Dr O - conspicuous by his absence...

 Madeleine suspect accused of lying in confrontation with family friends

Earlier this month doctors Russell O'Brien and Fiona Payne, along with another friend, Rachael Oldfield, flew to Portugal to be questioned.  The meeting was arranged after members of Kate and Gerry McCanns' holiday party expressed doubts over the ex-pat's alibi.

As part of the process in Portugal, witnesses can challenge a suspect when there is doubt in the statements.

The friends claim they saw Murat, 33, on the night of 3 May when the four-year-old was snatched from her bed in the family's holiday apartment in Praia de Luz, Portugal.  The three key witnesses in the case are certain they recognise the suspect because of his distinctive lazy right eye caused by a detached retina.  One claims to have spotted Murat peeking into the McCann's apartment that night - which could destroy his alibi for the 3 May.  Murat insists he was dining with his mother before going to bed early.

Mr Murat's spokeperson, Tuck Price, says: "Robert found it traumatic. He could not understand how these people could sit there and accuse him of lying.  "It all seemed to revolve around them recognising his dodgy eye. "It was dark. How could they have seen?  Besides that, he was not there anyway."

In a leaked police report, Dr Payne and Mrs Oldfield claim they saw Murat at the Ocean Club resort at around 11.45pm.  Murat was spotted again - this time at 1am by Dr O'Brien.

Daily Mail, July 2007

Robert Murat sues McCann Friends 

Robert Murat is going to prosecute two friends of the McCann couple for perjury in a confrontation ordered by the judge.

Francisco Pagarete, Murat's Lawyer, does not know the evidence that the English gave during the investigation. However, he was present at the confrontation that - months after Murat had been constituted as arguido - was done between his client, Rachel Oldfield and Fiona Payne. The lawyer guarantees to SOL: "They lied in front of us, with the clear intention of incriminating my client".

Pagarete explains that, as soon as the case ends being under the secrecy of justice, he is going to consult 12 thousand pages of the process to find other evidences: "According to what I read in SOL, it was a British journalist who did the first accusation to the English Police. I will check if that is in the process".

Sol, 26 July 2008

I wonder what was said during that confrontation and why did Robert Murat make the decision to sue only two of the McCanns' friends (Payne and Oldfield) instead of the three that were present?  Did Dr O'Brien recant his accusations and indeed, could he be one of the friends who reportedly changed their statement?  Is the case still going ahead? Questions, questions.  Dr O'Brien has kept a low profile since - he was the only member of the group of friends not present on the High Court steps when the group accepted the out of court settlement from a number of newspaper groups.  His partner, Jane Tanner appeared in the McCann documentary alone.

In an interview Flash magazine conducted with Susan Healy, a source claimed...

At most the house in Rothley is visited by close family and three others of the group of seven friends who were with them in the Algarve when Maddie disappeared, that is David and Fiona Payne and Jane Tanner, as they are connected with them.

Conspicuous by his absence... just where is the good doctor?

Schrödinger's Cat

You may call me naive... when it was revealed that Kate McCann would release a paperback version of her book 'Madeleine' with an added chapter about the Scotland Yard review,  I really did wonder just how she would manage it.  Especially when it was said that the British review would be conducted in utmost secrecy with no final report even being made public.

Lead investigator DCI Andy Redwood originally stated that the open minded investigation followed two leads - one that Madeleine was alive and secondly that she was sadly dead.  This week however, we appear get a good idea of how things are panning out, ready for the 5 year anniversary and paperback book launch.

Several sources, including Robert Murat, Alan Johnson and Isabel Duarte, enabled Panorama to come across as an all out denigration of the Portuguese people and its police force.  Extremely degrading towards Portugal, the show pointed the finger of guilt at everyone except the main players... Kate and Gerry McCann and their friends.

