Sedation

From the rogatory interview of Fiona Payne:

 

'No, and that was the other thing, she kept going into the twins, she kept putting her hands on the twins to check they were breathing, she was very much concerned in checking that they were okay. But they were okay, I mean, they were fine, they didn't, they were asleep, but at the time it did seem weird, I remember thinking, you know, when the Police came they turned the lights on, there was loads of noise, obviously from the moment Kate discovered that Madeleine was gone, the screaming and the shouting and there was a lot of noise and they, they didn't, you know, so much as blink'.

 

From the rogatory interview of Dianne Webster:

What did I see? Well Kate and Gerry, Gerry was absolutely, absolutely distraught, absolute, you know, I mean I’ve never heard a man make the noises he made, err and Kate, Kate was just err you can’t, you just can’t put into words how they were I mean they were just, I remember I went through into the room where err where Madeleine was sleeping and err and she said you know, somebody, you know, she’s been taken because she said that the shutters and that had been open, the window open. Err the twins were still asleep in the cot and I, with all the noise going on I don’t know how they slept through it which makes me think there was, they must have been err drugged with something.”

 

 From the statement of Silvia Batista:

At a certain time, after the arrival of the PJ elements, the parents removed the twins from the beds in which they were still sleeping and took them to the first floor flat. 

 From a report by Chief Inspector Tavares de Almeida to the Coordinator of the Criminal Investigation:

Let's see: the media forwarded the hypothesis that the children could have been sedated to be kept asleep and allow some rest to the parents.

Distant in time Kate's father, the grandfather of the minor, Brian Healy, admits to the press that Kate could have administered some medication to the little girl, Calpol, to help the child (children'') to sleep, contrary to what his daughter Kate had stated.

Kate, through the PJ inspector that acted as 'liaison' with the family  asked why samples weren't taken from the twins in order to test that hypothesis. She knew well enough at that time, more than 3 months later, that such exam would be inviable.

She went further and said that we ' the investigation ' should verify that the kidnapper had sedated Madeleine, to accomplish the action and he had also sedated the twins 'to consummate the act' however she didn't say that at the right moment.

 

From Service information from Ricardo Paiva to Goncalo Amaralom Ricardo Paivafrom Ricardo Paiva

Strangely, Kate also made several requests, three months after the disappearance of Madeleine, that the police should take blood, hair and nail tests of Madeleine's twin siblings, because, as she said, she remembered that on the day of Madeleine's disappearance, in spite of all the commotion and noise made by the authorities and other persons who were looking for Madeleine in apartment 5A of the OC, the twins never woke up, having been transported to another apartment, they remained asleep, due to which she now presumes that they were under the effect of some sedative drug that a presumed abductor had administered to the three children in order to be able to abduct Madeleine, a situation which Kate refers to being possible according to what she read in a criminal investigation manual given to her by the British authorities, that would have been the procedure of the abductor in the real case involving abduction, rape and murder of the girl.

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the above we can be pretty certain that the twins had been sedated that night. Police, staff, friends and even the McCanns got this impression.

The question is who sedated them and why.

A burglar entering the apartment looking for valuables and getting disturbed by three toddlers would not have the means nor the time to sedate three children only to leave without any valuables. A completely implausible theory.

An abductor who had specifically chosen to take Madeleine and not her siblings, which in itself seems to be illogical, might have sedated her to keep her quiet for the duration of the abduction but why take the risk and time to sedate the twins as well? All in a short timeframe with the risk of the parents entering any time for checks. A possible but rather implausible theory. Even if Kate McCann found this theory in some manual given to her by British authorities.

The other theory, which the Portuguese police have followed, is that it was the parents who had sedated all three children every night in order to be able to dine at the tapas restaurant without interruption.

Given their professions as doctors and the general impression of well cared for children plus the fact that at least Madeleine was awake and crying for more than an hour on Tuesday night, according to the statement by their neighbour Mrs. Fenn, this, at least to me, seems implausible as well. 

Especially the twins, who had been at the creche all day without sleeping in the afternoon at just over 2 years of age, would not have needed any sedation to fall asleep properly at night after baths. Even IF Madeleine had been given something to sleep after Tuesday night, I doubt this was the case for the twins.

Which leads us to the fourth reason why they might have been sedated that Thursday night. It might have been essential to avoid them waking up during that night because it was already anticipated that this night would be different and that they were spared the possible sighting the Smith family encountered later that night.

Four theories regarding sedation....

Dating Clement Freud

Let us bring some order in the process of the developing friendship between the McCanns and Clement Freud.

From Kate's official "Diary" aka madeleine we have these memories

Quote:

At the beginning of July we received the following letter:

Dear McCanns, I have a house in P da L, been ashamed of the intrusion to your lives by our media . . . and if you would care to come to lunch/dinner at any time before Wednesday next, do ring and let me know. I cook decent meals.
Sincerely, Clement Freud
...............
Gerry responded with a phone call and Sir Clement invited the seven of us there at that time – Gerry and myself with Sean and Amelie, plus Trisha, Sandy and Justine – to lunch the following day. He would be heading back to the UK a few hours later.

In the telephone files we have two corresponding phone calls from Gerry to the Villa on 3rd and 4th of July. The next mention in the bewk:

Quote:

Clement Freud returned to Praia da Luz on 31 August and called Gerry that day. ‘Is it true, Gerry?’ he said, without preamble. ‘What’s that, Clement?’ ‘That you’re close to a breakdown and needing medication?’ Very funny. ‘I have a lot of empathy with the Express though, you know,’ he went on. For a split second Gerry thought he was serious. ‘Why’s that?’ ‘Well, you see, we both suffer from poor circulation.’ Thank God for people like Clement who kept us smiling.

This had been the Express healine from August 30th:

There were no phone calls received from Casa Colina but there is one 10 minute phone call Gerry received from a number that is not named at 18:22 and another one lasting 1:29 at 20:36.

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/oa/OA_VOD/OA_11_VOD_Page_135.jpg

Now we come to the 3rd of September, the day Ricardo Paiva came to the McCanns at 16:30 to tell them that they were going to be made arguido:

Quote:
At 4.30pm Ricardo arrived with a female colleague and the forms Gerry needed to complete. After his colleague left with the paperwork, Ricardo asked if we had any queries he could answer. ‘Do you have any information for us?’ I inquired. He clarified with us the date of our planned departure back to the UK and told us that the PJ wanted to ‘interrogate’ me on Wednesday and Gerry on Thursday
........................

Our plans for the evening went out of the window. We cancelled an interview we were scheduled to give Paris Match and dinner with Clement Freud.
...............
At 9.50pm, I rang Clement. ‘Come on round,’ he said. ‘It’ll be nice to see you. But you’ll have to forgive my night-time attire.’ ...............
.......................
A couple of hours later, fortified by our brandies (it was my first-ever taste of the stuff), some useful snippets of advice and several amusing anecdotes, we left our friend feeling quite a bit better than we had when we’d arrived. The shock of that day, and of what we were now facing, on top of the trauma of Madeleine’s absence, never left us for a second, but it was interludes like this that gave us just enough strength to carry on.

This was their most desastrous day. Gerry had phoned him the day before at 15:42, and now he rang him again at 16:51 right after Ricardo told them at 16:30 they were going to be made arguido.

Then Kate rang him at 21:50 again and they went to his house at that time of the night to stay a couple of HOURS. On the day they thought they would be doomed...

I am sure this is all perfectly acceptable and normal...

Paedophile Haven

Nothing seems to surprise us anymore when it comes to the naming and shaming of members of the British Elite as alleged paedophiles. To realise that a large majority only seems to get found out after their death might be a coincidence but could also speak of cover-up in very high circles.It does not surprise me that one of the accused has now been connected prominently with the McCann case.

