Madeleine McCann 3 year old missing in Portugal - Part 12

[SewingDeb]

The way the school is handling it is just plain wierd. I don't understand that with a class of 4 year olds. If Maddie were much older (and her classmates older as well), it would make more sense.

 

[Texana]

So, the question remains as to why it was on a shelf. If Cuddlecat meant so much to Maddie that she brought it along, why wouldn't she have been sleeping with it?

Reportedly that's how Kate McCann knew Maddie had to have been abducted, the toy was up on a ledge or shelf high, out of Maddie's reach, and Maddie went to sleep every night with the toy. When she saw the toy there and the tampered window shutters she knew (according to interviews, if accurate) that Maddie had been abducted.

The new toy was another toy, purchased for Maddie's birthday after she disappeared. I think it's green to signify "hope" but I haven't seen any photos and can't really verify that.

 

[colomom]

I think that Kate McCann read, or has heard about, all the internet chatter surrounding her alleged cry of "they've taken her" that she needed to do some damage control. That was the best that she could come up with.

 

[mrsmousemat]

So, the question remains as to why it was on a shelf. If Cuddlecat meant so much to Maddie that she brought it along, why wouldn't she have been sleeping with it?

Maybe she wanted one for her birthday and had been promised one. If it had been placed where she couldn't see it then this would make sense if it was to be a surprise.

If she was sleeping with it, then the police would surely have taken it for investigation - or then, maybe not, as this is the PJ.

 

[Texana]

I think that Kate McCann read, or has heard about, all the internet chatter surrounding her alleged cry of "they've taken her" that she needed to do some damage control. That was the best that she could come up with.

It's definitely one of the weaker parts of the story--that she immediately thought that. And although she reportedly "knew" the abductor had placed the toy on the ledge, she was able to get possession of Cuddle Cat before (apparently)it was tested in any way.

 

[mrsmousemat]

I don't know anything about Portuguese law or if their courts operate like ours. But from the McCanns' standpoint, suing the newpapers might end up benefitting them in the long-run. If they are forced by cross-examination to reveal any information about Madeleine's disappearance, I imagine that would color any criminal case brought against them for it. It it might be enough to get charges dropped for self-incrimination.

Apparently I am quite wrong in assuming that Portugal would be subject the the same law system with regard reporting of cases and information on a charged suspect pre-trial as the UK. So apologies on this point.

In Britain, once a suspect is charged, you cannot write about the case until after the trial, to protect the right of the suspect to a fair trial.

In Portugal, you can't write anything before the suspect is charged to protect the police investigation. But, once a suspect has been charged, apparently you can write about thr case pre-trial.

Source: Sky site Portuguese Law : May 8 - Madeleine McCann.

The law regarding leaving children in Portugal unattended seems so complex that I've given up trying to figure it out from websites.

It looks like it is still under the archaic legal heading of 'paternal law' - rather than 'parental law', for any interested female posters!
But there seem to be lots of added amendements etc and there may have been subsequent changes as I haven't bee through it thoroughly.

I asked a social worker friend of mine whether the McCanns would be investigated in the UK for leaving their children and she said: 'Yes - definitely'.

However, my understanding is that it would have to be proved that the parents had known of the abduction risk - and decided they didn't care about it.... or that they had consistently put their children in danger, knowing that abduction was a likely threat. Complicated.

I don't think that the McCanns had considered that Madeleine might be abducted, thought it was a risk, and then decided to go out anyway.

If anyone knows about Portuguese law, I'd be very interested to be informed if I'm incorrect.

 

[Trino]

IMO an abductor would want to get out of the bedroom ASAP. And, we're supposed to believe he/she took the time to place a stuffed animal on a shelf? Did the abductor make the bed, too?

It's no wonder that posters find the comment, "They've taken her," to be strange. If my child disappeared, I would be combing the area, assuming she was wandering somewhere before I yelled that someone had abducted her. If the first thing on Kate's mind was a fear of an abduction, why leave the children alone at all?

