Remember the missing little girl...

[slipknotpsycho]

couple months ago that was all over the news, she was said to have been kidnappped on their vacation?


Missing girl's mother named suspect - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/portugal_missing_girl)


By PAUL HAVEN, Associated Press Writer
51 minutes ago



PRAIA DA LUZ, Portugal - In a shocking twist, the mother of a 4-year-old British girl missing since May was named a suspect and called in for questioning Friday by police along with the child's father, after traces of blood were found in their rental car.

The girl's aunt said police suggested Madeleine McCann might have been killed accidentally and offered the mother a plea deal if she confessed.

Kate McCann was questioned for more than four hours in a second straight day of interrogation into the disappearance of Madeleine in southern Portugal.

Her husband, Gerry McCann, followed her into the police station in the southern Portuguese town of Portimao for a separate round of questioning. Friends and relatives said the mother told them she had been named a formal suspect and was offered a deal if she confessed, and that Gerry McCann was told he would likely also be named a suspect.

"They tried to get her to confess to having accidentally killed Madeleine by offering her a deal through her lawyer â?? 'If you say you killed Madeleine by accident and then hid her and disposed of the body, then we can guarantee you a two-year jail sentence or even less,'" Gerry McCann's sister, Philomena, told ITV news.

A police spokesman, Olegario Sousa, confirmed to The Associated Press that police had named a new suspect, but would not say it was Mrs. McCann. He cited privacy laws in declining to comment further.

The couple strenuously professed their innocence Friday.

The day's developments marked a dramatic turn in a case that has pulled at the world's heartstrings for months, ever since Mrs. McCann ran screaming from a hotel room saying her daughter had disappeared. The McCanns, both doctors from central England, said they were dining at the time in a hotel restaurant, but returned frequently to check on Madeleine and her twin 2-year-old siblings.

Since then, the McCanns have toured Europe with photos of Madeleine and the child's stuffed animals and clothing, even meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. Celebrities including J.K. Rowling and David Beckham made public appeals that helped the family raise more than $2 million.

The money, controlled by an independent auditor, is meant for charities that aid in missing children cases.

Until Friday, suspicion had focused on a British man who lived near the hotel from which Madeleine disappeared and who was the only formal suspect. But police said new forensic tests done on evidence gathered months after the girl vanished found traces of blood in the couple's car, according to Justine McGuinness, a spokeswoman for the family.

The new evidence â?? including the traces of blood missed in earlier forensic tests â?? was uncovered by sniffer dogs brought from Britain.

McGuinness said the police allegations against Mrs. McCann didn't add up, since the rental car had not been acquired until 25 days after Madeleine's May 3 disappearance. Gerry McCann called the allegations against his wife "ludicrous."

"We will fight this all the way, and we will not stop looking for Madeleine," he wrote on the couple's Web site on Friday.

Even as public opinion reeled from the new allegations, there was fresh criticism of police for taking so long to build their case.

John Corner, a McCann family friend, told the British Broadcasting Corp. that the listing of Mrs. McCann as a suspect gave him "an uncomfortable feeling that the police are not looking outward" for Madeleine's abductor.

But Sonya Sceats, an international law analyst at London's Chatham House think tank, said police were allowing the evidence to lead their investigation.

"It's all turned on the DNA evidence. It only became available very recently, and they are moving in response to that," Sceats said by phone.

Under Portuguese law, formal suspects gain certain legal protections, but police also have more latitude to question them. Police also have to show suspects any evidence against them.

Clarence Mitchell, a family friend and former spokesman for the McCanns, said Friday after speaking with Mrs. McCann that she found the police questioning â?? which included an 11-hour session Thursday â?? "grueling."

"It's very intense, but she's remaining strong and determined to prove that they had nothing to do with their daughter's disappearance and they are innocent victims of the crime," he told the AP.

