Madeleine McCann's Mother to be declared Suspect
@whiteheather39 (24403)
United States
September 7, 2007 5:05am CST
Not many things shock me but this did. I know the parents are suspect in these situations but I never saw it coming in this one, even having the Pope involved with prayers. Is this going to be be another Jon Bonet inconclusive case? What do you think?
The mother of missing British girl Madeleine McCann, who disappeared in Portugal four months ago, will be formally declared a suspect on Friday, a spokeswoman for the family said.
The sudden shift in the investigation came after authorities received forensic evidence from the holiday apartment in the Algarve where four-year-old Madeleine vanished on May 3.
Since her disappearance, Madeleine's parents have campaigned relentlessly to draw attention to the case and won overwhelming sympathy around Europe. Their efforts led to a meeting with Pope Benedict in Rome who blessed a picture of their daughter."She will be formally declared a suspect," said Justine McGuinness, a spokeswoman for the McCanns. Both Kate and her husband Gerry are expected to be interviewed separately by police on Friday.
Portuguese police could not be reached for comment.
Kate McCann was questioned for about 11 hours at a police station in the Algarve on Thursday.
Under Portuguese law, declaring her a suspect would indicate that police think she may have been involved in the crime but it would not necessarily mean that she would be detained.
It could mean that she would be barred from leaving Portugal but she would also have more legal protection than as a witness, including the right not to answer questions. She would be more closely monitored by police.
The only other suspect in the crime, a Briton living in Praia da Luz, has not been arrested even though he was declared a suspect soon after Madeleine disappeared. His house has been searched twice.
A friend of the McCanns who spoke to Kate in the early hours of Friday said she was stunned at being declared a suspect."I did speak to Kate in the early hours of this morning and clearly she is stunned and disappointed. Disappointed, not only to be at this stage a suspect, but I think (at) the realization that they are not actually looking for Madeleine," the family friend told the BBC."She sounded disappointed, calm, disappointed, tired."British business tycoons and celebrities ranging from "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling to soccer stars have contributed to a reward for her return.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070907/ts_nm/britain_girl_suspect_dc;_ylt=ArIHyVdoRKRO7uay9wz5H6Zg.3QA
7 people like this
10 responses
@mizrae (587)
• United States
7 Sep 07
I heard this on the radio this morning. It's interesting that the Portuguese police will not say what the evidence is that has led to this conclusion. And since they were on vacation, why wouldn't the husband/father know if this was the case? I understand he was questioned again too, but NOT declared a suspect. I sure hope this is not the case, as there are way too many mothers already in the news for murdering their children. I cannot understand how this is so. I never once thought of doing harm to my child.
2 people like this
@ElusiveButterfly (45939)
• United States
7 Sep 07
The sad part of this whole thing is that they still have no idea of what happened to this little girl.
2 people like this
@sunshinecup (7871)
•
7 Sep 07
I tell ya this whole thing is just keeps getting worse and worse. I don't know how may have done what with the child at this point. It's so hard to tell without anyone knowing if the child is alive or well I won't say it. I just pray all the questions we have will soon be answered.
@applsofgld (2506)
• United States
22 Sep 07
I personally do not think the parents did anything to the child. They have fully co operated with authorities and have helped organize searches, etc. I think they have behaved as any bereaved parent would. Could be the authorities are grasping for straws and trying to make it look like they are onto something. I hope and pray that the little girl will be found safe and unharmed and reunited with her parents and family soon.
1 person likes this
@carolscash (9492)
• United States
7 Sep 07
This doesn't come as a surprise to me as the whole story has made me think that the mom and dad were involved. Who leaves kids that age alone in a room to go to dinner? It just doesn't add up. I am glad to hear that she is a suspect and I hope they can prove it if she did in fact murder this little girl.
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
8 Sep 07
Well Heather I have to say that this has shocked me to and why are they not looking for the Girl because they are to busy ripping into Kate at the moment in the meantime who knows what the Child is going through if she is still alive and the longer they neglect it the less chance there will be of that
@Eskimo (2315)
•
23 Sep 07
From my discussions I've already posted on the subject I think you know how much support I've given them in the past, however it is a regrettable fact that when something like this happens, then more than 50% of the time one or more of the parents have some involvement with the crime (not that I am in the least suggesting that that is what has happened here), but there does seem to be a lot of discrepancies with some of the statements, again this may just be because the portugese police are not as good at solving crimes as U.K. or U.S. detectives are.
@us2owls (1681)
• United States
9 Sep 07
Well now the Portugese Police have declared the father suspect too. I think these incompetents they call police are grasping at straws from what I have read. Why don't they get someone in there that knows what they are doing but then all the important evidence is over 4 months old. These people have got to have gone to hell and back over all this. I still find fault with them for going off and leaving these kids alone in a strange place but really - enough is enough.
1 person likes this
@tdbrower1969 (1242)
• United States
7 Sep 07
Whether it was the parents or not will have to come out in the end. I haven't followed the story closely, but it just seems like them leaving the children alone in the room was a little different. I would not leave my children alone in a room if I were more than 2 feet from it, let alone go out for dinner while they were in there. I don't know what to think of the outcome, but I do hope that they find out what happened to the little girl and that the person or persons responsible are held accountable. I guess we will just have to wait and see!
1 person likes this