 

[colomom]

I just got off the phone with my friend LIVE from Portugal. It was really neat to be talking to someone who is right there!

They tell me that the apartment that they got looks directly at the front of the McCanns apartment!!! They have only been there a short time and haven't been able to look around alot but they said that they have walked by the apartment and have been swimming in the sea. They said that there are MANY very remote places, very close to the apartment and finding Madeleine would be like finding a needle in a haystack. They said that they could really "sense" the panic that the McCanns felt on May 3rd. They can feel it surrounding the apartment. They also said that they can sense that Madeleine is close.

They have plans to visit a church in Lagos where you can pray for miracles. Can you guess what they will pray for??? Silly question, I know.

They said that they forgot their driver's license back home but says that the drivers there are crazy anyway, so it will have to be walking only. They said that the people there are very "sensitive" about people videotaping or taking photos (but they will try Mrsmousemat). People at the resort do not want to talk about the case at all. They said that they saw two big, burly, scary looking guys that they really thought were cops, and they were near the apartment and walked up to the gate. They made them feel nervous. Anyway, that's about it.

I have to run, let me know if you have anything you want me to tell them or ask them on your behalf. I will hear from them again day after tomorrow.

 

[docwho3]

10 minutes ago (before this post)
"The lawyer for Madeleine McCann's parents accused sections of the media of "inhumane" scandal-mongering as the couple launched a defamation action against a Portuguese newspaper.
Gerry McCann said he and his wife, Kate, were "deeply hurt" by a front-page story in Tal & Qual which claimed Portuguese police now believe they killed their daughter. . ."

". . . The August 24 article alleged the Policia Judiciaria (PJ) - Portugal's CID - were certain the couple accidentally caused Madeleine's death. Under the headline "PJ believes that the parents killed Maddie", it implied that the young girl died a "victim of an excess of drugs", possibly sedatives. . ."
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/pressass/20070831/tuk-mccanns-in-legal-move-on-newspaper-6323e80_1.html

 

[docwho3]

I found this article posted elsewhere and then went to the news site and read it and now I share the source link:

31st August 2007
". . .One of the detectives leading the inquiry into Madeleine McCann's disappearance has told reporters her parents are not suspects.

Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa confirmed today that Gerry and Kate McCann are not under suspicion for their daughter's vanishing on 3 May and described them as 'victims'. . . ."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/li...article_id=478885&in_page_id=1770&ito=newsnow

 

[Jdee]

I just got off the phone with my friend LIVE from Portugal. It was really neat to be talking to someone who is right there!

They tell me that the apartment that they got looks directly at the front of the McCanns apartment!!! They have only been there a short time and haven't been able to look around alot but they said that they have walked by the apartment and have been swimming in the sea. They said that there are MANY very remote places, very close to the apartment and finding Madeleine would be like finding a needle in a haystack. They said that they could really "sense" the panic that the McCanns felt on May 3rd. They can feel it surrounding the apartment. They also said that they can sense that Madeleine is close.

They have plans to visit a church in Lagos where you can pray for miracles. Can you guess what they will pray for??? Silly question, I know.

They said that they forgot their driver's license back home but says that the drivers there are crazy anyway, so it will have to be walking only. They said that the people there are very "sensitive" about people videotaping or taking photos (but they will try Mrsmousemat). People at the resort do not want to talk about the case at all. They said that they saw two big, burly, scary looking guys that they really thought were cops, and they were near the apartment and walked up to the gate. They made them feel nervous. Anyway, that's about it.

I have to run, let me know if you have anything you want me to tell them or ask them on your behalf. I will hear from them again day after tomorrow.

Thanks Colomom! Gosh I got goose bumps!

 

[Morag]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/31/nmaddy231.xml

This first sentence is quite odd... and does, "If successful, ... mean if aquitted?

They have told friends they will fight the criminal case all the way to the courts. If successful, they can then apply for indemnity in the civil court.

If the McCanns do give evidence at trial, it will be the first time they have publicly discussed the case as they are not allowed to talk about the investigation.

