The Final Report from the PJ (translation) No Discussion

[colomom]

Page 43 and 44

On pages 2426 and following, the forensics report was attached, concerning the residues that were collected on several locations, with results that did not attain the desired purpose, which was to establish elements that conducted to the author or authors of the facts.

From pages 2771 to 2869, the final report was added, concerning the action of the canines and the searches, carried out by the British experts.

A new occurrence was explored on pages 2876 and following, concerning a crematorium, where according to the press, the cadaver of the British minor could have been placed. The crematorium was closed and sealed, according to what is explained in the aforementioned report.

On page 2897, the copies of the contract for the vehicle that was rented by the McCANN family were requested, and added from pages 2900 to 2937, as well as the registers from anterior rentals, including the last user, who was heard on page 2997.

On page 2945 and following, some situations concerning movements by the McCANN couple and episodes involving the press and private detectives are reported.

On page 2962, the holiday group’s flight data is added, in its entirety.

On pages 3148 and following, the sighting of an individual with a strange behaviour, though not substantially founded, who sometimes was motionless and other times spoke on the phone from a cabin, is mentioned. That individual, according to witness statements from pages 3150 to 3156, had some similarities with the figure that was described by JANE TANNER, page 3157. Nothing was established that could relate him to the facts.

All the garbage bins that exist in the village of Luz and surroundings, in a total number of 188 (one hundred and eighty eight), were searched and inspected, yet nothing relevant was found, page 3183.

According to what is documented in the process, on the afternoon of the 3rd of May, the group, with the exception of the McCANN family, were in a bar next to the beach, named “Paraíso”, and the images from the video surveillance system were appended, pages 3266 to 3273, which did not supply any further clarifying elements.

On pages 3893 and following, several inquiritions that came from the British Authorities, and the corresponding translations, were added, with an informative character.

On pages 3922 and 3923, a summary of the financial situation of the group, constituted by nine persons, can be found.

On page 3924, due to the tight connection with the McCANN couple, the priest who practises in Praia da Luz, Father JOSÉ PACHECO, was questioned, but did not add anything relevant for the investigation to the process.

On pages 3928 and following, another summary of the sequence of events, executed by the holiday group, was added.

 

[colomom]

Page 45 and 46

The report on page 3998 and the inquirition on page 3459-a refers to two telephone communications that were received on the night of the facts by KATE HEALY, from a bar that is located in Vilamoura. It was possible to verify that it was a common friend/client between both.

In the same perspective that motivated the appending of the registries of users of the vehicle that was rented by the couple, the appending of the register of occupants of apartment G5A was carried out, page 3417-a.

The wife of the Anglican Priest, SUSAN HUBARD, was questioned, as she had a relationship of some proximity to the McCANN couple, during their stay in Portugal. Once again, nothing that can be reputed as important was collected.

On page 3418-a YVONE MARTIN was questioned, who offered some information, which, despite its pertinence, did not show any relevance, pages 3421-a and following.

Information was collected from a Spanish detective agency, named “Método 3”, which was hired by a British citizen, to benefit the McCANN couple. This contact was solicitated by this agency, and the information that was given was subject to analysis and dismissal by this Police, pages 3434-a and following. It revealed itself, all of it, as speculative and without fundament, focusing particular attention on ROBERT MURAT.

From the tests and inspections that were carried out, a biological residue was collected which supposedly carried identificative value. Faced with this, the same residue was sent to Interpol, in order to be compared with the compatible databases, page 3467-a.

Following the aforementioned canine action, after the constitution and the questioning under arguido status of GERALD McCANN and KATE HEALY, these would end up abandoning the national territory, returning to the United Kingdom, where the remaining elements of the group already were.

From this moment on, it became necessary to request from the British authorities the performance of a set of diligences, that had the purpose of helping to clarify the facts and to establish what type of crime had been committed, as well as the responsibility of the corresponding authorship, pages 3528-a and following.

Therefore, from page 3705-a to page 3792-a the Rogatory Letter is appended, that was elaborated by the Public Ministry, based on what had been reported by the Polícia Judiciária, and from page 3795-a to page 3822-a, a second rogatory letter, this time elaborated the solicitation of arguidos GERALD McCANN and KATE HEALY.