Despite the Portuguese having primacy in the case and Scotland Yard only being one quarter of the way through their file, we now have claims that Madeleine is alive, having been subjected to a criminal act by a stranger.  And even more bizarrely, this respected Detective Chief Inspector is making these claims whilst doing the sofa run on morning television.  There's something just not right about that... We have also been proffered an image of what Madeleine may look like at the age of nine and a possible 195 historical investigative teasers.

The Scotland Yard review is made up of 3 elements... information from the Portuguese and British police in addition to the array of private investigators hired by the McCanns. Authorities in Portugal have publicly rejected the media led request to reopen the case, saying it would only be reopened on the basis of new evidence from a "serious, pertinent and authoritative" source.  Authoritative source... can we assume that these 195 old leads have come from the unauthoritative files of the private investigators?  What a strange place for a police force to start a review. Despite the AG stating that these historical 'leads' are quite obviously not new, the alive drive continues.

As the Portuguese are not willing to reopen the case using old evidence, I would appeal to DCI Redwood to reveal every one of these 195 leads and identify which part of the investigation they have arisen, in the same way that he has unveiled the image of a 9 year old Madeleine.  The public are a great help in many investigations, why not this one?  It would also quash the wave of accusations and rumours that a whitewash is in full flow.

Amongst many questions still being asked, the review has declared a live child yet failed to explain the scent of death found in many related places by a British cadaver dog.  And because of these very serious indications, the review should explain just how they have reached the conclusion of a live child being taken from the apartment.  The analysis of a sporadic, jotted down timeline really doesn't wash.

There is persistent chatter that the McCanns have the right to request the reopening of the case in Portugal themselves at no cost, but no-one in the British media has ever questioned this.  This current review has so far cost the taxpayer £2m, and is only one quarter along - are we foreseeing a final bill of £8m three years on with diplomatic relations with Portugal on a downward spiral?

These questions (or answers) will obviously not make it into the additional chapter of the paperback but fortunately for the McCanns, Scotland Yard have astonishingly given them plenty of perfectly timed material to use when they "speak publicly next week".  Not to mention the money and headline grabbing media.  The begging bowl may be left in the pantry this time around, but plenty can be made from the book.


**With thanks to SteelMagnolia for the links and Hideho for the videos.  Please view Hideho's video channel on Youtube by clicking here.

A McCann of Worms...

We all knew it was a huge can of worms.  But the news over the last few days is showing what a mixed up state of affairs the missing Madeleine McCann case is proving to be.  At the start of the week, I was really hopeful that the case would be reopened in Portugal, now I find myself disheartened and fearful that the real truth may never be known.

It all started with BBC Panorama and its claim that the News International, The Sun newspaper and the McCanns pressured the Prime Minister to instigate the review...

Downing Street sources have revealed to the programme that influence was being exerted on Number 10 by News International and by The Sun newspaper, as well as by the McCanns.  Within 24 hours of the front page appeal Mr Cameron announced a review could be paid for out of a contingency fund run by the Home Office, reserved for special cases.

Bizarre...

Also from BBC's Panorama, we have DCI Andy Redwood claiming that...

We are working on the basis of two possibilities here. One is that Madeleine is still alive; and the second that she is sadly dead.  Our drive on both scenarios is of equal measure.

The British media sensationally interpretted this as...

Police reveal Madeleine may still be alive

The Mirror

Madeleine McCann : She is alive

Express

195 Leads and she is still alive

Scotsman

In a complete turnaround, the Portuguese authorities denied all knowledge of new leads and quickly rebutted Scotland Yard's claims with...

There are no new elements at the moment that would allow for the reopening of the inquiry.  We have received no formal request for the reopening of the inquiry.

On the day that the McCanns and Isabel Duarte finally returned 7500 copies of Goncalo Amaral's book 'Truth of the Lie' to their rightful owner, publisher Guerra & Pas as ordered...

Goncalo Amaral appeared on Portuguese television and claimed that...

The British police wanted to impose the theory of abduction and the innocence of the parents.

Even more bizarre is DCI Redwood's apparent sole reason for the belief of abduction hinges on the parents and friends timeline...