But under Portuguese law, they can talk about events that night as part of other legal proceedings. "They are 100pc on this," said a friend. "They will take it all the way if necessary.''

Colomom, thanks for 'encouraging' your friends on the scene to do a little sleuthing. I wonder if they have timed the walk from the entrance to OC to the little gate and steps up to the M apartment?

 

[colomom]

today in RTP online:

http://www.rtp.pt/index.php?article=296379&visual=16
Copied from: http://helpmadeleine.proboards79.co...splay&board=general&thread=1188465925&page=22 post #323

The director of Tal&Qual weekly newspaper guaranteed to Lusa that he never accused the McCanns of killing their daughter, clarifying that last week’s headline only transmits what the police believe.

The parents of Madeleine McCann have announced today, through BBC News, that they are going to sue Tal&Qual after this paper reported on news that indicate that the Policia Judiciaria (PJ) believed the couple killed Maddie accidentally.

“I keep the story, I won’t change a comma”, director Emidio Fernando told Lusa, clarifying that the newspaper “never accused anyone, just says what the police believes”.

Saying he is “absolutely tranquil” concerning a possible lawsuit, the weekly’s director said the McCanns’ intentions are “based on the articles that were published in English newspapers, which say that Tal&Qual accuses the family of a crime”.

“If we published the story, it’s because we are certain of it”, Emidio Fernando said, adding that “what the newspaper assumes is that the police believe” the possibility that the parents killed the English girl accidentally.

“I trust our sources and please note that I say sources in plural, because they are more than three”, the director said, who guarantees that the weekly he directs “never wrote anything that has not been confirmed, since this process [of Maddie’s disappearance] started”.

Although they have not received any notification about a possible defamation lawsuit that the McCanns have announced to be filing, the complaint is, according to BBC News, against the newspaper and the director.

(…)

 

[colomom]

Colomom, thanks for 'encouraging' your friends on the scene to do a little sleuthing. I wonder if they have timed the walk from the entrance to OC to the little gate and steps up to the M apartment?

Hi Morag,

I will ask them to time the walk. That should be no problem.

 

[Texana]

Hi Morag,

I will ask them to time the walk. That should be no problem.

That's my question, too! Thank you so much!

 

[mrsmousemat]

The director of Tal&Qual weekly newspaper guaranteed to Lusa that he never accused the McCanns of killing their daughter, clarifying that last week’s headline only transmits what the police believe.


He'll have to name his sources, which should be interesting.

 

[mrsmousemat]

This first sentence is quite odd... and does, "If successful, ... mean if aquitted?

They have told friends they will fight the criminal case all the way to the courts. If successful, they can then apply for indemnity in the civil court.

The civil case is the libel, and there isn't any criminal case as yet - as we don't yet know if a crime has been committed - she could still have wandered off.

But maybe the Portuguese determine that a criminal case is any, once a police investigation has been opened or a 'person of interest' named.

Does the Telegraph sentence mean that the Mcanns will apply for indemnity to be able to speak publically about the on-going police investigation to fight the libel case?

 

[englishleigh]

Heather...

I'd also love for them to give us the exact distance in yards (to their approximation) between the Tapas Bar and the door of the McCanns' apartment, so we can get that cleared up once and for all.

 

[colomom]

The director of Tal&Qual weekly newspaper guaranteed to Lusa that he never accused the McCanns of killing their daughter, clarifying that last week’s headline only transmits what the police believe.


He'll have to name his sources, which should be interesting.

Especially because: “I trust our sources and please note that I say sources in plural, because they are more than three”, the director said, who guarantees that the weekly he directs “never wrote anything that has not been confirmed, since this process [of Maddie’s disappearance] started”.

 

[Texana]

Especially because: “I trust our sources and please note that I say sources in plural, because they are more than three”, the director said, who guarantees that the weekly he directs “never wrote anything that has not been confirmed, since this process [of Maddie’s disappearance] started”.

I am guessing that the deep sleep of the twins during all the commotion, even while being carried out by strangers, is going to be one fact cited by any of the "sources" in coming to their conclusion.