From pages 3928 until 3931 the statements from a witness, who helped during the searches for the child and who decided to give a voluntary statement, were appended. It did not point out anything of substantial relevance.

From pages 3932 to 3937, another witness alleged that she had seen GERALD McCANN, in Avenida Descobrimentos, in Lagos, near an ATM terminal, at around 2.26 p.m. on the 7th of May 2007. According to the witness, the father of the minor was talking on the phone, saying “don’t hurt Madeleine, please”. She was not peremptory in affirming that it was GERALD McCANN. It seems unlikely to us that it was GERALD, given the fact that on that day, he only activated antennas in Praia da Luz, adding to the fact that, at around 2.16 p.m., he activated an antenna in the centre of Praia da Luz, which we consider to make it impossible that he was present in Lagos ten minutes later.

 

[colomom]

Page 47 and 48


On pages 3943 and forward, is the request for a comparison of the DNA for MADELEINE McCANN, with the genetic profile of a child’s cadaver found on the coast of the USA, victim of a homicide. It was verified that they were incompatible.

From page 3948 to 3964 an intercalar report was elaborated, giving an account of the diligences meanwhile performed and the results obtained, as well as explanations of the same.

* * *

Now in an advanced phase of the investigation, pages 3965 to 4113, there arises, related to the private investigation developed by the McCann couple, and publicly announced by their spokesman, CLARENCE MITCHELL, the alleged existence of a suspect, which, supposedly, was undertaking a collection in Praia da Luz, at the time of the disappearance. A fotofit was created of this invidivual by a witness – GAIL COOPER – who saw him, page 3979.

From the beginning and immediately, this was compared with the fotofit from JANE TANNER, and despite hers not having a face, page 3977, she alleged they were the same person, with an approximately 80% certainty.

In order to assess the credibility of the description and of the drawing, it is important to highlight that the witness GAIL COOPER, was heard for the first time and in a very detailed fashion [emphasis in the report], by the British authorities (see page 3982), then affirming that she saw this person only one time [emphasis in the report], in a collection done at the door of the residence she was occupying during her holidays.

However, a few months later, in a new deposition, the same witness affirms that she saw this individual three times [emphasis in the report] (one of which he was watching, in a strange way, the children at the Paraíso Restaurant), during her stay in Luz, information which she did not supply at the time of her first deposition to the police in the UK.

With the publication of this portrait, a myriad notices about sightings of this individual arose, most from the UK, but also from Portugal (see pages 4130).

All of this information received due treatment and evaluation in regards to credibility, of which nothing has come until now, in spite of innumerable persons approached, supposedly of similar appearance with the “suspect.”

 

[colomom]

Page 49 and 50

Apart from other investigative actions, said persons were photographed and their mobile phones crossed with the antennas that were activated in Vila da Luz, during the period that is comprehended between the 2nd and the 4th of May 2007, without any connection resulting from it.

On page 4116, a situation that was related to an individual who had been referenced for sexual abuse of minors was explored, whose inquiry was under process in this Department. There was no information whatsoever concerning his involvement in the present investigation, yet, as it referred to a sexual crime against minors, several diligences were carried out, whose result, for this case, was fruitless.

On pages 4147 and following, an information was received, and duly taken care of, concerning a new supposed sighting of MADELEINE McCANN. It was once again verified that it was a child that resembled her.

On pages 4163 to 4165, the situation that involved the abduction and murder of a minor of gipsy ethnicity, in the city of Huelva, Spain, was considered and duly correlated with the disappearance of MADELEINE McCANN. After several contacts were established with the investigation that was ongoing in the neighbouring country, it was concluded that the occurrences are disparate among themselves.

From pages 4167 to 4182, the forensics report from the National Institute for Forensic Medicine was appended, whose conclusions do not allow for significant advances in the investigation, but which identify several different haplotypes, some of which match intervenients in the process and others without any identificative value.

Immediately, the question concerning the differentiating value of some haplotypes was raised, namely concerning JANE TANNER, page 4175, which was located in a residence in Burgau, which, in our understanding, would not be viable and logical, or to say the least, would be very strange. Therefore, in order to clarify this situation, a clarification was requested from that Institute, pages 4320 and following, which, in its reply, is peremptory in stating that there are haplotypes that are identical among each other, in a percentage that is still significant, pages 4325 to 4328. This means that the hair that was found inside that residence, while possessing the same haplotype as JANE TANNER, belongs to someone else.