Evidence that she is alive stems from the forensic view of the timeline, that there was the opportunity for her to be taken. Investigations show there do appear to be gaps. 

Forensic view of the timeline?  This timeline?...

I'm all for a chink of hope, but it beggars belief that Scotland Yard and the media have appeared to dismiss the findings of the British cadaver dog brought onto the case at the recommendation of our very own British police.  A skilled dog who marked the scent of death in apartment 5a and the McCanns' hire car.  And on Mrs McCann's clothing, a child's t-shirt and Madeleine's favourite toy, Cuddlecat.  How can the scent of death simply be glossed over  and ignored when it was found on McCann related items only and nowhere else in Praia de Luz?  So what if the forensics were degraded and contaminated, it's the scent of death for goodness sake.

A battle of words, court cases and desire for power and money seems to have dominated this case.  Most importantly, at the core of all of this is Madeleine, who seems almost forgotten in the crossfire.  She doesn't deserve the fate she has been dealt or all this PR crap being bandied in the media.  The truth has to be know.

That Doggone Maddie McCann Review...

Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Force have today released a statement via the officer in charge, DCI Andy Redwood about the current progress of the investigative review into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

The team, consisting of 30 odd officers have approached the investigation with an open mind and are working on two possibilities - one that Madeleine is alive and secondly that she is sadly dead.  Work of the team involves close collaboration with a senior investigating officer from the Policia Judiciara and the object is to bring closure to the case, starting with the reopening of the investigation in Portugal.

In accordance with the former line of enquiry, the Met have released an age progressed picture of what Madeleine might look like if she was nine years old...

Please remember there are lots of little girls worldwide who look very similar to this idea of a girl and it would be a very bad idea to accost or grab any child in public.  Many lives have been disrupted by wrongful accusations in the past 5 years.  Children and parents have been extremely traumatised and in one Moroccan episode, a father pitifully thrust his daughter's birth certificate into the faces of parasitic news crews.  Another child grappled with was a boy.  So... please contact the local police in the first instance and watch from afar if you are crazy enough to think that the child in front of you may be a nine year old Madeleline.  Especially if she's really only five, six or seven years old.

Maybe one day some crackpot will get it right and it will be Madeleline. However after reading and watching the cadaver dogs involved in the McCann case, I have very serious doubts that this will ever happen. Amongst the many niggles that I still have, I wonder why the team running Operation Grange seem to have overlooked the fact that a British cadaver dog alerted to the scent of death in apartment 5a, in the hire car, on Kate McCann's clothing, on Sean's t-shirt and Madeleine's apparent favourite cuddly toy, Cuddlecat.  All subject to strict test conditions where several cars and items were analysed.  The dogs alerted only to McCann related items, nothing else.

Are the Met dismissing their own £500 a day cadaver dogs?  If so, what about all the other cases where these dogs have alerted to the scent of death.  Such as the Suzanne Pilley and Kate Prout murder cases.  Both perpetrators of these heinous murders were convicted without a body being discovered and are thankfully behind bars.

DCI Redwood says the team are only one quarter of the way through the extensive pile of information pooled by them.  Perhaps they just haven't reached the dog chapter yet...

And if they can perhaps explain away the scent of death then I may come around.  In the meantime... here's hoping Scotland Yard can encourage something the parents have never shown an interest in... the reopening of the case in Portugal.

The new farce of Maddie...

Days ago it was Lehja vu, today it's Mayja vu.

Despite what would be Madeleine's ninth birthday in two weeks, today's papers show what she might look like at the age of (eighty) eight.  The latest image was created by a crack computer team that (apparently) helps police forces across the States find missing people.

Crack team?  Or just on crack?

Using forensic age-progression techniques also employed by the FBI, they believe Maddie would by now have lost the wide-eyed, chubby-cheeked appearance when she vanished without a trace.

And be the image of Theresa May.

Police are expected to release their own age-progressed image this week as they renew attempts to solve the case.

Well that's another one to look forward to.

This case turned into a farce long ago, today they've gone a step too far.