Asked about a plead deal, Mitchell said: "It is my understanding that during the police interview with Kate McCann, senior police officers told her lawyer that that if she were to confess to killing Madeleine accidentally it would help her case when she came before the judges for sentencing and that they would probably consider a relatively short sentence of three to four years â?? in other words, a plea bargain."

The McCanns' cause, and the couple's apparent strength in the face of adversity, has hit a nerve among millions, who have followed their lives as they cared for their two other children and went to church in Praia da Luz, the seaside town where Madeleine disappeared, and where they have stayed ever since. Photographs of the bright-eyed, fair-haired girl have been posted throughout the world.

The publicity has helped lead to numerous reported sightings of the girl, from as far away as northern Europe and Morocco, amid speculation she might have been taken by an international pedophile ring.

Just after Mrs. McCann entered the police station Thursday, another family representative read out a statement from her appealing to what she called Madeleine's abductors to "do the right thing."

"It is not too late. Please let her go or call the police," she said.

The only formal suspect until now has been Robert Murat, who lives with his mother near the hotel from which the girl disappeared. He has always maintained his innocence. Sousa said Murat's status as a suspect had not changed.

[Bogart]

It's too bad this has happened. They blame things on other people and then the evidence doesn't add up, like the story in the US several years a go when a mother blamed a black man for stealing her care with her two children in the back seat knowing damn well she drowned the kids herself.

[slipknotpsycho]

It's too bad this has happened. They blame things on other people and then the evidence doesn't add up, like the story in the US several years a go when a mother blamed a black man for stealing her care with her two children in the back seat knowing damn well she drowned the kids herself.

i remember that actually....

[Weedhound]

I've been following this case fairly closely slip.....true crime is a hobby of mine. While it IS extremely common for parents to kill their children I really REALLY don't think that's what happened here. I think the cops are just desperate at this point. The evidence completely fits a stranger kidnapping (and murder...that child is dead and has been since day 1) it really does not fit the parent/child murder scenarios that I've read about.

Call me Detective Weedhound.....:S2:

[Weedhound]

Susan Smith.....lovely woman......who drowned her two kids and blamed a non-existent black "carjacker". Things like this are eventually found out imo.....the evidence just doesn't fit the story.

Det WH....:D God I'm gonna have some fun w/that one.. :)

[Bogart]

Det WH....:D God I'm gonna have some fun w/that one.. :)[/QUOTE]

Go for it Det WH

[snowblind]

this case is saddening. i was where it happened 2 summers ago. its a really beautiful place. i dont think they killed her becuase they have 2 other children aswell. though it is strange that the others werent touvhed. although madeline was the smallest so argubly the easiest to manhandle.
the parents had reported they thought they had been followed all week, so to leave the children on their own was highly stupid, something they must feel a great sense of regret about. there was also a free childcare service within the resort they where stayin at. its so sad.
the police in portugal are about 15-20 years behind that of the uk and america so they have handled it extremely poorly. they left it 6 weeks before searching their only leads house. more than enough time for him to murder several children and hid the evidence.
it is a very tragic case, but with the amount of time that has passed their is really no hope that she will be found, even if she is alive and god forbin has been takin in to the slave/sex indusrty. i would wish her death rather than that.

peace

snow

[slipknotpsycho]

I've been following this case fairly closely slip.....true crime is a hobby of mine. While it IS extremely common for parents to kill their children I really REALLY don't think that's what happened here. I think the cops are just desperate at this point. The evidence completely fits a stranger kidnapping (and murder...that child is dead and has been since day 1) it really does not fit the parent/child murder scenarios that I've read about.

Call me Detective Weedhound.....:S2:

oh i never said i believed it or anything... i just posted it cuz i knew a few here who were following the story, and since it just hit the news about an hour before i posted it, i figured i'd go ahead and get the jump on it...

i haven't been really following the story, i know of it, and i know minimal details but that's about it.

[Weedhound]

Well and of course you have to check everything out in something like that.....may not have happened here but it certainly does happen.

