleine McCann investigation now know the identity of her killers, it has been sensationally alleged.

Reports in Portugal claim police are convinced the four-year-old died inside her family’s holiday flat in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz - even though blood traces found in the apartment were NOT hers.

And senior investigators are said to be ready to swoop within days on new suspects who have been identified.

The claims are set to bring fresh torment to Madeleine’s devastated parents, Kate and Gerry, who are convinced their four-year-old daughter was snatched by a kidnapper and remains alive.

The respected Portuguese newspaper Diario de Noticias claimed that police were pursuing a major new line of inquiry thanks to clues discovered by a team of British police officers.

It reported: “The investigators have in their hands ‘a lot of information’ and even know who is behind the death of Madeleine.” The paper went on to say that “significant developments” could lead to friends of Madeleine’s parents facing new questioning for evidence.

The report said: “The key to the mystery resides in the friends of the parents who ate dinner together that night.”

Madeleine disappeared on May 3 while her parents were dining with seven friends in a restaurant just 50 yards from their holiday apartment.

The breakthrough comes as senior investigators will today be handed the results of forensic tests carried out in the UK.

British sniffer dogs found two tiny specks of blood in the McCanns’ holiday apartment. One trace was found in Madeleine’s bedroom, while the second was discovered on a curtain in her parents’ room.

But investigators have discovered the blood belongs to a white, northern European man - possibly someone who stayed in the room after the McCanns.

A Portuguese police source said last night: “We have been following a new line of inquiry which has proved significant.

“Even if the blood is not the young girl’s it will not alter the outcome. It is just the last piece we are waiting for before we can act.

“It is expected we will soon be in a position to name the new suspects. It could be that we raise the status of people who are already witnesses.”

The development is the clearest indication yet that British expat Robert Murat, 33, is to be dropped as the only official suspect or “arguido” in the case. The decision will cause fresh heartbreak for the McCanns, who had been assured by detectives he was considered a serious suspect in their daughter’s abduction.

Reports claim police are now working on the theory Madeleine was killed inside the family’s holiday apartment – either by accident or murder.

In an official statement, police spokesman Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa said yesterday: “Naturally we could have new arguidos.

“Depending on the result of the DNA tests there could be a change in the procedural position of those involved in the case or, eventually, there could arise other people, others involved who until now are not known.

“Until now, Madeleine’s parents are not suspects in her disappearance.”

Asked about the police’s new line of inquiry he said: “The death of the little girl is the theory that has most attention but no other lead has been discounted.”

Describing the inquiry as a “complex one”, he added: “Never has there been collected so much evidence in a crime scene by specialised teams as in this situation.”

Yesterday it was reported that the new leads in the case added weight to the theory that Madeleine had not been kidnapped after all. The Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Noticias said: “According to Olegario Sousa, there is more evidence to sustain the theory of the death of the girl.

“The investigation does not depend just on these results which will come from England.

“It is not just these traces which allow us to give strength to the theory that the child is dead. The matching of all data collected and evidence from witnesses has been put together to draw this conclusion.”

The paper said a face-to-face showdown between Murat and three of the McCanns’ friends also played a vital role in the inquiry.

Police staged the confrontation last month after Russell O’Brien, Fiona Payne and Rachael Oldfield told police they saw Murat near the McCanns’ apartment on the night Madeleine disappeared.

Their testimony cast doubt on Murat’s alibi that he dined with his mother that evening before having an early night.

The newspaper reported Mr Sousa as saying the confrontation could also contribute to the new theory “gaining more consistency”.