Why are the "Tapas 9" key to solving the Madeleine mystery?
Kate and Freemason Brother Gerry McCann were dining with seven British
friends at a Tapas restaurant in the Ocean Club resort when Madeleine
was reported missing. The friends are crucial witnesses but have said
very little publicly. Police sources have claimed there are
inconsistencies in their statements to officers. The friends are Matthew
and Rachael Oldfield, Russell O'Brien and his partner Jane Tanner and
known paedophile Freemason Brother David Payne and Fiona Payne and her
mother Dianne Webster.
Did any of them see anyone taking Madeleine?
Jane Tanner told police that she saw a man walking away from the McCann
apartment at 9.15pm. Sources close to the couple have previously said
that the man had a child wrapped in the blanket and was walking in a
southerly direction. However, the London Evening Standard reported
yesterday that Ms Tanner had seen man carrying a girl dressed in
Madeleine's distinctive pink-and-white pyjamas walking eastwards,
towards the house of the official suspect Robert Murat, 33.
Do police believe this was a man abducting Madeleine?
Detectives refused to publicise the sighting for three weeks. Another
witness, Jeremy Wilkins, is reported to have told police that he was in
the area talking to Freemason Brother Gerry McCann and did not see the
mystery man.
Did anyone else in the Tapas 9 notice anything strange?
Matthew Oldfield said he had checked on the McCann apartment at 9.30pm.
A source close to the McCanns had said he did not look into the bedroom
where Madeleine was sleeping with the two-year-old twins Sean and
Amelie. But the Evening Standard report claimed he saw the twins but did
not have a view of Madeleine's bed.
Was there anything strange about the room after Madeleine disappeared?
Kate McCann was sure Madeleine had been abducted because the bedroom
window was open and the security shutter was forced open, a source close
to the family has insisted. Tests on the shutter showed no sign of
forced entry. However, another friend claimed that the shutter had been
left open.
Why has there been so much confusion?
Portugal's strict laws of judicial secrecy mean that nobody involved in
a criminal investigation is allowed to reveal any of the evidence in the
case. Portuguese police sources are regularly quoted giving
incriminating details about the McCann role in their daughter's
disappearance. Friends of the couple have increasingly been attempting
to challenge these reports with their own interpretation of events. Both
sides are actually breaking the law and could face up to two years in
jail.
Who is who in Team McCann
Clarence Mitchell
Former BBC journalist appointed as Kate and Freemason Brother Gerry
McCann's official spokesman. Represented them after being sent to Praia
da Luz by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Michael Caplan, QC
One of few solicitors to be appointed QC, expert in extradition and
international criminal law. Prevented extradition to Spain of former
Chilean president General Augusto Pinochet
Angus McBride
Leading criminal solicitor with expertise in dealing with media and
protecting reputation of individuals subject to media or criminal
investigation
Carlos Pinto de Abreu
One of Portugal's best-known lawyers with reputation for taking on
controversial cases. Lodged McCann libel action against Portuguese
newspaper which said they were police suspects.
Esther McVey
Former GMTV presenter and Conservative parliamentary candidate, trustee
and spokeswoman for Madeleine Fund. Has known Mrs McCann since they did
their A levels together.
Father Haynes Hubbard
Anglican priest at church of Nossa Senhora da Luz (Our Lady of the
Light) in Praia da Luz and his wife, Susan, have become close friends
and confidants of Kate and Freemason Brother Gerry McCann.
Calum MacRae
18-year-old Internet expert runs Find Madeleine web site which has
attracted more than 400,000 unique users and helped to raise £ millions
in donations for campaign.
Philomena McCann
Sister of Freemason Brother Gerry McCann, a head teacher, has been key
family member to publicise hunt for Madeleine and to defend her parents.
Trish and Sandy Cameron
Freemason Brother McCann's sister and brother-in-law have been frequent
visitors to the couple in Praia da Luz and Rothley. About 30 other
relatives and friends also visited them in Praia da Luz.
Why are the McCann's early television interviews being scrutinised?
Commentators have seized on the lack of emotion shown by Kate and
Freemason Brother Gerry McCann during a series of televised statements
and interviews in the weeks after Madeleine's disappearance. It is
claimed that this was an unnatural response and indicated that the
couple were hiding something.
How can the police establish Mrs McCann's state of mind?
Prosecutors are reported to want access to Mrs McCann's medical records
to see if there is any history of illness such as depression which could
explain why she killed Madeleine. They are also said to want British
police to carry out investigations into the couple's relationship and
personal history.
