Maddie: Parents are accused of killing her
By Martin Evans
THE parents of Madeleine McCann were furious last night after a Portuguese magazine accused them of killing their daughter.
Gerry McCann exploded with rage after the front-page report declared: “Policia Judiciaria believe parents killed Maddie.”
According to the news magazine, detectives are now “almost absolutely certain” that Kate and Gerry killed Madeleine by giving her an accidental overdose of sedatives to help her sleep.
In recent weeks the McCanns have faced a growing tide of lurid speculation in the Portuguese media over the disappearance of their four-year-old daughter. But this is the first time a publication has actually come out and said they were responsible for her death.
Under the banner headline, the Tal & Qual claimed: “The T&Q knows that the PJ have strong indications that the child is dead.
“The use of drugs could have been fatal. The analyses which are late in arriving should confirm suspicions.”
Last night 39-year-old Gerry, who is a heart consultant for the NHS, could barely contain his anger as he rubbished the allegations. In an interview with British journalists, he said: “It
is just so absurd, it is just not credible.”
His voice cracking with emotion, he went on: “It’s incredibly hurtful and incredibly untrue. It comes down to: Is it papers writing that or is it actually rumours which have been said?
“Without anything else, what that implies is that we somehow did it, we did it together, managed to dispose of Madeleine without a car, without anything, the whole group was involved, there must have been other people involved.
“Even if somebody could think that, there is just absolutely no evidence pointing in that direction.”
The couple have borne weeks of hurtful rumours accusing them of a whole range of absurd allegations from wife-swapping to forging Madeleine’s birth certificate to hide her true paternity.
Yesterday the Daily Express revealed Kate’s anger after a television reporter allegedly hinted at her involvement in Madeleine’s death. And this latest sensational accusation has sparked an even more spirited response.
Tal & Qual said: “For the PJ investigators who analysed the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, the responsibility of the two parents in the death of the little girl is practically a certainty.
“The information came from sources close to the investigation who believe everything happened in an accidental manner, not adding what could have happened. However, the hypothesis that she could have died accidentally in an overdose of drugs cannot be put aside.”
Reporter Catarina Vaz Guerreiro said last night: “I can’t reveal my source but I have complete trust in them. I strongly believe the person that told us this is telling us the truth.
“It is someone close to the investigation, someone who knows what is happening in the case. It is not my personal opinion. In fact, I want to believe that it is all some mistake and the parents are innocent.
“I’m sure the parents will be angry and upset by the story because all the suspicions are now on them. I’m sure they don’t like to know they are suspects, but it is what everyone is being told by the police.”
But a police source said the story was untrue. And Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa stressed his conviction that allegations against the McCanns were unfounded. He also said it was possible the child may never be found.
He added: “Up until now, they are not suspects. If we have any suspicions we are compelled by law to charge them in order to preserve their rights.” The couple, who have remained dignified throughout the barrage of hurtful rumours, have now begun to fight back.
A defiant Gerry insisted that he and Kate would not allow anything to distract them from their search for their daughter.
Describing the latest attack he said: “It is extraordinary. It’s incredible. But we will come through it. We would like to come out and defend ourselves, that’s your gut reaction. But some of the claims “are so preposterous that you just think ‘Are you just fuelling it?’ by responding?”
After Madeleine’s disappearance on May 3 in Praia da Luz, the couple decided to remain in Portugal. However, amid increasing pressure from the Portuguese media, they admitted they were considering returning home to Rothley, Leicestershire.
Gerry said: “I think generally we have been treated very well by the media and there has been a respect. We have been able to function pretty normally until about three weeks ago when things reached fever pitch and we did feel hemmed in. It was very unpleasant.”
Gerry said he had began to think about the future and was considering returning to work. “There’s no doubt I need to be active. It doesn’t help us sitting around. We are generally not sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves, we have tried to influence things in a positive way and we are very busy. That certainly helps me function.
“It is when we stop and dwell and look back, that is the hardest thing.
“Yes, I do see myself going back to work at some point, and it will probably be in a graded fashion,” he added. “I think Kate’s job is going to be harder because as a GP she comes face-to-face with patients more.”
Meanwhile, thousands of British expats on the Costas are joining the hunt for Madeleine amid reports she is being held captive in Spain.
Two women told detectives they are “certain” they saw the missing four-year-old girl being bundled into the back of a car at a petrol station in Cartagena on the south-east coast.
The reports have prompted a massive police search across the region for a dark green Citroen ZX hatchback after the possible sighting on Tuesday.
Around 10,000 Britons live in the area and have been warned to be vigilant by the local English-speaking radio station.
Royal Navy veteran Michael Griffiths, president of the local Lions Club for expats, is helping to coordinate efforts in Spain.
Police have visited the service station at least twice. Gerry said: “The possibility that Madeleine is alive and in Spain is very real.”
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Related
Kate McCann DID scream ‘They’ve taken her’ claims new nanny witness
The first eyewitness account of the frantic moments after Madeleine McCann disappeared can be revealed today. Nanny Charlotte Pennington confirms that Kate McCann did scream: “They’ve taken her, they’ve taken her!” The mother’s precise words have become a pivotal issue in the case, with Portuguese police questioning why she would automatically assume Maddie had been abducted.
