Police believe Madeleine was 'killed by overdose of sleeping

[Daanyeer]

Police believe Madeleine was 'killed by overdose of sleeping pills and dumped at sea'

Source: Daily Mail (UK)
September 14, 2007 Author: staff


• 'Police fear Madeleine's body will never be found'
• Portuguese newspaper says 'she was dumped at sea'
• French journalist claims she died from overdose of sleeping pills
• 'Police investigate the existence of accomplices'


Portuguese police fear they will never find Madeleine McCann's body, it was claimed today.


Detectives convinced the four-year-old is dead are said to believe her remains are now gone for ever and a vital piece of evidence may be missing in any prosecution against parents Gerry and Kate.


Investigators think her body was most probably dumped in a bag weighed down with stones and thrown off a British-owned yacht at high sea, according to reports in Diario de Noticias.

The Portuguese daily newspaper said police had already investigated the vessel, owned by an English sailor in Lagos near to the McCanns holiday resort of Praia da Luz.


It headlined a front page picture of Mr and Mrs McCann with their twins, Sean and Amelie, "The police think it will be impossible to find Madeleine's body".


Inside under a page six lead headlined, "The police admit the body doesn't now exist", it claimed: "The Judicial Police admits Madeleine's body 'may not exist' so as to hide for ever evidence about what happened on the fateful night of May 3.


"Within this scenario, one of the most credible possibilties would involve the body having been thrown in a sack of stones at high sea from a yacht, namely the yacht of an English sailor in Lagos marina who was put under investigation by the authorities around the time official suspect Robert Murat's computers were being analysed."


The McCanns have already been advised by their UK lawyers that the Portuguese authorities would have difficulty prosecuting them if they do not find their daughter's body.


Portuguese police are thought to have admitted privately they fear no judge will allow the case to go to court without the key piece of evidence.


Investigating judge Pedro dos Anjos Frias is believed to have been asked by public prosecutors to authorise new searches.

Diario de Noticias said investigators were continuing to discreetly "observe and analyse" land to the south of the Ocean Club resort where the McCanns were staying and specifically the coast between Praia da Luz and the neighbouring town of Burgau.


It also claimed searches of the area would begin next week, with police accompanied by sniffer dogs re-examining caves and searching for places where earth had been moved.


The latest theory that Madeleine is dead follows claims yesterday that she died from an overdose of sleeping pills.


French investigative reporter Guilhem Battut said a report outlining how the scenario was already with Portuguese prosecutors.


The newspaper France Soir said it contains scientific analysis of the bodily fluids found in the boot of the car hired by the McCann which "prove that the little girl had ingested medicines, without doubt sleeping pills, in large quantities".


British forensic experts expressed severe doubts about the claim. They said the fluid was only a partial match to Madeleine's DNA and the sample was not strong enough to determine the presence of drugs.


Even so, the report will come as a grave blow to the McCanns. It supports theories published in Portugal that Mrs McCann was involved in Madeleine's death and her husband helped her dispose of their daughter's body.

A source at the France Soir said: "We are not simply repeating rumours carried in other papers.

"This is not a theory, but a fact contained in hard evidence in the hands of the Portuguese authorities.

"It's all very well putting theories and opinions forward, but in the end this case will be decided on evidence. As journalists, we have been trying to establish what evidence is available."

Although Battut would not reveal his sources, his newspaper claimed he had "senior Portuguese contacts".

Battut is an experienced investigative journalist who has worked on a number of major inquiries, including the death of Prince Diana.

Alan Baker, of the independent forensic science organisation Bericon, confirmed it would be possible to test decomposing bodily fluids - including urine or vomit - for the presence of drugs but said it would be "very difficult" to quantify the amount.

"These samples are likely to be far from ideal," he said. "If it is just a smear or dried deposit, you could detect the drug but not how much."


The couple have faced a barrage of allegations from the Portuguese press - all said to come from "police sources" banned under Portuguese law from discussing the case.


In another lurid headline today Correio da Manha said, "Police investigate the existence of accomplices".


It claimed: "The Judicial Police believe Kate and Gerry could have had the help of a third person in hiding Madeleine's body... or at least, that some of the friends who were with them on holiday in Praia da Luz could have helped them to cover up the lie."


The paper also said police had now ruled out as a suspect a man the McCanns' friend Jane Tanner said she had seen running away from their holiday apartment soon after Madeleine disappeared with a child wrapped up in a blanket.


The tabloid said: "Correio knows the Judicial Police are aware that man wasn't carrying any child and therefore is not in any way linked to Madeleine's kidnap."


Rival tabloid 24 horas claimed Kate McCann would be reinterviewed in the next few days by investigating judge Pedro Dos Anjos Frias, although it provided no official confirmation to back up its claim.


Close friends of the couple are expected to be interrogated by detectives in coming days.


The Daily Mail's sister paper, the Evening Standard, revealed that senior police sources have said officers want to question further at least some of the seven friends who were holidaying with the McCanns when Madeleine vanished from the family's apartment on 3 May.

It is thought Russell O'Brien and his partner Jane Tanner are among those who will be quizzed.

Questions will be asked on alleged confusion over timings as the party sat down for dinner at a tapas bar, yards from where Madeleine was sleeping in the Mark Warner complex.


Ms Tanner has already told police she saw a man carry a child from the apartment wrapped in a blanket. Mr O'Brien said he left the dining table at one point to look after his young daughter, who was ill.


It is understood the friends could be asked to return to Portugal early next week. Portuguese police are also looking at either travelling to Britain, or using British officers to carry out the interviews.


The move comes amid growing anger among those close to the McCanns who claim police have bungled the inquiry and are now making Madeleine's parents "scapegoats".


Mr McCann's sister said today that her family would be willing to sell their homes to pay the couple's legal fees.


Mr and Mrs McCann hired a top legal team in London after last week's marathon grilling in Portugal about the possibility that they were involved in their daughter's disappearance.


Ms Philomena McCann, who lives in Ullapool, said that the extended family would do all they could to support the couple both emotionally and financially.


"These things happen. Money and property is not as important as family and love, is it? Not to me anyway."