In 2009 I went on my first trip to visit Praia da Luz and to my husbands amusement photographed large parts of the phone book in that region. Back at home I used those photographs to help establish the owners of phones that turn up in the Vodafone files regarding the case. At that time I came across the calls to the Casa Colina and established a link to Clement Freud without having any proof if the parents had ever met or even spoken to him, since the villa was listed under the name of a friend of his. The connections to Murdoch and Mitchell just made me sit up, and the location of the Villa at their jogging path intrigued me.

Two years later Kate in her book confirmed that they indeed had met and thus confirmed my investigations from that time. This was the blog I wrote after her book was published

Kehrtwende

It might have been all above board and their meeting a social event deemed to comfort the parents of a missing child thrown among the wolves represented by the British media.

Would there not be that nagging question in the back regions of my brain that has always mystified me. Why was there a need to erase the phone history on both their phones prior to May 3rd? Even if they were guilty of covering-up an accident on the 3rd, why risk having to explain the deletion? If they had acted in a panic there would be no incriminating phone calls that needed deletion.

What happened prior to May 3rd that they did not want the Portuguese police to know?



also revisit:
Family outing

Only one left

While in 2012 we had exactly 195 leads in the case of missing Madeleine and in 2014 some "thousands" were added during the Crimewatch show, we are now down to the last lead according to Sir Bernhard Hogan-Howe, who confirmed this in a LBC radio interview today.

The BBC adds from an unknown source that "the remaining line of inquiry is centred around a letter asking for assistance sent from UK investigators to the Portuguese Public Prosecution Service in July 2015".

IIrc this would have been the 6th rogatory letter sent to the Portuguese during Operation Grange. It is mentioned in this article from last year stating:

However, there is no indication Operation Grange will 'wind down' any time soon.

A spokeswoman for the Attorney General's office in Lisbon said the letter was received in July and will be acted on by the Policia Judiciaria, which is running the Portuguese investigation into Madeleine's disappearance in Praia da Luz, on the Algarve, on May 3, 2007. 

A source on the Portuguese investigation said: 'This letter shows the investigation is still very much alive and that both British and Portuguese police are still working together to try to find out what happened to Madeleine. 

'The case is not about to be shelved.'

Nothing is known regarding it's content but if we follow the line of rogatories during this investigation we might be able to see at least which direction it might be heading.

At the beginning we had a long succession of requests for possible suspects to be questioned that came to nothing. We then had the digging excursions that centered on two specific points where the body of Madeleine might have been deposited, initially and possibly at a later point in time. The last rogatory letter we know anything about was the 6th letter that was refered to only in the paper edition of Correio da Manhã on 14 March 2015.:

Scotland Yard has already sent a new rogatory letter in which they request the carrying out of new DNA tests on evidence already analysed in 2007

So they had eliminated all suspects and were now concentrating on forensics from 2007, possibly parts of the net curtains from 5A, the boot compartment from the hired car or strands of hair that were still in Portugal.

After this we are now down to one lead left, with one rogatory letter still to go. To me it is a cautiously optimistic message we had today, especially after BHH said that it was basically a Portuguese investigation.

So far Operation Grange has eliminated Jane Tanner's Bundleman, placed Smithman into the center of the investigation with a breathtaking photofit pointing towards a certain person, eliminated every possible perpetrator in the vicinity of Praia da Luz at that time and were then revisiting the crime scene with possible hiding places at locations that were in accordance with specific theories.

Whether this will lead to additional evidence is questionable and with the body still missing there might be an end to the investigation soon, but imo the investigation has reached the point where it is clear where the one lead left is pointing to.

Translation of the Conclusions of the Appellate Court's Decision

Bildunterschrift hinzufügen

http://pjga.blogspot.de/

Thanks to Astro for the translation.

A great day for Amaral and certainly for freedom of speech.

I especially like this:

.... – it was the subjects of the appeal themselves [Kate and Gerry McCann] who, benefiting from an easy access, multiplied themselves in interviews and interventions in national and international media, one must conclude that it was them who, voluntarily, limited their rights to reservation and to the intimacy of private life.

By proceeding in this manner, they opened the way for anyone to equally express an opinion about the case, contradicting their thesis – without losing their right to exercise a legitimate, and constitutionally consecrated, right to an opinion and a freedom of expression of thought.

They used the media for their purposes - mainly in explaining away all the discrepancies their actions and statments had created - and therefore diminished their privacy rights to a level where the right to an opinion weighs more. FANTASTIC!!

Proper News

Portugal Resident
Natasha Donn
September 22, 2015

Appeal to raise money for Maddie cop’s legal costs gets huge cash boost

An anonymous group of Portuguese “business and legal workers” have ploughed over €5,500 (£4000) into the online appeal, set up by a young single mother to raise money for beleaguered ex-Maddie cop Gonçalo Amaral. Amaral’s appeal against the €600,000 in damages awarded against him in the civil case taken out by the parents of missing Madeleine is due to be decided by Lisbon’s Appellate Court “any day now”.

The cash boost has brought the Legal Defence for Gonçalo Amaral to over €65,000 (£47,010).

Donated in the Portuguese language, the text claims to be from “an anonymous group of business and legal workers who are appalled by what has happened”.

It continues: “Portugal and Britain are old allies, but the McCanns and the British gutter press have tried to drive a wedge between us.

“We can all see what they are trying to do, freezing Dr Amaral’s assets to prevent him from defending himself, whilst using the donated millions to sue him.

“That is not justice. It is not right.

“The McCanns lost five out of the seven issues, but the British press has not reported that, nor the strong terms used by the judge against their so called ‘evidence’.

“They have to pay 60% of the costs, but the British press has not reported that” either, the text continues, stressing that “this small donation is to ensure that this act of hate and venom does not succeed”.

The donation - arriving in the legal fund early on Tuesday morning - has been widely shared on social media where a veritable avalanche of support for Amaral has accompanied him for the past eight years. But so far it has been ignored by the British mainstream media.

As to the former PJ detective’s appeal against the ruling that effectively orders him to pay the McCann’s over €600,000 in damages, that is advancing now through the Appellate Court in Lisbon.

As a friend of the former detective’s explained, “it is not a public process. There is no court date.

“At some point, the judges reach a verdict and then they communicate that verdict to all parties. There is however no deadline. It may take weeks or months until we hear anything”.

natasha.donn@algarveresident.com

Source

Thank you. Again.

Projecto Justiça Gonçalo Amaral's Legal Defence account has received since April 28, 2015

- through Paypal:

€ 5643.62 (five thousand six hundred forty three euro and sixty two cents)
and
$ 90.57 (ninety dollars and fifty seven cents)

- through the GoFundMe page created by Leanne Baulch:

£ 23,910 (twenty three thousand nine hundred and ten pounds)

These amounts will be applied to cover expenses with the defence of Gonçalo Amaral, in the civil suit brought against him by the McCann family.

The appeal is being prepared by Mr Amaral's lawyers and will be filed in due time.

Once the appeal is filed, PJGA will publish a statement.

At this point, we would like to, once again, thank you for your immense support - and patience.

Our trust in Portuguese justice remains firmly in place.

Thank you.





Projecto Justiça Gonçalo Amaral's Juristisches Verteidigungskonto hat seit dem 28. April 2015 folgende finanzielle Unterstützung erhalten
 
- über Paypal:

€ 5643.62 (fünftausendsechshundertdreiundvierzig Euro und 62 cent)
und
$ 90.57 (neunzig Dollar und 57 cent)

- via die GoFundMe Seite initiiert von Leanne Baulch:

£ 23,910 (dreiundzwanzigtausendneunhundertzehn Pfund)

Diese Beträge werden dafür genutze, die Kosten der Verteidigung von Goncalo Amaral zu decken, im Zivilrechtsprozess, der durch die Familie McCann initiiert wurde.

Der Widerspruch wird von den Anwälten Herrn Amarals zu gegebener Zeit eingereicht werden.