Could Mrs McCann's handwriting be used as evidence?
A judge has authorised police to seize Mrs McCann's diary and detectives
want a graphologist to study the handwriting, it was reported yesterday.
Alberto Vaz da Silva, a criminal psychologist and a handwriting expert,
told the newspaper 24 Horas: "It would be possible to discover the
temper and the character of the person in question. You can see if
someone is lying or hiding something."
Why could Mrs McCann's newspaper interview lead to jail?
Mrs McCann could be prosecuted under Portugal's laws of judicial secrecy
for telling the Sunday Mirror that police had seized her bible. She
said: "One of the pieces of evidence is that a page from a passage in
Samuel about having to tell a man his child is dead is crumpled - so I
must have been reading it." The 24 Horas newspaper said that the public
prosecutor could accuse Mrs McCann of breaking the secrecy law, which
carries a maximum two years' jail sentence. Varradas Leitao, a member of
the Superior Council of the Ministerial Publico, said: "A witness or an
arguida, the law is the same for everybody. You cannot divulge
procedural acts."
Who is advising Kate and Freemason Brother Gerry McCann?
British lawyers Michael Caplan, QC, an expert in international law, and
Angus McBride, a solicitor who specialises in protecting the reputation
of individuals subject to media or criminal investigation. They have
also hired a Portuguese lawyer, Carlos Pinto de Abreu, who filed the
libel action against a newspaper which said the police suspected them of
involvement in their daughter's death.
How can the couple win the battle of public opinion?
Clarence Mitchell, 46, has been appointed as their official spokesman.
He resigned as head of the UK Government's Media Monitoring Unit and had
previously been seconded to the Foreign Office to help the McCanns in
the weeks after Madeleine's disappearance.
What can Mr Mitchell do to help the McCanns?
His job at the Cabinet Office has given him contacts among senior
members of the Government and Civil Service. He also has extensive
contacts with journalists in both Britain and Portugal and more than 25
years’ experience as a reporter.
Are the McCanns paying for his services?
He has been employed by one of their wealthy backers and will continue
to work for that person after the Madeleine case is over.
Who's advising British police on the case?
Tony Connell, a member of the Crown Prosecution Service's special
casework unit, has been advising the "Gold Group" of senior detectives
at Leicestershire Police, which is investigating the Madeleine case. Mr
Connell led the review which led to the conviction of Damilola Taylor's
killers.
Could the McCanns be prosecuted in Britain?
It is possible to prosecute a British citizen for a murder or
manslaughter abroad under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. This
was last done in 2005 when Christopher Newman was convicted at the Inner
London Crown Court of murdering Georgina Eager in Dublin.
Why is the McCann hire car pivotal to the investigation?
Portuguese police found traces of Madeleine's hair and bodily fluid in
the boot of the Renault Scenic, indicating that it was used to transport
Madeleine's body after her death. Scientists have said that it should be
possible to establish whether the hair came from a dead or living
person.
Is there any other explanation about how the material could have got
there?
DNA samples came from Madeleine's corpse and it would seem an amazing
coincidence that the McCanns hired a car used by their daughter's
abductor and killer. However, friends of the McCanns claim that the
couple are being framed. It has also been suggested that the samples may
have been labelled incorrectly.
Why do Portuguese police want to read Kate McCann's personal diaries?
Detectives want to check for inconsistencies with the information
previously given to police and for clues about the personal relationship
between Mrs McCann, her husband and other members of the party who went
with them to Portugal. Mrs McCann was seen regularly writing several
pages a day in the diaries.
What evidence could be held on Freemason Brother Gerry McCann's laptop
computer?
Freemason Brother Gerry McCann sent and received dozens of e-mails
almost every day from friends and people involved in the campaign to
find his daughter. It may be possible to retrieve those e-mails, which
detectives hope could provide information about the events surrounding
Madeleine's disappearance and the couple's connections with other
people.
Why does a Portuguese judge need to authorise the seizure?
Portuguese police must get an authorisation from a judge to request
items which are abroad or to retain items taken without the owner's
permission. Mr and Mrs McCann are believed to have taken most of the
objects home to Britain. There are also reports in Portugal that police
seized a copy of Mrs McCann's diaries before the couple left the country
to ensure they could not be destroyed. A judge must be asked to
authorise a seizure without the owner's consent within 24 hours.
