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Rebuttal of "Fact" 16

Page history last edited by Chinagirl 12 years, 9 months ago

 

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16. On the night Madeleine was reported missing, two sets of police arrived, the local GNR, and then the national force, the PJ. On the first occasion, Gerry McCann fell down on his knees, spreading out his arms on the ground, rather like a Muslim at prayer. On the second occasion, both Gerry and Kate McCann repeated that same strange gesture, on the double bed in their apartment, in front of the PJ.


Verdict - Irrelevant and False.  The manner in which Gonçalo Amaral and the MMRG  describe the incident ridicules the distress of the parents of a missing child

Source - Gonçalo Amaral's video, police files 

 

 


 

 

Summary of Verifiable Facts 

 

  1. Both Gerry and Kate McCann were distraught and on the verge of collapse.
  2. It's not uncommon when people are confronted with a disaster that they turn to God for help. Prayer is one of the most basic human responses to trouble.
  3. Gonçalo Amaral wasn't present the evening Madeleine disappeared,. 
  4. What Amaral stated in his video is contradictory to what is found in the files.
  5. Neither the PJ Officers nor John Hill mentioned the incident in their statements.

 

 

Gonçalo Amaral's video, relevant sections in red

 

This is the source for the claims of the MMRG. A video based on a book written by Amaral, the coördinator, who was sacked from the investigation in early October 2007.

 

Amaral has no shred of evidence to prove it, yet his book is based on his 'thesis' that Madeleine's parents hid her body. The book and video have been banned for a while in Portugal, on instructions of a Portuguese Judge. The McCanns have brought a libel suit against Amaral.  This is ongoing. 

 

The relevant part of the video (6:05-6:23) can be seen here One can see actors kneeling on the bed while the (uniformed) GNR was standing in the doorway.

 

Transcript (Amaral speaking): 

According to the testimony of the Ocean Club’s manager, when the GNR patrol arrived on location, the child’s father threw himself at the officers’ feet, like a praying Arab, completely out of control over his daughter’s disappearance. The same scene was repeated, according to the officers, in the couple’s bedroom. 

 

You can read in the statements, how Amaral is wrong, how he is misrepresenting what's happened. 

  1. The Ocean Club manager doesn't mention the incident;
  2. It was the housekeeper who's described it like that;
  3. The McCanns were kneeling on the floor, with their heads on the bed, crying. 

 

 

Extracts from the files, with relevant sections highlighted in red

 

Witness statement John Elliot Hill Date: 2007.06.20

John Hill is the manager. There's no such incident mentioned in his statement.

 

Witness statement Silvia Maria Correia Ramos Batista 2007.07.26

(Note: there's two different versions of her statement)

  1. When she came close to the elements of the GNR she found that behind her was Gerry, Madeleine's father, accompanied by another man whose identity she doesn't remember. Then Gerry kneeled down, hit the floor with both hands, positioning himself as if he were a praying Arab, and screamed twice of anger, what he said being impossible to understand.
  2. When she arrived at the officer's location she saw that behind them was Gerry, Madeleine's father, with another person but she does not remember who it was. At that time Gerry was on the ground on his knees, he hit the ground with both his hands, looking like an Arab at prayer, and emitted two screams of rage [fury, madness] but she could not understand what he said. Then Gerry stood up and accompanied the deponent and the other person to the GNR vehicle next to the 5A apartment.

 

Witness statement Nelson Filipe Pacheco da Costa GNR officer (his third statement) 2007.10.17  

He found it notable that when they were still at the main reception, the father kneeled down, laying his head on the ground and crying, at the same time as making an expression which the witness did not understand

 

Witness statement José María Batista RoqueGNR officer (his third statement) 2007.10.17

After the search, he noticed a situation that seemed unusual to him, when at a determined moment, the girl’s parents kneeled down on the floor of their bedroom and placed their heads on the bed, crying. He did not notice any comments or expression from them, just crying. He says that at the main reception the father also knelt down, placing his head on the floor and crying. He did not hear the father say anything

 

Witness Statement Joao Franciso Pascoa Luis Trigo Barreiras 2007.11.20

PJ Deputy Specialist

Does not mention any such incident in his statement.