Bogart....check your reps you devil. ;)

[Weedywildwoman]

I just hope she is found alive. I know the chances are not great that she will be found alive. There have been a few cases that have had children found alive...Elizabeth Smart, Dana Pervia (sic), Steven Stayner, Shawn Hornbeck, Natascha Kampusch, Ben Owingsby, Timothy White, Shasta Groene, and others. Unfortunately, they had fallen prey to the filth of our society, but they are alive.

As for the parents having killed her, even accidentally, I think it is the police wanting to wrap up a case that has caused them embarrassment over the mass publicity it has gotten and the light that has shown their inadequacies in not moving quickly enough in the beginning. The parents made a mistake in leaving the children alone, but they don't deserve what has happened to them and Maddie.

[slipknotpsycho]

I just hope she is found alive. I know the chances are not great that she will be found alive. There have been a few cases that have had children found alive...Elizabeth Smart, Dana Pervia (sic), Steven Stayner, Shawn Hornbeck, Natascha Kampusch, Ben Owingsby, Timothy White, Shasta Groene, and others. Unfortunately, they had fallen prey to the filth of our society, but they are alive.

As for the parents having killed her, even accidentally, I think it is the police wanting to wrap up a case that has caused them embarrassment over the mass publicity it has gotten and the light that has shown their inadequacies in not moving quickly enough in the beginning. The parents made a mistake in leaving the children alone, but they don't deserve what has happened to them and Maddie.

o.0 wow....

Missing girl found nearly four years after disappearance - Aggie Life>>People in News (http://media.www.thebatt.com/media/storage/paper657/news/2003/03/28/AggieLifepeopleInNews/Missing.Girl.Found.Nearly.Four.Years.After.Disappe arance-514250.shtml)

[Weedywildwoman]

o.0 wow....

Missing girl found nearly four years after disappearance - Aggie Life>>People in News (http://media.www.thebatt.com/media/storage/paper657/news/2003/03/28/AggieLifepeopleInNews/Missing.Girl.Found.Nearly.Four.Years.After.Disappe arance-514250.shtml)

That's her! I remember when she was on Montel and then Oprah. That poor girl has been through hell. I was always curious as to how she ended up with the youngest child. Thankfully she was helped by some neighbors to get her back to the states.

[Weedhound]

W3.....I feel like Im looking in a mirror.....WELCOME DETECTIVE W3 :D

Here are my thoughts....I agree with W3 that once in awhile (a GREAT while) one of these kids are found alive....but I can't remember a single one that turned up alive when taken at age two.....in a foreign country. Seriously SERIOUSLY doubt that's going to happen.

Seems to have been a crime of opportunity....someone saw their chance and took it. I don't at ALL wonder why they chose that little girl (besides the chance that presented itself) she looks like a stunning little angel in the photos.

I'm not very sure at all that I buy their suspect but I'd love to know more about him.....for instance....just how involved is this man in the goings on about town or the resort itself? He apparently lives close....with his mom. I don't have enough information to make a judgement about him but the possibility is certainly there. Apparently this leaving the children alone so parents could collect at a restaurant and the parents would switch duties and check on everyone's kids every half hour. This was not only done commonly there.....apparently just about everyone who worked at the resort knew this.

This is someone young, lives close,(and may well work at the resort in a menial job) and is (in the words of profiling folks) disorganized.....he did a high risk thing in a high risk area......desperate and young/inexperienced or uneducated. He only wanted that child for one thing.......which is why no one has heard anything since.

End of rant.....

[snowblind]

latest up on that case is that the police found the girls blood on a car that the mum rented 23 days later. found it in the boot and on the fob. thats what there going on whilst they are grilling the parents, they recon they accidentaly killed her. its interesting. im not sure if they did it but its pretty strange that they would find blood.

peace

[KevinFinnerty]

I hope this doesn't sound insensitive, because I realize how tragic this story is, but I've never understood why every once in a while one of these kidnapped/murdered child stories comes up and gets SO much attention from the media. I mean, I know it's sad to say this, but is it really all that rare for a kid to get kidnapped or murdered. I mean, I just did some quick research and found that about 800,000 kids under the age of 18 are kidnapped and 700 kids under the age of 12 are murdered each year in the United States alone. Can somebody explain why the media latches on so vigorously to one of these stories every once in a while even though situations like these are not really that uncommon?