ACCUSED: KATE AND GERRY
McCanns’ fury at claim they drugged and killed Maddie
FURIOUS Gerry McCann last night launched a blistering attack on reports that he and wife Kate drugged and killed their daughter. A Portuguese national paper said police are working on the theory that missing Madeleine died of an accidental overdose after being drugged by her parents. The tabloid report also claims the McCanns covered up the crime and disposed of the four-year-old’s body. The front page headline reads: “Police Believe Parents Killed Madeleine.”
Madeleine McCann overdose claim angers McCanns
THE family of missing girl Madeleine McCann was furious yesterday after a Portuguese newspaper report that police believed she was killed by her parents. The missing girl’s normally mild-mannered father, Gerry, could barely contain his anger at the smear, which accused him and his wife, Kate, of accidentally killing Madeleine with an overdose of sedatives. He also hit out at anonymous police sources behind the whispering campaign being waged against the couple.
14 responses so far ↓
Jim Butterworth // August 26, 2007 at 8:38 am
This surmise is not logical.
In the most unlikely event that her parents had killed her do you really think they would have initiated and maintained such a massive campaign to find her ?
Of course not, they would have wanted the matter to blow over as quickly as possible.
Definitely – they had no hand in her disappearance.
pjwalker911 // August 27, 2007 at 3:57 am
After more than three months of investigation, the police have come to the following conclusions:
1. Maddie died in the apartment.
2. The smell of a corpse was in the apartment and on the McCann’s car keys.
Witnesses also testify that Maddie was left alone to cry while the parents were out on the town with no one to watch over her or the twin toddlers. This was repeated two nights later and appears to have been a pattern. Police also noted that after Maddie was reported missing they saw the toddlers appeared to have been drugged into unconsciousness. This is their observation, so you can take it or leave it. Since the parents seemed to feel comfortable leaving a three-yr old and her 2 yr old siblings alone at night, it is not a logical leap to infer that they, being doctors, would also be comfortable giving them sedatives to try to keep them quiet.
You are missing the fact that IF they had accidentally killed their daughter through overdosing on sedatives, they would have utter hell to pay as a consequence. They are smart enough to know the following:
1. They would most likely go to jail for negligent homicide and child endangerment. Maybe 10 or 20 years.
2. They would both lose their medical careers forever and fall into disgrace.
3. They would both lose their other children as well to Child Protective Services.
4. Their family and friends would probably disown them both.
In short, they would lose EVERYTHING and their entire lives would be completely and totally ruined forever.
Now, in such a situation, what do such people do? They can’t just “let it blow over” because people are going to know their daughter is missing from the family and start asking questions. They can’t report the death to the police as an accidental drug overdose for the above reasons.
Therefore, they need to figure out another story: voila, child abduction. And just to make it stick, they would have to make this the biggest kidnapping story since the the Lindbergh Baby. And that is exactly what we have here today.
I recommend you look into the facts of the case and think it through before you state your opinions.
Windy // September 7, 2007 at 10:20 am
PJWalker – this is my theory too. I don’t understand why the British Press are so eager to condone child neglect and to rubbish the Portuguese police reports as ’smears’. I hope the truth comes out, and soon.
Unknown // September 7, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Pjwalker your so right .. i think they did it also, there is no emotion in these people ..they lost a child and all they can say is “shes lovely”pethetic parents.
Barbara H // September 7, 2007 at 5:28 pm
I recommend you look into the facts of the case and think it through before you state your opinion. Must admit this would be difficult as owing to Portugese Police procedures no one, accept them, knows the facts. Unless of course you mean the facts as reported in the press. hmmm
pjwalker911 // September 7, 2007 at 6:11 pm
Barbara H, where are you getting YOUR facts? The press reports all kinds of stuff that has to be sifted through. The press generally reports as if this is a cut and dry story of abduction and takes the side of the parents instead of presenting the evidence in an objective way. And thousands of kids go missing every year. Why has Maddy become the biggest media phenonmenon since the Lindbergh Baby and Jonbenet? I never said that they are guilty of anything. I am merely asking questions and attempting to answer them rather than just accepting the media version as the Find Maddy cult members seem to do. I merely point out that British police helped with the investigation using sniffer dogs who found A) blood and B) signs of a corpse. These bits of evidence must be looked at whether you like it or not. Now if you want to prove me wrong about that be my guest.
sabrina // September 8, 2007 at 11:38 am
Its all jumping to conclusions. We dont know the truth yet and im sure Maddelines body would have been found if that was the case.
Mary // September 8, 2007 at 3:19 pm
I totally agrree with you. And another thing that seems more than a simple coincidence, is that the two persons who claim that had saw Maddie in Marroco and Spain had been neigbhours of the McCann´s some time ago.