Sobald der Widerspruch eingereicht wurde, wird PJGA ein Statement veröffentlichen.

Zu diesem Zeitpunkt würden wir uns gerne - wieder einmal - euch für die unglaubliche Unterstützung danken, und für eure Geduld.

Unser Vertrauen in die portugiesische Justiz besteht weiterhin fest.

Danke.

They tried to destroy me

Thanks to Astro for the translation - as always :))

Gonçalo Amaral received an apology from Manuela Ferreira Leite

"They tried to destroy me"

In 2009, the former "Maddie case" inspector was chosen by PSD to be the candidate for the Municipality of Olhão. He was pushed from the race by the McCann couple.

The story is over six years old, but it remains fully alive in the memory of Gonçalo Amaral, the former "Maddie case" coordinator. After he retired, PSD wanted to launch him into the life of politics, indicating him "as candidate for the presidency of the Municipality of Olhão", in late 2008. When everything already pointed at him as the strongest candidate for victory, a contrary announcement came from Manuela Ferreira Leite [then president of the party]. Gonçalo Amaral was received by the then PSD leader who apologised to him about the decision.

"The McCannns allege that they devalued the book and only the showing of the documentary prompted them to react. It's not true. The book came out and was devalued by the couple, but before the documentary, in January of 2009, the newspapers published that I had been chosen by PSD to run for the presidency of the Olhão Municipality", the former inspector says, stressing: "What happened was that the couple always tried to destroy me, to destroy my credibility, and they were scared of the possibility of me stopping being an outsider, a police retiree, and becoming the president of the Municipality of Olhão. They were scared, they thought that a mayor would be a more credible figure than that of a police officer", says Amaral, describing his version of the events at that time. "The couple's reaction was swift. In a flash trip, Gerald McCann came to Lisbon, met with his lawyer, Dr Rogério Alves, with a PSD leader, who is said to be Dr José Luís Arnaut, and the couple’s current lawyer, Dr Isabel Duarte. They talked about me, a Portuguese citizen with the right to vote or to be elected in any democratic election, and they even delivered a report about me, done by their private detectives that had been hired to look for their daughter. After the meeting, Dr Manuela Ferreira Leite announced that I would not be a candidate, overriding the will of the Olhão militants and the will of the Algarve's people."

After this removal, Gonçalo Amaral asked to be received by Ferreira Leite. “She received me at the party's headquarters, and only apologised, to me and to my family”, he revealed in an interview to Nova Gente, once more defending that “the couple didn’t suffer any damages, they were merely scared about the course my life was taking, because they wanted to discredit me”.



in: Nova Gente, paper edition, 22.05.2015

Go Fund Him

http://www.gofundme.com/legal-defencepjga

http://pjga.blogspot.de/

Thank you!

Projecto Justiça Gonçalo Amaral's Legal Defence account has received in the past week

€ 3222,10
and
$ 90,57

through Paypal

and

£ 9,155

through the GoFundMe page created by Leanne Baulch.

There are no words to adequately express our gratitude for your support and solidarity. Thank you all.

A Message from Gonçalo Amaral (transl.)

Liebe Freunde,

Die Zivilklage, die gegen mich vom Ehepaar McCann angestrengt wurde, befindet sich im letzten Stadium und die Entscheidung bzgl. der wesentlichen Tatsachen, die mir recht vorteilhaft erscheint, ist bereits bekannt. Es folgt eine Periode juristischer Einlassungen, nach der wir das Urteil erwarten, das meiner Erwartung nach in einem erhofften Freispruch münden wird und der Aufhebung der Auflagen, die mir solch umfassende finanzielle Schwierigkeiten in den letzten fünf Jahren verursachten. Das bedeutet, dass es nur eurer Hilfe zu verdanken ist, dass ich den laufenden Prozess finanziell fortsetzen konnte, was allerdings nicht mein immer erdrückender werdendes Privatleben betrifft.

Ich sage erdrückend weil ich im Privatleben eine sehr ernste Krise emotionaler und auch finanzieller Art erlebe. Dies ist denen geschuldet, die mich versuchten finanziell zu ersticken, meinen Bürgerlichen Tod wünschen und mich in einer Situation sehen wollen, in der ich mich juristisch nicht wehren kann. Nach fünf Jahren (gezählt seit die Zivilklage angestrebt wurde), ist es den Eltern des Kindes, das am 3. Mai 2007 auf mysteriöse Weise verschwand, nicht gelungen, ihr Vorhaben umzusetzen. Ich bin am Leben, ich bin in der finanziellen Lage die Zivilklage fortzusetzen, allerdings nicht viel mehr...

Was die emotionale Krise angeht, bitte ich euch zu verstehen, dass für mich dieser ganze Kampf nicht nur um die grundlegende Entdeckung der Wahrheit geht, denn ganz egal wie optimistisch ich sein mag, ich kann nie die Schadensklage über 1.200.000 Euro vergessen, die vom Ehepaar erhoben wurde, und die, wenn ihr absurderweise stattgegeben würde, mich völlig zerstören würde auf allen Ebenen.

Euch allen, vielen Dank.

Goncalo Amaral
Lissabon, 2. Februar 2015




Dear Friends,
The civil suit that was filed against me by the McCann couple is in its final stages, and the decision concerning material facts, which to me seems rather favourable, is already known. A period for legal allegations ensues, after which we will await the verdict, which I envision will translate into my longed for acquittal and the consequent lifting of the attachments that have caused me such extensive financial difficulties over the past five years. This means that it has been only due to your help that I have been able to financially sustain the ongoing lawsuit, which nonetheless cannot be said about my increasingly strangled personal life.

I say strangled because in reality I am experiencing a very serious crisis on an emotional as well as a financial level. This is due to those who have tried to asphyxiate me financially, wishing for my civil death and wanting to place me in a position where I would be unable to react judicially. After five years (counted since the civil suit was filed) the parents of the child that mysteriously disappeared on the 3rd of May of 2007 in the Algarve were not able to fully achieve what they intended. I am alive, I'm able to financially sustain the civil suit, although not much more than that...

Concerning my emotional crisis, I ask you to understand that for me, this whole struggle is not only about the fundamental discovery of the truth, because no matter how optimistic I may be, I can never forget the demand for damages amounting to 1.200.000 Euro that was filed by the couple, which, if absurdly it would be granted, will completely destroy me on all levels.
To all of you, thank you very much.

Gonçalo Amaral
Lisboa, February 2, 2015

Interview with the Ex-Coordinator

translated by Astro from TheMaddieCaseFiles.com

Gonçalo Amaral’s interview on Agora Nós, RTP1, 23.01.2015

Anchor – Today, our guest is Gonçalo Amaral who was on the news again yesterday because of the lawsuit that the McCann couple filed against him. Good morning, Gonçalo.

Gonçalo Amaral – Good morning.

Anchor – I read in your book that you wrote this book to defend your honour. The first question that I have for you is: Were you in any way attacked by the McCanns before the publication of the book, or even during the investigation? Were you with them, did you question them?

Gonçalo Amaral – That is a very good question. There was indeed a series of attacks, not just directed at me but at the investigation. Those attacks came not only from the parents’ side, but also from their support staff and from journalists, English and even Portuguese. That honour was not only personal but also professional. The investigation was at stake, an investigation that was never defended here in Portugal, namely by someone at the top of the Polícia Judiciária – and it’s me who defends those initial months of the investigation, and that is what the book was published for. That is one of the issues that are raised by the Lisbon Appeals Court, at the time of the injunction, which supports me, and establishes that it was licit for me to write the book.

Anchor – If you don’t mind, let’s return to the start of this story, the McCann case was the most media exposed ever, as far as the alleged abduction of a child, Madeleine McCann, is concerned. This book, “Maddie, A Verdade da Mentira”, that was written by you, why was it so controversial? What does it contain?