Still within the area of collection, treatment and analysis of residues, the identification of a stain on the cover of one of the beds in MADELEINE’s bedroom (not the one she slept in), which raised some suspicions, should be pointed out.

Duly analysed, the stain configured a biological residue (saliva) that belonged to a child – CHARLIE GORDON – that had been on holidays, earlier and with his parents, in the same apartment.

On pages 4200 and following and pages 4204 to 4212, two events were reported, which once again, were subject to treatment, and their importance to the ongoing investigation was immediately dismissed.

 

[colomom]

Page 51 and 52

Summarising the diligences that are reported in the process and that were carried out or coordinated by the PJ, the following should be mentioned:

- de factum preservation of the location (despite the fact that it had already been rummaged by countless persons), several collections and exams on the existence of possible residues, as well as a circumstantiated photographic report;

- installation, within the first 24 hours, of an extensive operational scheme, including the participation of several police forces and civil protection services, in a total of over 130 elements;

- reinforcement, within the next 24 hours, of said operational scheme, with the mobilization of over 300 elements from police forces and public entities;

- the operational mechanism that was implemented on the terrain included, among others, and as soon as possible, the installation of posts to control the roads and the southern terrestrial frontier with Spain, the usage of canine detection teams, the usage of exceptional search and rescue means – aerial, terrestrial and maritime -, alerts and broadcasts all over the country and abroad. Just as an example, it is mentioned that during the following weeks and in permanence, two helicopters, four ships and several off-road vehicles were used, apart from airplanes and private ships;

- in the same manner, the investigative operations were coordinated with the specific search operations, and hundreds of diligences were carried out, like the identification and hearing – both formally and informally – of citizens, the execution of door-to-door searches in the residences and tourist resorts of Vila da Luz and surrounding areas, the identification and search of vehicles, and searches on the terrain, in an area that was initially of 15 square kilometers, and then was progressively enlarged until 30 square kilometers (where special attention was given to locations like wells, passages, tunnels, dams and lakes);

The magnitude of this operation exceeded, right from the first moment, the dimension that is commonly used in similar cases, a fact that was made public, having been notoriously and widely publicized by the media.

On the following days, over 700 persons that might possess any relevant information about the disappearance were formally and informally questioned, the PJ having used, for that task, over 100 employees from several departments in Portimão, Faro and Lisbon, which worked on a consecutive basis of 24 hours per day.

Equally, all the locations where images that could be related to the case might exist, were consulted (like, for example, restaurants and petrol stations) and telephone lines from the permanent services of the departments in Faro and Portimão were made available, and a mobile police post was installed in Vila da Luz for the collection of information.

Beyond the already mentioned identifications and domiciliary door-to-door searches, the identification, contact and interview with known suspects in the area that had previously been connected to sexual criminality over minors was carried out.

 

[colomom]

Page 53 and 54

Also, regarding the missing child’s parents, the PJ was careful to schedule periodic meetings with them and to designate an Official Liaison to the family as support for a permanent relationship, with the accompaniment and active collaboration of the Royal British Consulate in Portimão.

Shortly after the beginning of the investigation, continuous relationships were created with the Leicestershire Constabulary which sent, in support, various of their members to Portugal, having, equally, the PJ sending employees to the UK.

It is emphasized, specifically, that the level of cooperation and of understanding between the PJ and the Leicestershire Constabulary achieved, always, very high levels, united in the common pursuit of the missing child and the truth.

As such, the Portuguese authorities engaged an enormous and expensive panoply of technical and human resources, in the attempt to discover the missing child and the understanding of the explanation of the disappearance.

The PJ never disregarded any information or credible elements – as will be seen in this criminal process – that could have led to the realization of the disappearance, and there have been completed, during these months, more than 2000 diligences, formal and informal, in this regard.

As an example, we refer to the international cooperation, especially with Spain, the Netherlands and the UK which led to the detention and identification of individuals who tried to introduce deceptive information about the hypothetical destination or location of the child.

All of the information with any major or minor level of credibility was explored, nationally and internationally, by the PJ, with special relevance given to dozens of supposed sightings or localizations of the child, most of which, in fact, were widely publicized in the press.

