Madeleine McCann 3 year old missing in Portugal - Part 13

[englishleigh]

Missing girl's parents want to go home

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070908/ap_on_re_eu/portugal_missing_girl

"Gerry McCann, 4-year-old Madeleine's father, said he and his wife expected clarification of their legal status within 48 hours, according to the friend, Clarence Mitchell. Their lawyer said late Friday that police had declared the parents suspects in the May 3 disappearance.
"They are in broad agreement that they should get out as soon as they can," Mitchell told The Associated Press by telephone from Britain. Whether Portuguese police will allow them to leave is unclear, though their passports are not believed to have been seized up until now."...

I BET they want to go home. I sure hope Portugal has an extradition treaty with Great Britain...if not, they better get those passports away from them soon. I can't imagine they'd allow them to leave the country if they are official suspects, especially now that Gerry has admitted to sedating the kids.

 

[rashomon]

If the police were trying to frame the parents I think they could do better then plant evidence in a car that was not in the parents possesion to over 20 days after Maddie dissapeared.

mjak

My thoughts exactly.

 

[pinto]

How long does it take a body to start smelling like a cadaver? Does that make sense? -- I mean, you're alive, you smell alive; you die, you start smelling dead, but how long does it take to be a "different" smell?

Sorry if I missed this in previous posts ... there are a lot of them.

 

[Texana]

Was it one of the Tapas 9?

Wouldn't that explain the Pact of Silence?

Most certainly would!

The interesting thing about the Tapas 9 group is that they themselves created the "pact of silence." They did not say, "we're keeping quiet and not giving out comments because the police have asked us not to do so."

The emphasis seemed to be all on what "we" decided to do.

 

[delilah]

If they did it, they had help getting rid of the body. She could have been placed in a suitcase and handed off to one of the tapas 9 before the search went underway.

It's more than odd behavior or inadequate emotion. They have confessed to child neglect. They have lied or made mistatements about the number of times the children were checked and by whom. They have lied or made mistatements about the distance of the restaurant from their apartment. They have collected millions of pounds and gone on a worldwide media tour in the interest of a campaign but not registered the charity as a nonprofit. One of the stated goals of the campaign fund is legal expenses.

In my view, involving the Tapas 9 seems far fetched:

Kate: Oh dear, I seem to have accidentally killed my daughter. It's going to cause problems if I tell the police. Could you help me dispose of her body?

Friend: yeah no problem. What shall we do, dump her at sea?


The statements are confusing, possibly because we are getting bits and pieces only, not the full versions, and people's memories of that night are likely to be a little hazy (from a combination of shock and alcohol). My understanding is the PJ think there are 'minor discrepancies' in the statements. The distance between the bar and the apartment was different from the version they presented initially (dining in the back garden), I agree. But that could be an attempt to justify what they could see with hindsight was poor judgement, leaving the kids alone. On the fund issue, I thought they were unable to give it charitable status because its primary aim (find Madeleine) is not strictly in the public interest ie its primary aim is not a general one such as to help find missing children in general.

I'm neither defending nor accusing the McCanns. I'm just trying to establish the facts.

 

[colomom]

How long does it take a body to start smelling like a cadaver? Does that make sense? -- I mean, you're alive, you smell alive; you die, you start smelling dead, but how long does it take to be a "different" smell?

Sorry if I missed this in previous posts ... there are a lot of them.

Hi Pinto:

I think you are referring to the cadaver dogs being able to detect the scent of death....from what I have read the human body immediately starts the decomposition process and chemicals are released that can be detected by the dogs. I have read that these chemicals are released immediately. I read one article that said the dogs can detect the scent of death after a cadaver is present for a minimum of 2 hours. Another article said that the best dogs have been able to detect it after just 1.5 hours. The police chief of the PJ said they can detect it immediately.

I will do some research to day and open a thread where we can post the articles.

So far, I think it is the forensics of the dogs that is the most important "evidence".

 

[delilah]

I BET they want to go home. I sure hope Portugal has an extradition treaty with Great Britain...if not, they better get those passports away from them soon. I can't imagine they'd allow them to leave the country if they are official suspects, especially now that Gerry has admitted to sedating the kids.

Have I missed something? When did he admit that?

 

[okietexan]

I BET they want to go home. I sure hope Portugal has an extradition treaty with Great Britain...if not, they better get those passports away from them soon. I can't imagine they'd allow them to leave the country if they are official suspects, especially now that Gerry has admitted to sedating the kids.

He did? I had not heard that. Did this come out yesterday during his police interview?

 

[englishleigh]

He did? I had not heard that. Did this come out yesterday during his police interview?

This was posted on another thread. Not certain where, but I read it this morning.

 

[okietexan]

This was posted on another thread. Not certain where, but I read it this morning.

Wow....if that is true then so many on this board were right on from day one. I have always thought those kids were given something to make them sleep so soundly......good grief.