Gonçalo Amaral – What it contains is the conclusions of the process, of a report that exists, in September of 2007, which says that at that moment of the investigation, suspicion falls upon the [McCann] couple in terms of an accidental death inside the apartment, neglect in watching over their children that had been abandoned, and the concealment of a corpse. That is in the process and with this decision, which is not a final decision, it is merely a reply to the facts that were at stake during the trial, it agrees that this was in the process.

Anchor – The process is not concluded yet, it is still ongoing –

Gonçalo Amaral – It is still in the lower court, now there will be legal arguments, then there will be a verdict –

Anchor – We are at the stage of replies to the proved facts, is that it?

Gonçalo Amaral – Proved and not proved.

Anchor – Did you question them? Did you meet them?

Gonçalo Amaral – I met them but the questioning was performed by others, by inspectors. A coordinator does not question directly, that was done by the inspectors. But I met them.

Anchor – You accompanied this process from the beginning…

Gonçalo Amaral – I accompanied the process, the investigation from the 3rd of May of 2007 until I left the investigation on the 2nd of October of 2007. I accompanied it, participating in the investigation.

Anchor – And what happened yesterday? What was the accusation –

Gonçalo Amaral – There was no accusation yesterday. Not yesterday, the day before yesterday. What was done is – there is a decision from the magistrate, the judge, saying what is proved and what is not proved. That decision says that it is not proved that I caused the couple any damages, social or psychological or moral damages. So what was being questioned, it’s not the book that causes such damages; they were already destroyed before the book. That is important. It’s important because in this kind of process, what is at stake, contrary to what the couple said, that what was at stake was the investigation, whether they are guilty or not, none of that was being discussed there. What was at stake there was whether or not that book and that documentary could be made, if they were licit or not, if they caused the couple any damages, and whether or not it was possible to establish a causal nexus between the book and the damages. And the indications that are given lead me, and my lawyer, and people who have already read the document, to believe that there may be – there may be – a favourable verdict.

Anchor – There is a contradiction between the news that came out –

Gonçalo Amaral – There is no contradiction. There is complete manipulation of the media.

Anchor – Can you clarify that?

Gonçalo Amaral - Lusa agency, since all of this began, has been taking sides – I wouldn’t say as much as they have taken the side of the couple, but they have taken the side of the couple’s lawyer. So there have been completely false news about me. I remember an article that was published in 2009 or 2010, which mentioned I was going to be tried over torture in a certain case, that I had been accused of torture. I was in Spain at that time and I called, it was already 7 or 8 p.m. and I said “Excuse me, but this is not true. I am being accused of omitting a denunciation and making a false statement, not of torture”. And the reply that I got from the Lusa journalist was that it’s them that make the news, that it was not for me to meddle with their work and that is how it’s been –

Anchor – Even though they were talking about your life.

Gonçalo Amaral – That’s another thing that happened throughout all of these years, not only the five years of this process, but since 2007 they have been rummaging… I don’t know what else there may be.

Anchor – The fact is that concerning the McCann couple, the McCann couple was never formally tried. They were never accused. So in your book we have a contradiction with the law.

Gonçalo Amaral – What is the contradiction? I don’t accuse them. I am nobody, I’m not a magistrate, I’m not the case magistrate to write up an accusation –

Anchor – But you had knowledge, you were part of the investigation –

Gonçalo Amaral – I was a technician, I’m a technician, and like anyone else, I have the right to an opinion. And as a technician, based not only on my professionalism, but also on my knowledge as a technician, I have the right to have a technical opinion. And that book contains a technical opinion, based on facts that are in the process and that the judge says are in the process. Essentially, as is said, they are in the process. Therefore, saying that they were not accused… The process was – when I left there was already a movement to have the case archived. From the moment that they are made arguidos, everything moves to shelve the case. Interest was lost; the interest was to archive the case. And they succeeded in shelving the case. It was in the couple’s interest to have the case archived, and two things happen: The couple does nothing, and they could have done something when there was a shelving, to continue into the instruction [phase] to keep the process going, for the truth to be found. You see, the conclusions that we reached were the conclusions of an investigation. And an investigation, like someone said, is always a zigzagging of the moment. And we might even have reached the end of the investigation –

Anchor – In this case, this investigation was very traumatising, very disorganised…

Gonçalo Amaral – Disorganised, in what way?

Anchor - Because nothing was concluded, so many years later the child’s whereabouts haven’t been found.

Gonçalo Amaral – Because of interferences that took place, without interferences we would have gone further. Have no doubts about that. That is why the process was archived. When the shelving took place, the couple and another person were arguidos. Any one of them could have requested the opening of the instruction and continued the process. None of them did it, the couple because they didn’t want to, they didn’t want to do it, and the other person because he received compensation from the British courts, so he didn’t do it, he was very satisfied, and now it seems that he is an arguido again. This is what happens –

Anchor - We have to ask one last question. The truth is that the McCann couple – and this is a question and not a statement – demanded compensation worth 1.2 million euro from you because of the publication of the book “A Verdade da Mentira”. This book was very controversial because it was also a success. Many people read it –

Anchor – Many copies were sold.

Anchor – Exactly. Many people read it and created their own opinion. Do you think that in some way that opinion drew people away from the possibility of believing in that child’s parents?

Gonçalo Amaral – No, it didn’t, quite the opposite. The book, which was successful in a way that nobody expected – the contract with the editor was even made based on sales targets, 10 thousand books sold would mean a certain percentage and so on – therefore a very normal contract, nobody was thinking about bestsellers or anything like that. What the book brought was more publicity for the case. And people were not drawn away. There are many people who still defend the couple’s thesis. There are other people – those diverging opinions already existed before the book. They already existed practically before the book. What motivates the couple to file the lawsuit of 1.2 million euro may be the money. They have a firm, a firm where they are members of the board, called Madeleine Fund, which is to look for their daughter, but they are members of the board, it’s a firm, it’s not a social association, or social solidarity, it’s a firm, it’s registered in England as a firm. And what they always wanted was to destabilise me. When they went to Oprah’s programme in the United States, they said it, they wrote on their website that they hope that now nobody believes in that person anymore, for this and that –

Anchor – But Gonçalo, they had to defend themselves with the weapons at hand, if they think they are innocent…

Gonçalo Amaral – Indeed they do. I will give you one example. We speak about the book and we speak about the documentary. We forget another detail. In 2009, in January of 2009, I lived in the Algarve and was indicated to run for mayor of Olhão on behalf of the Social Democratic Party [PSD]. And that alerted that family, that situation of destabilising me, and Mr Gerald McCann came to Lisbon, there’s news from that time, he met with a top political official from PSD who has a French surname, with Dr Rogério Alves and with Dr Isabel Duarte – this is what is said, it’s what was published – and what happened then was that PSD gave me up as a candidate. This puts rights at stake, the rights of a citizen, the rights of a Portuguese citizen, and someone comes from the outside to do it. It’s the right to be elected. And this is when they start thinking about the lawsuit. It’s not about what is in the book, what is in the documentary, because what the book and the documentary contain is what is in the process. They contain technical opinions. And it’s the fear of that issue – when they come over here and put the right to be elected at stake, with the acquiescence of people inside PSD, that this happened.

Anchor – Thank you very much, Gonçalo. Our time is short but this is a subject that we would like to discuss in more depth. We will continue to follow this because the process is still in its early stages.

Gonçalo Amaral – There is no motive to get too excited, but it’s a good indication of what may be the decision.