The PJ, as in probably no other investigation in Portugal, withheld no effort, in the sense of providing exceptional technical means, manpower and financing towards the discovery of the child and the determination of the truth of the facts, having been completely accompanied in this effort by the Leicestershire Constabulary, the police department headquartered in the city of Leicestershire, from where most of the elements of the holiday group are from.

As another example, just the scientific exams alone cost many tens of thousands of euros.

Addressing now, and specifically, the question relative to the diligence known as the “reconstitution of the facts” (Article 150º of the Penal Process Code), which was not performed due to the refusal of some of the integral members of the holiday group to return to our country (as documented in the Inquiry), the same would have clarified, duly and in the location of the disappearance, the following extremely important details, amongst others:

 

[colomom]

Page 55 and 56

. The physical, real and effective, proximity between JANE TANNER, GERALD McCANN and JEREMY WILKINS, at the moment when the former passed them, and which coincided with the sighting of the supposed suspect, carrying a child. It results, from our understanding, as unusual that neither GERALD McCANN nor JEREMY WILKINS did not see her, nor the alleged abductor, despite the small dimensions of the space;

. The situation that concerns the window of the bedroom where MADELEINE slept, together with the twins, which was open, according to KATE. It would be necessary to clarify whether there was a draft, due to the fact that movement of the curtains and pressure under the bedroom door are mentioned, which would eventually be clarified through the reconstitution.

. The establishing of a timeline and of the effective checking of the minors that were left alone inside the apartments, given the fact that, believing that said checking was as tight as the witnesses and the arguidos describe it, it would be, to say the least, very difficult that the conditions were reunited for the introduction of an abductor in the residence and the posterior exit of said individual, with the child, namely through a window with little space. It is added that the supposed abductor could only pass that window holding the minor in a different position (vertical) from the one that was visualized by witness JANE TANNER (horizontal).

. What happened during the time lapse between 5.30 p.m. (the time at which MADELEINE was seen for the last time by a person that differs from her parents or siblings) and the time at which the disappearance is reported by KATE HEALY (at around 10 p.m.).

Concerning the result of the diligences that were requested from the British authorities, as earlier mentioned, despite the fact that they were almost completely carried out, nothing new was added to the process and, consequentially, to the investigation.

The questioning of the holiday group merely corroborated what had already been established during the investigation, without any detail that could have been reputed as especially relevant being brought forward.

In conclusion, it results from everything that has been done, despite the efforts that were made and all investigation lines being explored, that it is not possible to obtain a solid and objective conclusion about what really happened that night, and about the present location of the missing minor.

On the other hand, it should be referred that this investigation moved itself under conditions of exceptional media exposure, with the publication of many “news” of imprecise, inexact or even false contents, which did not help, in the least, the discovery of the truth and created, many times, a climate of unusual commotion and of lack of serenity.

Therefore, as we do not envision, at the present moment, the execution of any other diligence within the process that might produce any useful result for the process, I submit it to your consideration, for you to determine whatever you may see as convenient.

 

[colomom]

Page 57


* * C O N C L U S I O N * *

Portimão, 20th of June 2008

The Inspector

 

[Texana]

Thanks, Colomom, for getting this massive amount of info here for us all the read. There's a lot here to digest.

Two things that stand out immediately: Mrs. Fenn's testimony "elucidating but not clarifying" as stated, a good description, that on one night prior Madeleine cried for 1 hr, 15 minutes, (she heard the sound of the door opening and so knew when the parents returned) which contradicted the parents' story that their daily routine was to check on the children every thirty minutes.

They lied.

They said the daily routine was that they checked on the children every thirty minutes, and they lied. Mrs. Fenn has no reason to make that up or say this.

There are other facts to note here, but that jumps out at me immediately.

Secondly, the multiple hits by the cadaver dog and the blood odor dog. Not just one, but both, and on Kate's clothes, the toy, the apartment, and the car. This is astounding, frankly.

Absent any credible sightings of Madeleine, given the reaction of the highly trained expert dogs, given the other factors regarding seeing the abductor, the size of the window, etc, it is easy to see why the PLE came to the conclusion that Madeleine was no longer alive.