Could Kate McCann Be a Murderer?
From a distance, Kate McCann looked like a well-heeled holidaymaker enjoying the dog
days of summer on Portugal''s Algarve coast. But a closer look revealed the faint shadows under the 39-year-old doctor''s eyes, and the set expression on her face. Kate McCann was under stress, and with good reason, as she ignored crowds of onlookers at the entrance to Portimao''s
police station on Friday. Four months ago, on May 3, her daughter Madeleine went missing in the nearby Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz, apparently abducted from her bed after Kate and her husband Gerry left the three-year-old and her younger siblings unattended to dine with friends nearby. Since then, the McCanns have spearheaded a high-profile international campaign to find Madeleine. They have traveled across Europe and to the U.S., attended an audience with the Pope and roped in celebrities such as footballers David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo to keep the case in the public eye and encourage the police to redouble their efforts to find Madeleine. But as Kate McCann submitted to a second lengthy interrogation by police in the past two days, it became clear that the couple themselves were now the focus of the
investigation.
They have been named
arguidos, official suspects under Portuguese law. This means police have evidence they believe could point to the couple''s involvement, but neither McCann have been arrested or charged with a crime. Robert Murat, a resident of Praia da Luz, was named an
arguido at the
start of the investigation but has protested his innocence and has never faced any charges. Press reports in Portugal and the U.K. have suggested that new forensic evidence may finally provide stronger clues about what might have happened to Madeleine. Yet false leads and dashed hopes have characterized the investigation almost from the start. Philomena McCann, the sister of Gerry McCann,
told Britain''s Sky News that the Portuguese police were suggesting that her sister-in-law accidentally killed Madeleine, hid the body and then disposed of it. "I''ve never heard anything so ludicrous in my life," she told Sky News. Philomena McCann told ITV News that the Portuguese police also offered Kate McCann a plea deal through her lawyer. Justine McGuinness, who heads an organization that had been raising money to search for Madeleine, told the BBC that the Portuguese authorities had based their allegations on blood found in a car rented 25 days after the child''s disappearance.
Published: September 10, 2007
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