 

Witness statements Vitor Manuel Martins
PJ Officer

Does not mention any such incident in both his statements.

 

Rogatory Interview Matthew Oldfield 2008.04.09

So there was plenty of running around through the back streets and back to the apartment and then where's the, where are the Police, where are the Police, and so went back down to the reception, this would have been about thirty minutes or so later back to reception, and at that point, Gerry had come down as well, was obviously, sort of intermittently sort of calm and then completely, hysterically upset,

 

Rogatory Interview of Paul Seddon 2008.04.16

The first time I heard of Madeleines disappearance was in the early morning of Friday 4th May 2007.
I received a phone call from Linda who told me what had happened, and I immediately sent a text message to Kates mobile, telling her that my prayers were with them. I received a reply almost immediately and I remember Kate wrote that she felt as if the ?world was about to fall apart?.
At about 1.30 that morning Kate called me in a state of great agitation. I tried to calm her as well as I could saying that Madeleine could have had a bout of sleepwalking and that she would be all right. I remember that Kate was worried by the fact that Madeleine was wearing short sleeved pyjamas and that she could catch a cold. I felt that only a mother could think like that and say such a thing. I could perceive the trauma that Kate was experiencing from her voice. I led with prayers and other situations in my role as priest.

 

Gerry phoned me on the same night and he also seemed to me to be quite traumatised and at the same time very upset and angry. His Scottish accent, which was normally very slight, became so heavy that his sentences were almost incomprehensible.

 

Rogatory Interview of Patricia Cameron 2008.04.15

I remember hearing about Madeleines disappearance by phone on the night of 3rd May 2007. I usually go to bed late but I was particularly tired that night and went to bed early. I was woken by the phone ringing at about 23.30. It was Gerry telling me that Madeleine had been taken. He was very upset on the phone, it was the worst phone call I have had in my life. remember asking him for contacts of people in Portugal so that we could call them. Gerry was in no state to say much. I tried to remain calm for him, I suggested that he contact the British Embassy and I remember him telling me that he had spoken to the local police but they were not taking the situation seriously. I remember Gerry saying that they did not treat the matter with urgency and only stated that Madeleine must have left on her own and that she would be back later. It was so frustrating, Madeleine did not do things like that, she was not that kind of girl.

Gerry is normally very calm and serene, he has a logical perception of things, but he was hysterical ? he was shouting. He mentioned the possibility that that she could have been taken by a paedophile, I tried to calm him but there was nothing I could say to help him. I had never seen him so out of control. The pain and the anguish ? it was the worst scenario imaginable, the waiting was unbearable.

 

 

Compare MMRG statement with the actual FACTS

 

MMRG quote:  On the night Madeleine was reported missing, two sets of police arrived, the local GNR, and then the national force, the PJ. 

Actually: True.

 

 

MMRG quote: On the first occasion, Gerry McCann fell down on his knees, spreading out his arms on the ground, rather like a Muslim at prayer.

Actually: According to the GNR officers (in their third statement), Gerry knelt on the floor at the reception, crying. Matthew Oldfield describes him (Gerry) as hysterically upset.

It was the housekeeper who's described it as 'looking like an Arab at prayer".

 

 

MMRG quote: On the second occasion, both Gerry and Kate McCann repeated that same strange gesture, on the double bed in their apartment, in front of the PJ.

Actually: GNR officer mentioned that Madeleine's parents knelt on the floor and put their heads on the bed, crying. None of the PJ officers mention it.

 

 

Conclusion

 

According to the descriptions of the witnesses, Madeleine's parents were upset, devastated, hysterical, shouting, crying, collapsing on the floor.

And maybe (we can only guess) praying for Madeleine's safe return. 

 

Turning to God for help, praying, is quite common when people get struck by a disaster. When our children are in danger, who doesn't utter a quick prayer for their safety?

 

Why the housekeeper describes it the way she did and why Gonçalo Amaral and the MMRG ridiculed Kate and Gerry for collapsing and/or praying, is beyond our comprehension

 

Using others religion to mock them is highly offensive and disrespectful. 

 

BTW not all Arabs are Muslims.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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