Anchor – Thank you for joining us today.



video: http://www.rtp.pt/play/p1629/e180119/agora-nos/405316 - interview starts at 22:43

Open to interpretation

Thanks to Astro fromTheMaddieCaseFiles.com we can judge for ourselves the possible outcome of the McCann vs. Amaral Damages Trial and don't have to resort to media spin instigated by the parents' team of media manipulators. BTW not ONE journalist was present... 1. Gonçalo Amaral made the statements that are attributed to him under item Z)*? *(item Z is the Correio da Manhã interview) Proved. 2. The cover price of the book “Maddie, A Verdade da Mentira” in Portugal is € 13.80, including VAT? It is proved that the editor set the selling price at 13,33 euro, including VAT. 3. Defendant Gonçalo Amaral has earned from the sale of the book “Maddie, A Verdade da Mentira” an amount that is not less than € 621.000,00? 4. Defendant Gonçalo Amaral has earned from the sale of editions in foreign languages of the book an amount that is not less than € 498.750,00? (Items 3&4) It is proved that Gonçalo Amaral earned 342.111,86 euro from the sales of the book in the years 2008 and 2009. This information is based on data from the Portuguese Revenue Agency. 5. The book was sold in Brazil by defendant “Guerra e Paz, Editores, S.A.”? Not proved. 6. The DVD has a cover price of € 6,00? Proved that it was sold for 6,95 euro with newspaper Correio daManhã. 7. Defendant Gonçalo Amaral has earned from the sale of the DVD an amount that is not less than € 112.500,00? Proved that he earned 40.000 euro from DVD sales in 2008. Based on info from the Revenue Service. 8. The DVD that is mentioned under AN) has been edited and the edited copies have been sold by defendant “V.C. – Valentim de Carvalho – Filmes, Audiovisuais, S.A.”? Proved. 9. Defendant “V.C. – Valentim de Carvalho – Filmes, Audiovisuais, S.A.”? has already made the DVD, in an English version, available for immediate delivery via internet order? Not proved. 10. At least two million and two hundred thousand people have watched the programme that was broadcast on 13.4.2009? Proved.

	11. Because of the statements made by defendant Gonçalo Amaral in the book, in the documentary and in the interview to Correio da Manhã, the Polícia Judiciária stopped collecting information and investigating the disappearance of Madeleine MacCann? Not proved. 12. Because of the statements made by defendant Gonçalo Amaral in the book, in the documentary and in the interview to Correio da Manhã, authors Kate MacCann and Gerald MacCann are completely destroyed, from a moral, social, ethical, sentimental, family point of view, much beyond the pain that their daughter’s absence causes them? Not proved. 13. Because of the statements made by defendant Gonçalo Amaral in the book, in the documentary and in the interview to Correio da Manhã, authors Kate MacCann and Gerald MacCann suffer permanent anguish, insomnia, lack of appetite, anxiety and irritability, preoccupation and indefinable fear? Proved. The judge adds that this psychological state is pre-existent to the book, the documentary and the interview and was not caused by the book. Nonetheless, it cannot be reasonable to believe that the book, the documentary and the interview had no effect on the couple, i.e. It had an effect but that is perfectly normal. 14. Authors Kate MacCann and Gerald MacCann feel a deep shame and an indescribable ill-being because they are considered, by most people who know the theories of defendant Gonçalo Amaral, as having responsibility in the death of their daughter, being so cowardly that they have hidden her cadaver, simulating abduction, all of this to avoid criminal accusations? Proved that the couple felt badly about being considered responsible over the hiding of their daughter's body and simulating her abduction by those who believe in Mr Amaral's thesis. The judge states that it is not possible to determine what most people who have read or seen Mr Amaral's thesis actually think. She adds that the plaintiffs failed to prove shame, even with Kate stating it was not shame that she felt. The judge once more believes it is expectable that the plaintiffs would feel badly about being considered to be responsible for hiding the body and staging an abduction - not, the judge stresses, about being responsible for their daughter's death, as is commonly, and mistakenly, believed. 15. Authors Kate MacCann and Gerald MacCann live under enormous daily pressure due to the need to keep their younger children away from the knowledge of defendant Gonçalo Amaral’s opinions about their moral integrity? Proved that the couple feels the need to keep their younger children from finding out about said thesis. This fact also derives from common experience and was corroborated by David Trickey's testimony. 16. Namely because of defendant Gonçalo Amaral’s statements in the book, in the documentary and in the interview to Correio da Manhã, author Kate MacCann is immerged in a deep and serious depression, which has already made her state publicly “I wish I was in a coma, to relieve the pain”? Not proved. 17. Sean and Amelie MacCann will soon become aware of the conclusions that are mentioned in J), because they will go to school? It is proved that Sean and Amelie started school in August of 2010 and have not learned about Mr Amaral's thesis yet. 18. 63.369 copies of the DVD were not sold, having been destroyed afterwards? Proved. 19. Defendant Gonçalo Amaral has gone into retirement from the Polícia Judiciária on 1.6.2008? Proved that he retired on July 1st, 2008. 20. On 22.6.2008, the Attorney General’s Office published a note for the media, announcing the archiving of the inquiry, awaiting better evidence? It is proved that such a note was issued on the 21st of July of 2008, the note also informed that the case could be reopened if new evidence appeared and prompted relevant diligences.

	21. The criminal inquiry was reopened due to the appearance of new evidence? Not proved. 22. The attention of the media and of people in general diminished when defendant Gonçalo Amaral’s book was published? Not proved. 23. The sale of the books was made on consignment, being subject to devolution for various reasons, like handling, manufacturing defects or their non-transaction? Proved that the book was partly sold on consignment, and partly firmly sold with a right to return for various motives. 24. The so-called “Maddie Case” has been profoundly treated within the Portuguese and foreign society, whether by the media, or through books, like those authored by Paulo Pereira Cristóvão, Manuel Catarino and Hernâni Carvalho? Proved. 25. The so-called “Maddie Case” was commented upon by Dr. Francisco Moita Flores, former inspector, writer, criminalist and commentator, in various media? Proved. 26. Have authors Kate MacCann and Gerald MacCann hired communication firms and spokespeople through the Madeleine Fund? (for unknown reasons, the judge does not mention this item at all) 27. Are the facts that are reported by defendant Gonçalo Amaral in the book and in the aforementioned interviews, like he himself writes and said, facts that were established during the inquiry? 28. Does the documentary only contain facts that are also in the inquiry files? (Both articles) It is proved that the facts in the book and in the documentary, concerning the investigation, are mostly facts that took place in the investigation and are documented as such. The judge does note that some of the facts in the book are not complete, and some facts that are in the book are not in the case files, including Jane Tanner's "informal" recognition of Robert Murat. 29. The social capital of defendant “V.C. – Valentim de Carvalho – Filmes, Audiovisuais, S.A.” is held, in 60%, by the firm “Estúdios Valentim de Carvalho, Gravações e Audiovisuais, S.A.” and, in 40%, by the Fundo de Investimento para o Cinema e o Audiovisual? Proved. 30. Has defendant “V.C. – Valentim de Carvalho – Filmes, Audiovisuais, S.A.” ceded the rights to sell, distribute, exhibit and broadcast all of the cinematographic and audiovisual work that it creates, develops and produces to the firm “Valentim de Carvalho Multimédia, S.A.”? Proved that VC Filmes agreed to give VC Multimedia the rights to sell and distribute several works that were to be produced within 5 years.

31. Until today, has the documentary been reproduced only once to be edited, published and sold in Portugal under video format, in this case a DVD? Proved. 32. The reproduction and edition of the documentary in video format have been authorised by “Valentim de Carvalho Multimédia, S.A.” to firm “Presslivre, Imprensa Livre, S.A.”, the owner of the Correio da Manhã newspaper, according to a contract between both? Proved. 33. Under which [contract], the DVD, its covers and packages would be, as they were, manufactured on behalf of, under order of and under the responsibility of Presslivre, in order to be distributed and sold together with newspaper Correio da Manhã? Proved. 34. And the entire process of registering and classifying the video edition (DVD) of the documentary with ICAG would be, as it was, developed by Valentim de Carvalho Multimédia, a process whose cost would be carried by Presslivre, as it did? Proved. 35. The distribution for sale took place in conjunction with the distribution for sale of the newspaper Correio da Manhã’s edition of April 24, 2009? It is proved only that the documentary was distributed for sale with the newspaper. 36. The documentary was reproduced, and even subtitled in the English language, by third parties that published it on the internet, without permission and against the will of the defendant “V.C. – Valentim de Carvalho – Filmes, Audiovisuais, S.A.”? Proved. 37. That illicit diffusion damages not only the rights that are held by defendant “V.C. – Valentim de Carvalho – Filmes, Audiovisuais, S.A.” over the documentary, but also its commercial exploration, because any citizen can watch the documentary, also only one “click” away? Proved.