 

[Texana]

He did? I had not heard that. Did this come out yesterday during his police interview?

It's definitely on one of the other threads, try Portugese Press one. It's reported but of course that isn't verified.

 

[Jdee]

"Could Kate McCann Be a Murderer?"

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1660098,00.html

..........."In interviews, the McCanns have expressed anger, despair and guilt over their decision to leave Madeleine alone. Yet, in the eye of the storm, Kate McCann cuts a dignified figure, calm and quiet, and rarely tearful.
That has done little to win her friends or allay suspicions. On the contrary. The Portuguese daily Correio da Manha alleged on Friday that that police had always been suspicious of Kate McCann's behavior. It may be that regardless of the outcome of the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, her mother stands accused in part of a lack of visible emotion. It's a charge women may find themselves facing whether they are victim or suspect. "You aren't handed a manual when you become a victim of crime. 'Dress like this, act like this, cry now.' I didn't know there were all these ways you were supposed to behave." These are the words of Joanne Lees, a Briton whose boyfriend Peter Falconio was murdered in the Australian outback in 2001. During the trial of Falconio's murderer, Lees, a crisp and unemotional witness, found herself standing trial at the hands of a hostile media who interpreted her composure as a sign of complicity. In 1982 in another case before the Australian courts, Lindy Chamberlain was convicted of the murder of her baby Azaria, whom she said had been taken by a dingo, a wild dog, during a family camping holiday. Her dry-eyed testimony was not believed. She was exonerated after 6 years in prison."

 

[mjak]

If it is true that GM has admitted to sedating the children we not have proof positive this man is lyer and there is no reason to think anymore anything he says should be believed. As far as I am concerned if this is true I have not only fallen off the fence but I am first online of the parents did it line. Totally horrifiying. I pray its not true.

mjak

 

[delilah]

It's definitely on one of the other threads, try Portugese Press one. It's reported but of course that isn't verified.

It's on the Fence Sitters and Not Guilty thread (sorry can't do links) from a post by CaliKid. It's a translation from Portuguese to English so there's scope for mistakes: 'sedative' might have meant something like Calpol rather than something stronger?

 

[colomom]

Hello all,

Just wanted to let you know I have created a new thread called Portuguese Press. from now on I will be posting the translations that I usually posted here....over there.

I collected a number of them, but not all. Feel free to contribute any that you have. Be sure to show a link too. You can translate Portuguese websites with BabelFish (http://www.altavista.babelfish.com) or another translation engine, but they can be a bit rough, and sometimes very funny. Our best translations come direct from our friends in Portugal (special thanks to them for all their hard work!!).

 

[Taximom]

Would LE be able to tell if there was a sedative in her blood from any of the DNA they've found? I imagine they would need more than a few flakes of dried blood (or other fluids?) to do so, but don't know for sure.

If they did harm Madeleine accidentally I would think saying "yes, I accidentally gave her too much sedative" sounds better than "yes, I accidentally slammed her against the wall". Without a body we only have their word for what happened. Even with a body at this point, we might not ever know unless there are bone fractures present.

I'm praying they do the right thing and just tell all if they are guilty.

 

[MoonGoddess]

Would LE be able to tell if there was a sedative in her blood from any of the DNA they've found? I imagine they would need more than a few flakes of dried blood (or other fluids?) to do so, but don't know for sure.

If they did harm Madeleine accidentally I would think saying "yes, I accidentally gave her too much sedative" sounds better than "yes, I accidentally slammed her against the wall". Without a body we only have their word for what happened. Even with a body at this point, we might not ever know unless there are bone fractures present.

I'm praying they do the right thing and just tell all if they are guilty.

Hi Taximom

On a news channel in the UK last night, a scientist said depending on the size of the 'sample' that yes - they could determine if 'sedatives' were in the system but it would need to be a 'sizeable sample' - I agree I think it will be very difficult to determine the cause of death without her little body... even with "fractures present" - I guess they could claim she could have incurred them if, for instance she has been thrown down a well or off of a cliff - so sorry to be so graphic.

I have often wondered if they could get samples off of the twins - would they still show if they had been sedated at any point - I dont know how long these things show in the system for...

:blowkiss:

 

[Taximom]

Thanks, MoonGoddess! I never thought about fractures occuring afterward.

Poor, sweet Madeliene.

 

[Pinkhammer]

She was directly asked: "Did you kill your daughter?" and was so taken aback she swore at detectives.

Patsy Ramsey did the same thing when she was asked the same question.

Thanks, colomom, for the constant stream of up-to-the-minute information you bring us each day. You are really on top of this case.

Thanks to your family, too, for sharing you with us!

 

[Pinkhammer]

About the twins...couldn't hair samples tell, even months later, what drugs had been in their system? Did Kate have their hair cut short in the days after the murder of Maddie?