The awkwardly amusing elaboration of his theory during an interview of Stephen Birch by the People's Voice TV last night reminded me of one of the most baffling turnarounds in the case: The period from November 2007 to January 2008 saw an amazing act of changing one's mind by Team McCann regarding the involvement of Robert Murat. Although Stephen Birch thinks that the reason for the McCanns distancing themselves from blaming Murat lay buried under his driveway (why then did they frame him in the first place?) I am going to try and show with the help of the timeline of that months what the real reason might well have been.
13th November 2007: Brian Kennedy and two "investigators" from Metodo3 - Francisco Marco and Antonio Jimenez - meet with three officers from the Policia Judiciaria to give them a little book with allegedly incriminating "evidence" regarding Murat, Malinka and Walzcuch. If I remember correctly it was a current sighting of Michaela Walzcuch while handing a child to a lorry driver and some clipped out newspaper article about Casanova found in Murats house mentioned in Goncalo Amarals Book. Malink
a was again accused of something relating to paedophilia while there were no indications against him at all.
? November 2007: Brian Kennedy and his lawyer meet Murat and lawyer in Portugal for secret talks
17th November 2007: Tapas meet at Rothley court Hotel. The rogatory letters had been sent.
4th December 2007:
Charlotte Pennington and the Jensen sisters appear in the papers claiming
Murat was at the OC during the night of the 3rd after having been visited by Metodo 3. First outside "witnesses" to come forward after SEVEN months.
1st January 2008: Kate herself now accuses Murat
3rd January 2008: Mr. Smith and his family come into the focus of the press, with Mr. Smith stating categorically that it was NOT Murat he had seen.
7th January 2008: The turnaround starts with the feasible attempt to pass off the alleged Murat sightings on May 3rd as a case of mistaken identity. The
Murat/Payne resemblance story appears in the press. The Daily Star wonders why Fiona did not recognise her husband.
24th January 2008: Since the
Murat/Payne resemblance was non-existent and nobody really believed it, the Symington/
Murat resemblance is launched in the media. The Daily Star starts to number them...
27th January 2008: McCanns state that "
Murat is not the kidnapper"
That seems to be the end of the Murat framing. And it was again the Smiths that were at the center of this amazing change of mind. He knew Murat by sight from holidays in Praia da Luz and was certain the person he had seen was not Murat. He would certainly have sought the irish media to tell his story with more emphasis including the resemblance of the man he had seen to Gerry McCann, had the witch-hunt on Murat not been stopped.