[Weedhound]

It's not insensitive at all....I think it's the truth.....notice that's it's always a "pretty" little child that the media follows....and most of the time....white. The other reason imo is that certain parents push alot harder to keep their child's name in the media....tv appearances, they give interviews etc etc.....anything to keep everyone thinking (instead of forgetting) about their missing child. A third thought in this case....a boogeyman sneaking in and stealing your kid in their sleep....EVERYONE can relate to that childhood fear.

[Kid Dynamite]

In the UK it's defficult to not see something about madeline almost every day. Theres gonna be a lot of red faces around if it turns out her parents did it...

[Weedhound]

While sometimes I might find the blood thing interesting snow....here I'm not too impressed....it's a two year old.... vacationing.....two year olds scrape their knees and cut themselves etc...I just don't find it to be a big thing here (unless they find a knife covered with blood or something......;))

[Weedywildwoman]

While sometimes I might find the blood thing interesting snow....here I'm not too impressed....it's a two year old.... vacationing.....two year olds scrape their knees and cut themselves etc...I just don't find it to be a big thing here (unless they find a knife covered with blood or something......;))

Hi Detective Weedhound :thumbsup:

The weirdest thing about the blood they found in the vehicle is that the family rented the car three weeks AFTER Maddie disappeared. I just don't get it! It's not as if the parents killed Maddie and then moved her body three weeks later?!? Where would they have kept her? If they did hide her body for so long, there would have been decomp, wouldn't that have been different than just blood? Those cops are holding back a lot of info as they usually have to. This all just doesn't make sense!

Personally, I think it doesn't add up... I feel the cops are just looking to wrap this thing up and move on. It's bothering them that Kate and Gerri have stayed and pushed the issue so hard. It would have been so much easier for the coppers if the family had just gone home ages ago and hadn't stayed to help in the investigation. The cops must be so angry and embarrassed by this point!

You are right about the amount of young children that come home alive after something like this. I couldn't think of one that had come home alive either. Such a shame... I also wonder about that Murat (the suspect) and whether he is involved. It's a shame that the first time that dirty git harmed a child that he wasn't locked up for good. Then we wouldn't have to wonder if he did it. We need to get these scumballs off of the streets so they can't harm a child ever again.

I just hope the family gets some answers... I have a friend whose daughter went missing in 2002 and has not been seen since. Now some bastard has confessed and then withdrawn his confession that he murdered Rachel. Her family has been destroyed and have been suffering ever since. It is so awful to hope someone finds your child's remains. What a shame...

It's always good to get discussions going like this. It makes those that wouldn't have thought about the missing get involved and that is so important. Especially for missing adults that aren't given enough publicity or any at all. If it wasn't for the publicity surrounding the Groene family, Shasta would never have been noticed in that Dennys restaurant that night.

All the best my fellow detective! W3 :jointsmile:

[Weedywildwoman]

I just read that the family of Maddie have gone home. Gerry said "Weâ??re being set up and Iâ??ve had enough. Weâ??re going home.â?�

Seems that this is what the Portugese police were aiming for. Sad, so sad!

The Sun Online - Maddie: Maddie cops' threat (http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2005320001-2007411020,00.html)

I forgot to add about the cops threatening the Mcann's that if they did not confess they were going to take away their twins. Dirty and cruel tactics!