They called him Brunty

The term of endearment implied him having a heart, a conscience and a sense of justice.

Today, on the streets of Paris, pretending to be there as a marcher for the cause instead of fulfilling his duty, he apparently got swept away by the atmosphere of for once belonging to a grand nation and dared to falsely quote Voltaire:

#paristerror The route of the march. Voltaire: "I may disagree w what u say but I defend your right to say it." pic.twitter.com/XbeMHyYx51
— Martin Brunt (@skymartinbrunt) January 11, 2015

Now the full quote by Voltaire's biographer would have been: ""I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

I guess he did not particularly want to mention death in any shape or form.

What is it that renders a quite successful journalist so utterly incapable of self-reflection? Why does he happily jump on the bandwagon to proclaim his defense for freedom of speech in the media while at the same time he has been part of the most outrageous campaign to shut down discussion on another subject on twitter?

While his rather shoddy reporting e.g. on the "full DNA match" in the McCann case has been one of the cornerstones of the scepticism that evolved over the years towards the tale of abduction, he nevertheless allowed himself to be used in the campaign to "hunt the trolls", to shut down dissent on social media by singling out and making an example of a 63 year old mother which ultimately led to her death.

Brenda Leyland was voicing an opinion, no matter if one liked the content or the language in which she did so. It was her right to do so since what she wrote was neither racist nor threatening. She simply refused to believe in the concept of "abduction" much the same as some we are mourning today might not have believed in the concept of "God". After all there is no evidence for either.

But while BRUNTY is shedding crocodile tears in Paris and resorting to the philosophers, the family of Brenda Leyland are still waiting for an apology for his doorstepping and hounding of their mother that led to her death.

So I can only draw the conclusion that he is not ultimately sincere in his demand for free speech but secretly adds: ...for proper media only... That media that is usually the origin of enciting hatred and dividing nations, or the wilful executors.

Nobody seems to call him Brunty these days...

The timeline again

While the investigation is preparing for the final stages and the letters of rogatory are being sent, approved and scheduled for the next step aka the FORENSICS, let me come back to one of my favourite subjects, the timeline.

Going by the dictum that first accounts are the most important ones, I checked the timelines from the sticker book again. Given the state of the handwriting and the crossing out of some words we can assume that this is the sequence in which they were written:

Timeline 1

8:45. pm
Matt returns 9.00-9.05 - listened at all 3
                               - all shutters down
Jerry 9.10-9.15 in the (tv) room + all well
                      ? did he check
9.20/5 - Ella Jane checked 5D sees stranger + child
9.30 - Russ + Ella Matt check all 3
9.35 - Matt check xyz see twins
        - I
9.50 - Russ returns
9.55 - Kate realised Madeleine s
10pm - Alarm raised

First thing I noticed was the part in brackets that could be read as "tv" rather than "the". We did have some statements from the group where it was hinted that Gerry could have gone to watch some football that was on that night on television. For me it points towards an earlier plan where Gerry was away from the table for a longer period, let's say half an hour, and this was going to be the explanation for his absence. The question "? did he check" seems to confirm this. A physical check would not necessarily have been contemplated in an original plan that saw the abduction happening after 9:30. The jemmied shutters had always been the timestamp of the abduction.

Ella suggests that Russell was looking for a reason Jane was added to the original list of "checkers" of the children again indicating an original plan that had to be changed.

But the most important point is the entry "Matt check all 3". If Russell meant, when he wrote this first script, that Matt  had been inside the apartment to physically check on the three children, he would have worded it differently since Madeleine had been gone at that time. No, in my opinion he again cited the original plan where Matt would have listened at all 3 windows again. He did not mean "children", he meant "windows" as in the first entry. It was a left-over of the original plan.

Russell now realised that checking the windows at that stage - as originally agreed upon - would not work since the abduction had already taken place - moved forward due to the Smith sighting -  and got so confused and insecure that he left the crucial check by Matt out of the next, revised version.

Timeline 2

8.45pm. all assembled at poolside for food
9.00pm. Matt Oldfield listens at all 3 windows 5A, B, D
              ALL shutters down
9:15pm Gerry McCann looks at room. A ? Door open to bedroom
9:20pm Jane Tanner checks 5D - [sees stranger walking carrying a child]
9.30 Russell O'Brien in 5D. Poorly daughter
.
.
.
.
9.55pm
10:00pm. Alarm raised after Kate

Gerald

Here the emphasis in on the Tanner sighting and the dots that cover Matt's visit in 5A are left out because he realised that a listening check would have been impossible. The now open window prevented it and he was not sure how to get it right.

If there had been an accident that had been discovered during dinner with an ensuing panic reaction to dispose of her body we would have been presented with one timeline that would have been pretty straightforward because it would have been concocted without any previous concepts in mind which alterations had to be communicated to all members involved.

All this supports my theory that there had been an original plan and timeline present which would have looked something like this:

Timeline 08:45 all assembled at Tapas

9:00 Matt checks at all 3 windows. Shutters down

9:15 Gerry checks at all 3 windows. Shutters down ... enters the apartment to watch some fooball results

9:30 Russell checks at all 3 windows. Shutters down

. Gerry returns

9:45 Kate checks at all 3 windows. Shutters jemmied.

Crowd perception

One comment from me regarding yesterdays court case:

The will to accept conspiracies in everything relating to this case is apparently not reserved for those that still read their tea leaves to decide on whether to hang their washing out, but seems to have affected studied lawyers as well.

Apparently all defense lawyers unanimously suggested that Scotland Yard - who take years and millions to finally decide on re-testing evidence from behind the sofa and the hired car - would be so organised and cunning to be able to orchestrate their visits to correlate with the hearings in the damages case. While both processes are subject to a heap of unforseeable events, like the break-down in the portuguese justice system or the dismissal of lawyers on the day of the hearing...

And almost everybody seems to nod their heads in consent and cleverly remarks that this is what they have said and known all along...

Now here is a list of the court dates and the number of correlating visits by Scotland Yard in Portugal:

12th September 2013 - nada
13th September 2013 - nada
19th September 2013 - nada
20th September 2013 - nada
27th September 2013 - nada
2nd October 2013 - nada
8th October 2013 - nada (Crimewatch had been announced on the 4th October, mobile phone records are new clues)
5th November 2013 - nada (Monteiro is in the news)
19th November 2013 - nada
27th November 2013 - nada (news about hope of a Joint Investigation Team)
16th June 2014 - nada (searches had ended on 11th June)
8th July 2014 - nada (questioning had ended on 2nd July)
10th December 2014 - BINGO


WOW

ONCE they were in Portugal at the time of a court hearing. This either shows extremely bad planning skills on the part of Scotland Yard or rather what can happen to crowd perception when enough numpties repeat after each other...

Schadenersatzklage McCanns gegen Amaral 10.12.2014

Eine Zusammenfassung des heutigen Gerichtstages nach dem Bericht von astro - maddiecasefiles.com (english version in Link)

Die Verhandlung fand heute in einem anderen Raum statt. An der Wand über der Richterin - die übrigens nicht ersetzt wurde - standen die Worte geschrieben "A injustiça feita a um é ameaça para todos" - Ein Unrecht, das einer Person angetan wird, ist eine Bedrohung für jedermann.