Why didn't the Portuguese police seize these items in Praia da Luz?
It may be that the items left Portugal some time ago when Freemason
Brother Gerry McCann or Kate McCann made previous trips to Britain, or a
friend may have taken them. The couple left the Algarve morning at very
short notice.
Has the judge been asked to authorise any other seizures?
Portuguese papers reported that officers wanted to obtain Madeleine's
favourite soft toy, which Mrs McCann took home. Police seized the
Renault hired by the McCanns 25 days after Madeleine's disappearance.
The car contained samples of the girl's hair and bodily fluids.
What else has the judge been asked to do?
It has been reported that detectives want to search the church in Praia
da Luz where the couple regularly prayed after Madeleine disappeared.
They would only require an order from the judge if the priest or bishop
in charge refused to authorise the search. It has also been suggested
that police want to search a cemetery beside the church and to excavate
roads where sewers were being replaced at the time of Madeleine's
disappearance.
Who is revealing details about scientific evidence?
By law Portuguese police are prevented from revealing details of
investigations.
What scientific evidence have police collected?
In a briefings on Monday night detectives said that they found traces of
bodily fluids in the car which had probably come from Madeleine with a
large amount of Madeleine's hair in the boot of the car.
Why are the bodily fluids significant?
When pathologists refer to bodily fluids they usually mean the
putrefying substance created during the decomposition of a body tissue
and blood. This fluid is evidence that a corpse has been present, but
DNA samples are required to identify the body.
Is anyone else confirming these reports?
Sources in Britain who are assisting the Portuguese investigation have
agreed that there is "significant" scientific evidence linking Freemason
Brother Gerry and Kate McCann to their daughter's death.
Does the scientific evidence prove that Madeleine was killed?
Because the samples have degraded over time the scientists can never be
100 per cent certain that they came from Madeleine.
What happened in the four hours before Madeleine was reported missing?
Kate and Gerry McCann claim that while they dined at a restaurant with
friends regular checks were made on Madeleine and their two-year-old
twins, Sean and Amelie, at their nearby holiday apartment. Mr McCann
told police he saw his daughter asleep at about 9pm. A friend, Matthew
Oldfield, entered the apartment at about 9.30pm but did not look in the
bedroom Madeleine and the twins were sharing.
It is not known if anyone apart from Mr and Mrs McCann saw Madeleine
alive between 6pm and 10pm, when she was reported missing by her mother.
The timing is crucial but would be only circumstantial evidence in any
prosecution. Although a small child could be killed quickly it would
take time to hide a body so that it was not discovered in the biggest
search in Portuguese history.
Why did Kate McCann cry out "They've taken her?" when she discovered
Madeleine missing?
Portuguese police found it suspicious that Mrs McCann immediately
believed that more than one person had taken her daughter. This could
suggest that she knew who had taken Madeleine, perhaps people who
thought they were helping Mrs McCann by removing her daughter's body.
What were the movements of the McCann's friends on the night Madeleine
disappeared?
The McCann family had stayed at the Ocean Club resort with three other
British couples and their five children, and a single woman. Russell
O'Brien, a doctor from Exeter, left the restaurant for half an hour to
look after his own daughter, returning shortly before Madeleine was
reported missing.
His wife, Jane Tanner, was the only witness to report a man carrying
away child from the McCann's apartments. There is confusion about when
members of the party arrived at the Tapas restaurant and left to check
on their own sleeping children.
How much alcohol did the McCanns and their friends drink on the evening
Madeleine disappeared?
Kate and Gerry McCann and their friends are reported to have told
detectives they shared four bottles of wine, with another two barely
touched before Madeleine was discovered missing.
However, detectives have recovered a bill showing they downed eight
bottles of red wine and six white during the afternoon and evening.
Why was Madeleine's bedroom window and shutter open?
Kate and Freemason Brother Gerry McCann told police that the window
shutter in Madeleine's bedroom, which could not been seen from the
restaurant, had been forced open.
Police tests showed the heavy metal shutter had not been forced up from
the outside, so must have been pulled open from inside the room.
Assuming that the abductor entered through the apartment's unlocked
patio windows, why would he or she not leave by the same way or the use
the front door?
Or was the window opened to make it appear as if an intruder had used it
to enter the bedroom?
How did Madeleine's sister and brother sleep through her "abduction"?
Sean and Amelie were heavy sleepers who were not disturbed by their
sister's abduction, claim their parents. Kate and Freemason Brother
Gerry McCann have strenuously deny sedating their daughter.