[bluntblaze]

I hope this doesn't sound insensitive, because I realize how tragic this story is, but I've never understood why every once in a while one of these kidnapped/murdered child stories comes up and gets SO much attention from the media. I mean, I know it's sad to say this, but is it really all that rare for a kid to get kidnapped or murdered. I mean, I just did some quick research and found that about 800,000 kids under the age of 18 are kidnapped and 700 kids under the age of 12 are murdered each year in the United States alone. Can somebody explain why the media latches on so vigorously to one of these stories every once in a while even though situations like these are not really that uncommon?

i think its because shes a british citizen missing in another country

[snowblind]

ahh i just watched the news, they didnt actually find blook in the car. they found DNA the likely hood is that this was transfered from the teddy that was madelines that the mum is carrying around.

the blood was found in the apartment and its more than likely that she cut herself or something to that effect.

the stragest evidence is that the sniffer dogs found the 'smell of death' on the clothes. this is the strangest peice of evidence ive ever heard. but the mum is a doctor so its likely that her clthes are impregnated with old persons death.

when you logically look at this, if they had killed her. they would have without a shadow of a doubt have got rid of the body before they alerted anybody. you would have to be one cold and cool mother fucker. to alert the police and world media. keep the bodt for 23 days and then dispose of it.

it just doesnt ring true.

i dont think they did it at all and i think this is a travesty.

snow

[chisme]

i think its wierd that about 2 weeks after the "disapearence" they were photographed smiling so much..

[Weedywildwoman]

i think its wierd that about 2 weeks after the "disapearence" they were photographed smiling so much..


I don't think this is a fair comment. They could have been smiling for less than a minute and the media shows it: giving the impression that they are laughing it up. I hope that these parents have even a few minutes of peace where they could smile. I wouldn't want to hold that against them. I see what you mean though and hopefully you can see what I am saying as well. WWW :smokin:

[Weedywildwoman]

ahh i just watched the news, they didnt actually find blook in the car. they found DNA the likely hood is that this was transfered from the teddy that was madelines that the mum is carrying around.

the blood was found in the apartment and its more than likely that she cut herself or something to that effect.

the stragest evidence is that the sniffer dogs found the 'smell of death' on the clothes. this is the strangest peice of evidence ive ever heard. but the mum is a doctor so its likely that her clthes are impregnated with old persons death.

when you logically look at this, if they had killed her. they would have without a shadow of a doubt have got rid of the body before they alerted anybody. you would have to be one cold and cool mother fucker. to alert the police and world media. keep the bodt for 23 days and then dispose of it.

it just doesnt ring true.

i dont think they did it at all and i think this is a travesty.

snow

They are talking about the case right now and are still saying it was blood that was found in the boot/trunk of the rental car. The blood found in the room was determined to be a man's. That blood in the holiday room was found so much later after the search that it was a huge leap. I'm glad they are investigating everything though, even if it was a bit late...

I wonder about the sniffer dogs. Couldn't they have smelled the scent of candy spilled from a small child and react? I don't know too much about sniffer dogs and their rate of success.

I agree, I don't think they did it either and it IS a travesty! :rasta:

[Weedywildwoman]

i think its because shes a british citizen missing in another country

That is probably a big part of it. Cases with "twists and turns" tend to get more coverage than those that vanish without a trace with nothing for the media to talk about.

[Weedhound]

So....not sure I have this straight....they killed her....stored her somewhere.....made a HUGE outcry......then a few weeks later went and GOT the body and took it somewhere? Nope....no stretch there.....

W3, very VERY sorry to hear about your friend's daughter. I personally cannot even IMAGINE such a horror......and I don't even have children. I would think the absolute worst.....WORST.....is the not knowing. At least when the body is found.....you know.
Sad, sad but true. Tell them my thoughts and prayers are with them.

I don't think the parents did this either.....i think all the publicity embarrased the police and so they bullied the parents out of town......and it worked. I think the cops feel that's the end of it but it won't be. Too much media attention for that so I believe that will WAY come back to haunt them later.

W3....you made a statement up there....the statement that is the key imo.....WHY DO THEY LET THESE PEOPLE OUT'??????

[Weedhound]

There are scent dogs....looking for people......cadaver dogs....looking for bodies so I''m not sure what the smell of death thing means......or not.....?