Ein Umstand, der noch nicht so bekannt war, wurde heute deutlich: Isabel Duarte ist die Anwältin der Eltern während Ricardo Afonso der Anwalt ist, der die drei Kinder der McCanns vertritt. Jedem dieser Anwälte standen heute 90 Minuten zur Verfügung für eine Art Schlußplädoyer. Isabel Duarte nahm allerdings nicht an der Verhandlung teil (evtl. wird der Grund noch bekannt) und so mussten "nur" 1,5 Stunden überstanden werden, während denen Ricardo Afonso in "Fidel Castro Manier" seine Rede hielt. Trotzdem blieb es wohl bei einem geschätzten Drittel seiner Anschuldigungen, da ihn die Richterin dann unterbrach.

Trotzdem referierte er fast 2 Stunden über Zahlen, verglich das Buch mit ausgewählten Teilen der Polizeiakten und versuchte Goncalo Amaral, die PJ und die Hunde zu diskreditieren, während er gleichzeitig darauf beharrte, dass die britische Polizei nicht einer Meinung mit den Schlüssen der PJ waren, die dazu führten, die McCanns zu Arguidos zu machen.

Ein Beispiel seiner Argumentation: das Buch beginnt mit der Erwähnung von Jägern, die Hasen jagen, was angeblich nicht zur Jahreszeit/Jagdzeit passen würde. Daher wäre auch alles andere im Buch falsch.

Er versuchte die Hunde anzufechten, die DNA Tests, Mark Harrisons Bericht, von dem er sagte, er wäre nur auf die Möglichkeit ihres Todes ausgerichtet gewesen. Er behauptete, die PJ wären auf Teufel komm raus darauf aus gewesen die McCanns zu beschuldigen und die Beweise den Anschuldigungen anzupassen.

Um es kurz zu machen, er erörterte Dinge, die keinen Platz in diesem Prozess hatten; weite Teile seiner Behauptungen waren darauf ausgerichtet, die polizeiliche Untersuchung und den Arguido status der McCanns zu erläutern, mit einigen Erwähnungen von Alipio Ribeiro und seiner Aussage, es wäre "voreilig" gewesen, die Eltern zu Arguidos zu erklären.

Er attackierte auch die Glaubwürdigkeit der Familie Smith und hinterfragte, warum sie als glaubwürdige Zeugen der Untersuchung gesehen wurden während Jane Tanner diskreditiert wurde. Er sagte, dass die Tanner Sichtung die Smith Sichtung untermauere aber dass der Koordinator - Amaral - und sein Team einfach nichts anderes untersuchen wollten als die Todeshypothese und die Eltern.


Der Angeklagte wollte nur "Blood, Swet and Tears" verkaufen.

Er fügte hinzu dass die Untersuchung jegliche Objectivität verlor und dass die britische Polizei, Martin Grime und Mark Harrison dies erkannten und befürchteten, dass die McCanns Opfer einer impulsiven und ungerechtfertigten "Arguidisierung" wurden. (ja dann hätte Kate ohne Anwalt die 48 Fragen beantworten müssen - Anmerkung von mir)

Er führte weiterhin aus, dass Stuart Prior "sehr beunruhigt" war als er sich mit der PJ am 4. September traf, nur Tage bevor die McCanns zu Arguidos erklärt wurden. Und dass er deshalb beunruhigt war, weil er wusste dass es falsch war sie zu beschuldigen, da es keine Beweise gab und die DNA Berichte falsch interpretiert wurden, aus Bequemlichkeit/zum Nutzen der PJ.

Dann etwa wurde er von der Richterin unterbrochen. Er verbrachte keine ZWEI MINUTEN damit, die Aussagen seiner Zeugen zu erwähnen. Aus gutem Grund wie wir uns vorstellen können.

Gonçalo Amarals Anwalt, Miguel Cruz Rodrigues, betonte, dass diese Klage vor Gericht nur dem Zweck diene das Ehepaar von Schuld freizusprechen. Schuld die Kinder in der Nacht des Verschwindens nicht beaufsichtigt zu haben, und Schuld nicht mit der polizeilichen Untersuchung kooperiert zu haben.

Der Mangel an Kooperation der Eltern und ihrer Freunde führte dazu, den Fall zu den Akten zu legen, etwas, dem sie sich nie widersetzt haben obwohl es möglich gewesen wäre.

Er führte auch aus, dass es sehr merkwürdig wäre wenn sie nicht deprimiert, ängstlich und traurig wären. Wenn sie keinen Appetitverlust und Schlafstörungen gehabt hätten. Aber wo ist der kausale Zusammenhang zum Buch? Der wurde nicht bewiesen. Ihre Beschwerden könnte jede ander Ursache haben, z.B. die Schuld, die sie fühlen müssen wegen der Verletzung ihrer Aufsichtspflicht und wegen ihres Verhaltens im Laufe der Untersuchung.

Zusammenfassend: Vage Anschuldigungen von Seiten der Eltern aber keine Beweise für irgendeinen Zusammenhang mit der Veröffentlichung des Buches.

Fatima Esteves, Anwalt für Guerra e Paz, stellte heute die etwas emotionaleren Behauptungen auf. Sie betonte ein paar relevante Punkte:

- das fast vollständige Fehlen von Journalisten im Gerichtssaal heute, im Gegensatz zum vollen Saal immer wenn die Eltern am Prozess teilnehmen, was beweist, dass die McCanns der Motor hinter den Medien sind and sie die Agenda der Medien definieren.

- die Eltern hätten von Anfang an zu Arguidos erklärt werden sollen, was im Fall verschwundener Kinder üblich wäre.

- die Zeugen der Anklage hätten sehr vage Aussagen gemacht und zwei von ihnen hätten sogar nachträglich schriftliche Berichte eingereicht (die von der Richterin abgelehnt, von einer höheren Instanz aber zugelassen wurden) ohne von der Anklage befragt zu werden.

- es wurde nicht bewiesen, dass die angeblichen Schäden durch das Buch resultierten.

- Scotland Yard erscheint, zufällig, immer dann wenn es eine Gerichtssitzung in Lissabon gibt.

- die McCanns verklagen Goncalo Amaral um die Zwillinge vor einem Buch zu schützen, dass diese nicht lesen können, da es auf portugiesisch ist, aber verklagen nicht die Websites, die die englische Übersetzung veröffentlichen, die die Zwillinge lesen können.

- die McCanns haben nie die Wiedereröffnung des Falles in Portugal beantragt. 

- Kopien der Bücher des Fund wurden von der Verteidigung angefordert aber von den Eltern abgelehnt.

Miguel Coroadinha, der Anwalt von TVI, begann mit einer Kopie der heutigen Ausgabe des Correio da Manha und einem Artikel über die Befragungen in Faro um die folgenden Punkte deutlich zu machen:

- die Besuche durch Scotland Yard lenken die Aufmerksamkeit vom Prozess ab, wiederholt und genau passend.

- der Fall ist bereits Grundlage zu Studien über seine aussergewöhnliche Medienpräsenz geworden

- die McCanns haben den Fall in den Focus der Medien gebracht und tun alles um ihn dort zu halten

- die Aufmerksamkeit der Medien hat nie nachgelassen und das Buch hatte keinen Einfluss auf die Medien oder die Untersuchung

- Zeugen für die McCanns haben ausgesagt, die Medienpräsenz hätte mit der Veröffentlichung des Buches zugenommen

- TVI hatte die Dokumentation der McCanns nicht gesendet da die McCanns ihr Einverständnis zurückzogen nachdem bereits darüber verhandelt worden war.