Why were the McCanns allowed to leave Portugal if they are suspects?
The Portuguese authorities allowed the McCanns to return to the UK after
they agreed to reside only at their home in Rothley and to return for
further questioning if necessary.
Portuguese law states that after someone is declared a suspect, police
have eight months to conclude the investigation into that individual. If
they require further time officers can apply to the courts for a four-
month extension.
If the McCanns refused to comply with a request to return to the Algarve
for interview, Portuguese police could issue a European Arrest Warrant
under which extradition can be carried out within six weeks.
Why has it taken so long to find the evidence that could implicate Kate
and Freemason Brother Gerry McCann?
The material was only collected in a review of the investigation carried
out by Portuguese detectives with the help of British police and two
sniffer dogs. Many of the samples are very small, containing just a few
cells, while others are of poor quality because of damage by cleaning or
simply the passing of time.
What evidence were police looking for?
Detectives are searching for any evidence that proves Madeleine is dead
or contradicts the accounts of Freemason Brother Gerry and Kate McCann
and other witnesses.
What is the most important forensic evidence?
It appears the Forensic Science Service believes it has discovered
compelling new evidence, possibly from more than one source. Portuguese
detectives told Mrs McCann repeatedly that they found traces of
Madeleine's blood in a Renault Scenic hired three weeks after she
disappeared, suggesting that the missing girl's parents used the vehicle
to carry her body. It is possible to tell if the blood came from a
living person or from a corpse, and even the time of death. Unless a
body had been placed in a freezer, it would have badly decomposed during
the warm weather; leaving a mass of traces invisible to the human eye.
Does any trace of Madeleine in the hire car prove she was killed?
If the blood came from Madeleine's corpse the only other highly unlikely
explanation would be that a previous hirer had moved the body.
One report suggested yesterday that Madeleine's DNA had been found on
the floor of the McCanns holiday apartment, but because of degradation
it was based on an incomplete picture, with only 15 of the 20 genetic
markers usually used for such analysis.
What is the DNA evidence that has supposedly been found by the
Portuguese investigators?
Newspapers in Portugal have been reporting that biological fluids with
an 80 per cent match to Madeleine's DNA have been found underneath
upholstery in the boot of the McCann rented Renault Scenic. Another DNA
sample with a 100 per cent match to that of Madeleine's profile was
found in the car.
Can investigators establish if the DNA sample comes from someone who was
alive or dead?
Unlikely, according to British experts. A DNA profile does not change
just because someone dies. You can tell if DNA has degraded but that can
happen if, for example, it had been exposed to sunshine.
What about the discoveries of the "cadaver" sniffer dog?
Freemason Brother Gerald and Kate McCann were shown a police video of a
sniffer dog used to find corpses "going crazy" when it approached the
hire car. Reports also claim that is discovered the scent on the
vehicle's key fob. Kate McCann explained that in her work as locum GP
she came into contact with six corpses in the weeks leading up to
Algarve holiday.
This seems a high number for a locum GP working just a couple of days a
week but would be easy to check against surgery records.
Any evidence of Madeleine's death on Cuddle Cat?
The cadaver dog become excited when shown Madeleine's favourite soft
pink toy, called Cuddle Cat. The cat had become poignant symbol of a
mother's loss as Kate McCann carried it with her at all time from the
night of Madeleine's disappearance.
She washed it four days after the police tests, claiming it had become
dirty. The toy was potentially crucial evidence and should have been
seized by police very early in the investigation.
What evidence can be found in Mrs McCann's Bible?
Kate McCann, who became a devout Roman Catholic at the time of
Madeleine's disappearance, claims that police told her that a crumpled
page in her Bible was evidence that she was involved in the death of her
daughter. The page contained a passage from Samuel II, chapter 12,
verses 15-19, which recalls how man's child is stricken with illness
after he "scorns" the Lord.
The man fasts for seven days, refusing to get up off the ground, to try
to gain redemption - but eventually his child dies. Mrs McCann claims
that detectives told her that damage to the page proved she had been
reading it.
Why didn't David Cameron say to the McCanns: "Before we allocate
£3.6million of taxpayers money for a whitewash case review, please buy a
first class stamp and write to the Portuguese prosecutor to reopen the
process that you allowed to be shelved to defend your reputations."
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Praise be to Jahbulon, holy god of Royal Arch Freemasons
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