JW // September 9, 2007 at 3:24 am
To pjwalker911, you ask Barbara H where she is getting her facts and that the press reports all sorts of stuff and needs to be sifted through, but you make the assertion that the sniffer dogs found A) Blood an B) signs of a corps. That was actually reported by a newspaper in Portugal but was not confirmed by the police. There is also no proof that the kids were sedated. You are obviously jumping to conclusions, as are many others. Maybe try a new sifter! It’s funny that the first round of DNA checks done by police in Portugal didn’t turn up anything. Another issue is the site of the abduction, the apartment was not kept sealed for investigation. Others had already rented it. Another strange issue is that police offered a plea deal of 1-2 years if the mother admitted killing the girl. they have done this before with another woman. 1-2 years for killing a child would be ridiculous. Even John Walsh said not to jump to conclusions, that it was natural to think the parents may have done it, but they must continue with the search and looking for evidence. But I’m guessing pjwalker911 probably thinks John Walsh killed his young boy 25 years ago too!
emmarose // September 14, 2007 at 12:48 am
PJWalker…you are so right. you summed everything i’ve been thinking on the nose. they have EVERY motive to cover up this accidental death. this is a very smart educated woman who had NO idea how difficult children can be. NO IDEA. i know firsthand because my mother was valedictorian of her college….beautiful…and was the worse mother in history. she couldn’t even handle us getting sick, crying, anything. all she ever knew was accomplishment and to not be able to handle my older sister and my twin sister and me!! who were only 2 yrs younger than her was mind boggling to her. she could get a 4.0, she could be a model, but she couldn’t handle 3 kids? she never gave us sedatives but would lock us in our rooms for nap time and we were not allowed to get out of bed and my bedtime (i’m serious) was 7:00 pm until i was about 12 yrs old. i’m not kidding. by high school it was 9:00 pm. she was sort of joan crawford-ish and this woman sounds that way too. and if gerry’s not helping out, kate’s not getting to be with adults and is with kids all day, she’s starting to lose it. 3 kids under the age of 3? that’s a lot. and she’s only known success so she’s been feeding them sedatives for yrs and it’s worked. the twins as well finally shut up. but this time it backfires and madeleine vomits and chokes on the vomit and blood/hemorrhaging possibly?? she just dies in her sleep? and the parents go to check on them and go “oh sh*t!!!” and they cannot admit to family that they’ve been sedating these toddlers since birth. so they clean up the apartment, roll her up in something, and leave her in the apartment, go back to dinner and then go “oh my god! she’s been taken!”. and then they take their “trips” to the church which they had their own set of keys to to find a place to bury her. even this touches me, cause they murdered her accidentally but wanted her buried at a church. these are not bad people. they just fucked up. i think the trip to the pope..etc..was to throw people off guard and while the world was watching them, a family member?/friend? maybe disposed of the body in a rental car rented by the mccann’s. they definitely have many more accomplices who might have corpse scents on them too. i’m sure of that. the police are not fabricating this. they sound very assured they know what happened and they’re not covering for themselves. i think this couple is going to have to come clean very soon and plea bargain since they are not bad people. they just made bad choices and it backfired on them. i doubt any family ever knew they were sedating their kids. only gerry and kate knew this and like PJ said, they would go to prison, lose their licenses, never see the twins again, be possibly disowned by all family/friends and their lives would be ruined. they have EVERY reason to concoct an abduction story to save their lives from ruin. EVERY reason!
pjwalker911 // September 14, 2007 at 1:24 am
First off, I don’t think it’s a “mistake” to drug your kids to sleep for your own convenience. That’s really bordering on criminality if you ask me. The other thing is that if it was an accidental death, we can’t rule out other forms of abuse either such as the millionaire who kicked his two-year old in the head and killed her in a fit of rage. Now, IF they are found guilty, we will have to let the jury decide how bad they are. I personally feel that IF this proves to be a case of negligent homicide, the things they did before, during and after are pretty heinous, not to mention bilking some $2mil from adoring sympathizers and wasting probably millions in police and other actions to try to find Maddy. I never trusted them from the start, but that doesn’t mean it’s a open and shut case or that I’m right. There are thousands of pages of testimony and evidence to go through, so this thing could go anywhere or it could go nowhere. I have the feeling this mess might never get straightened out and there will never be a definitive verifiable closure to it. The only thing that would put closure is either a full confession from the McCanns, or that someone from the police comes forward and says all this was a big police conspiracy to frame them up. But if you apply Ockham’s Razor to this case, it seems to me it is more likely that the McCanns did the deed.
pjwalker911 // September 14, 2007 at 1:26 am
JW: go fuck yourself. you are full of shit and a total waste of time
lilly // September 14, 2007 at 6:02 am
seems obvious to me…the parents wanted to go out for dinner…gave the kid sleeping pills so she wouldnt awaken while they were gone…accidently overdosed her…didnt want to go to prison so they’ve tried this major cover up
sabrina // September 15, 2007 at 9:52 pm
Oh comon lilly, why didnt they find maddys body then, she cant have just dissapeared in to thin air. As i said we dont know the truth yet. Also kate mcann did say their waiting for when the truth will be clarified soon that they had nothing to do with their daughters dissapearance or killing. Thats a brave thing to say if they did do something to maddy.