- was angebliche Schäden betrifft ist es unmöglich einen kausalen Zusammenhang zum Buch zu beweisen

- dieser Gerichtssaal ist nicht der Platz um Fehler der Untersuchung zu diskutieren (wie Ricardo Afonso), aber wenn es einen Fehler gab, dann war es der, die McCanns nicht am Tag nach dem Verschwinden nicht zu Arguidos gemacht zu haben. Wenn dies geschehen wäre, wären wir vielleicht heute nicht hier.

- die Zeugen der Mccanns waren emotionell zu involviert und zu nahestehend um glaubhaft zu sein.

- die beiden "Experten" Gutachten (ich nehme an die schriftlich, nachgereichten) wurden von den Autoren benutzt um der Befragung zu diesen Berichten auszuweichen

- das Ehepaar versucht Geschichte umzuschreiben, jeden zu überzeugen, dass die einzige Theorie ihre eigene sei, aber das Buch ist bereits Teil der Fallgeschichte.

Das weitere Vorgehen ist wie folgt:

Der nächste Verhandlungstag ist der 21. Januar 2015. Dann wird die Richterin vortragen was als "materia de facto" während der Verhandlungen vom Gericht festgestellt werden konnte. Dies sollte einen ersten Eindruck auf das mögliche Urteil geben.

Danach laufen 30 Tage ab in denen die McCanns ein Dokument des High Court Richters in London vorlegen müssen, das belegt, dass sie berechtigt sind, Madeleine zu repräsentieren, da sie ja ein Mündel des Gerichts ist. Wir werden sehen, wie lange sie diese Zeitspanne ausreizen werden.

Sollten die Eltern das Dokument nicht einreichen, wird nur der Teil der Verhandlung annuliert, der Madeleine betrifft. Alles andere geht weiter.

Dann haben alle Anwälte 10 Tage Zeit ihre "alegações de direito" einzureichen. Ein Urteil wird dann frühestens für März erwartet.

Phase 3

That was quick.

Only two days after my latest post predicting future tests on items from the hired car that had been sent back to Portugal, we have this article in Correio da Manha, that mentions retesting and hired car in one sentence.

Will wait for proper translation. Stay tuned...


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Pulled up from the comments section. Big thank you to Mercedes:

Experts from the National Institute of Legal Medicine (INML) analyzed 444 hairs that were collected by the Judicial Police in the months following the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in 2007, in Praia da Luz, Lagos. As far as CM knows, 25 blood and saliva samples, and three other traces found in the room where the girl disappeared, and in the trunk of a car underwent forensic tests. These are some of the vestiges that Scotland Yard now wants to take to England to be retested in a British private laboratory.

The English, as CM reported yesterday, want to re-analyze the curtains that were in Maddie’s room, which were subject to expert analyses by INML in 2007, and which found nothing relevant. The collection of vestiges was made in homes, cars and sofas by experts of the Forensic Science Laboratory of the PJ. Among these vestiges are also hair samples and saliva of several people who were considered important for the investigation. In the list of 444 hairs subject to examination 432 are human and 12 nonhuman, 98 had no correspondence with any DNA profile and 19 gave partial results. The request for re-evaluation of the vestiges, are part of a 6th rogatory letter. This despite the absence of a decision, by the new public prosecutor in Portimão, Inés Sequeira, about the 5th letter, sent by the British to Portugal.

The final curtain? (update)

The Mirror, which has been the inofficial mouthpiece for a couple of months now, today continues to  desperately spin the fact that Scotland Yard wants to retest for possible DNA evidence from the apartment where the McCanns stayed in 2007.

Madeleine McCann new DNA hope: Curtains may hold key to who took her

Do you notice the reek of desperation evaporating from these two lines? How to spin the basic facts when the latest paedo is as good as eliminated from the investigation? When hairs of burglar-abductors are not the only objective of the Scotland Yard investigation. When CURTAINS are being mentioned...

The Mirror tries to tell the uninformed masses - and some that should be informed - that the curtains from the bedroom where Madeleine and her two siblings were sleeping are the focus of the request to retest some of the samples that were returned to Portugal at the end of 2007 and those that were kept there from the beginning. You remember the whooshing curtains?

Unfortunately, these curtains were never collected, sent to Britain, tested or kept in Portugal. Just check the files.

The only curtains that feature prominently in the original police files are those that were hanging behind the furniture-that-must-not-be-named and where the four-legged-creatures-that-must-also-not-be-named did what they are supposed to do with unquestioned precision. Curtains that never got in contact with the burglar-abductor if you believe the abduction tale.

The original Portuguese investigation retained a sample of the lower part of the white net curtains from the living-room (I said it). Guess where Keela the CSI blood dog alerted when she was deployed to 5A for a second time on August 3rd?

On this date a new sniffer dog inspection was carried out in the apartment mentioned above, with the help of the dog Keela who detects human blood remains. The activity produced the following results: 19.19 The dog "marked" an area of tiles in the living room, next to the window and behind the sofa. 19.20 The dog "marked" the lower part of the left white coloured curtain of the window behind the sofa.

It is not quite clear what happened to the original blue curtains that were tested at the FSS in Britain. So far I could not find a return note. But searching for it, I found another return note that could turn out extremely interesting in the next weeks.

It is the delivery note from the FSS to Leicestershire Police of non-perishable samples that were not destroyed but returned. Thirty-three samples.

They could represent the following items (there is no batch number given, so take this with caution):

1. 10 (1) baggage compartment lined with fabric with ventilation holes
2. 10 (2) moulded plastic extension
3. 1A Head hair collected from the driver - s seat.
4. 1B Fibres and possible head hair from the back of the driver - s seat.
5. 1C Fibres and possible head hair from the bottom of the driver - s seat.
6. 1D Nail fragment collected in the floor in front of the driver - s seat
7. 2A Head hair collected to the right of passenger - s seat.
8. 2B Head hair collected from the floor next to the right front passenger - s seat
9. 2C Fibres and possible head hair from the back of the right front passenger's seat
10. 2D Fibres and possible head hair from the bottom of the right front passenger's seat.
11. 2E Nail fragment collected in the floor in front of the driver - s seat.
12. 3 Head hair collected between the front seats.
13. 4A Head hair collected from the left area of the back seat.
14. 4B Fibres and possible head hair from the back in the left area of the back seat.
15. 4C Fibres and possible head hair from the bottom in the left area of the back seat.
16. 5A Head hair collected from the middle area of the back seat.
17. 5B Fibres and possible head hair from the back in the middle area of the back seat.
18. 5C Fibres and possible head hair from the bottom in the middle area of the back seat.
19. 6A Head hair collected from the right area of the back seat.
20. 6B Fibres and possible head hair from the back in the right area of the back seat.
21. 6C Fibres and possible head hair from the bottom in the right area of the back seat.
22. 7A Head hair collected from the left seat of the luggage area.
23. 7B Fibres and possible head hair from the back of the left seat in the vehicle luggage area.
24. 7C Fibres and possible head hair from the bottom in the left area of the back seat.
25. 8A Head hair collected from the right seat of the luggage area.
26. 8B Fibres and possible head hair from the back of the right seat in the vehicle luggage area.
27. 8C Fibres and possible head hair from the bottom of the right seat in the vehicle luggage area.
28. 9 Head hair collected from the vehicle luggage area.
29. 11 Fibres and possible head hair in the rear shelf/luggage cover.
30. 11 Fibres and possible head hair in the rear shelf/luggage cover.
31. 12 Key card
32. 13 Pattern sample of the fabric covering the vehicle seats.
33. 15 Pattern samples taken from the clothes worn by PMFG Vilhena.

All samples from the hired car. It is yet unclear if they were returned to Portugal.

So the Mirror might still focus on the relatively safe area of the bedroom, where the dogs did not alert, while the curtain in question is definitely from the living-room where they did, but what will they do if the focus is turning onto samples from the hired car? Will we then see headlines like this?
 

Kate and Gerry furios:
Burglars stored body in hired car while they were jogging