One of the biggest flaws in the case for any prosecution of the parents, is the fact that on the night of 3rd May, there was nothing odd about their behaviour, the penultimate night of their holiday, was much the same as all the previous nights. It would be impossible, the defenders say, for Gerry and Kate McCann to have enacted such a charade if something terrible had happened to their daughter. So strong is this argument, that it makes up a major part of their defence. There is no way that anybody could do that, so case closed.
Sad interview faces |
Unfortunately for the McCanns, when you give away so much information, and they have had to in order to keep the headlines, you also spill the beans bit by bit. Gerry could not resist a shot at becoming the next Samuel Pepys by keeping the world informed of his daily activities and what he had for breakfast, while simultaneously running a campaign for world domination awareness of his and his wife's his daughter's plight. A liar, fantasist, spin doctor extraordinaire and wannabe leader of the people Gerry may well be, but a writer he is not. As fascinating as his life and choice between coco pops and bran flakes might be to him, its drivel to readers, he is not Kim Kardashian and no-one wants to be just like him.
The idyllic, care free, day to day family life Gerry describes in his blog, does not correspond with the heart tugging account of the nightmare they were suffering at the hands of the Portuguese police as described in Kate's book. Gerry speaks fondly of child friendly toppings, mince and tatties and family days, as if everybody (including the PJ) were supporting them and urging them on. He was able to go from writhing on the floor and roaring like a bull, to Mr. cool, calm and collected, earnest father at the drop of a hat. Kate too, could go from smashing up furniture and self harming to a serene, tragic heroine clutching onto her husband's hand, the moment a camera was pointed at her. How do you have a screaming match with police detectives who believe you are involved in a heinous crime, then go on television and tell the world the police are not looking at you, they are looking for an abductor.
Unfortunately for Team McCann, they are not nearly as clever as they think they are. They have told us again and again and indeed given remarkable demonstrations, of how they were, and are, able to act 'normally' in the face of all adversity and in the most difficult situations imaginable. Situations that would bring most normal people to their knees.
Even Clarence confirmed, that we didn't know what was going on behind the scenes, the weeping, the wailing, the bed breaking, the thrashing around on the floor and roars of sheer pain. Yet each time Kate and Gerry appeared in front of the cameras, they were smart, polished and almost serene, with no signs whatever (apart from the huge ugly bruises on Kate's wrists and arms) of the writhing or the gnashing of teeth that went on before.
Their 'acting' was accepted without question, its the British way doncha know, and indeed they were praised for their stoicism. They were putting on a brave front and it was something to be admired, and rewarded, it lifted Gerry and Kate above the herd, it gave the masses something to aspire to, a stiff upper lip.
Don't break down in front of the camera, a psychologist (not named) advised the distraught parents, the abductor will get off on it. Advice Kate took literally and keeps close to her chest to this day. Kate rarely, if ever, cries at the mention of her daughter's name and she gives a sterling, animated performance when demonstrating the partially opened door and the whooshing of curtains. She goes through the motions of the most devastating moment of any parents' life, the moment she finds her daughter missing, without so much as a quiver of a bottom lip, a tear or any expression of guilt or remorse whatsoever. Memories of real situations arouse real emotions. Think of a lost loved one and you will either smile or shed a tear. Our memories come with emotions that cheer us up or tear us apart - that's why I advise anyone who wants to write their life story, to start with the good stuff.
August 2007 |
But all that aside, we know for a fact, that even all these years later, mothers like Sara Payne and Kerry Needham and fathers like that dear, sweet Peter Lawrence, would fall to pieces if asked to recollect the terror of the moment their beloved children went missing. Kate however gives us an animated example of 'this is what happened (you mugs) why can't you get it into your thick heads?' The relevant details of the message are highlighted and drummed home with the details spelled out (with actions) as though we are a class of 4 year olds. The downside of course was, that every wannabe armchair detective and Miss Marple set about scrutinising those finer claims to such an extent that they know exactly which way the wind was blowing that night and it wasn't gushing through Apartment 5A whooshing curtains and slamming doors.
In this curious interview, a little over 3 months since her child disappeared, Kate with her friend and film maker Jon Corner, Kate, looks relaxed, tanned and glamorous, posing on a rock set against a breath taking background. As she speaks freely, Kate gives us a light hearted anecdote about her sister-in-law choking on her full English as she discusses Kate's 'tiny tears' husband - an anecdote that makes her, if not her audience hoot with laughter. She then goes on to discuss the moment her life was destroyed forever as if a can of baked beans had fallen off the shelf.
The police are looking for a live child, and they've said that a lot |
The cloud of suspicion that hangs over the heads of Gerry and Kate McCann, has very little to do with Goncalo Amaral's theory or even the commentators and bloggers online. It all stems from their own very odd behaviour. How could the McCanns have behaved 'normally' on the night Madeleine disappeared. The answer has been staring us in the face, they have been doing it along.
Lord and Lady MacBeth
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In all these years and to the best of my knowledge only 2 direct questions were ever asked of the good doctors:
ReplyDelete1) Sabine Müller in Berlin/Germany June 2007 - "How do you feel that more and more people seem to imply you might have something to do with it?"
2) By a Portuguese journalist Sept. 2007 - ''Did you know Robert Murat?''
We know how those questions were answered/evaded. It is a bleeding shame that British journalists of the quality of Paxman and Humphrys never had the cojones to ask equally straight questions.
Considering Madeleine is a British subject.
An interview in Australia: "Did you kill your daughter?"
DeleteSandra Felgueiras also asked several direct questions; about sedatives, the dogs etc
Great again cristobell this wtf series you are doing really spells out the bleeding obvious.....the emperor has no clothes. I think the personality of these 2 goes way beyond narcissistic .....out and out fruit cakes is more appropriate......kissing strangers babies when your own child is missing wtf. You are quite right recalling difficult memories is the hardest thing normal people do. I lost my daughter for 2 hours on a beach 20 years ago and even now I can't tell the story without filing up.you really should do a full profile of them sometime. I would be interested to get your views on whether you think they do have some sort of mental illness
ReplyDelete"you really should do a full profile of them"
DeleteOh no - don't tell me that Cristobell is now a profiler!
Many thanks 10:58, I have a few more WTF Moments lined up :) It seems to me that whilst everyone is squabbling over the minutiae, they are overlooking the bleeding obvious! lol For example, there is no need for the McCanns to take a lie detector test - they take one EVERY TIME they appear on camera!
DeleteEven though we are not aware of it, most of us can detect one someone is lying to us. We are born with that ability, it comes with our meat grinding gnashers, our ability to run fast on two legs and the instinct one feels when someone is creeping up behind them with a knife. Scientists can of course describe it much more eloquently than I, but in a nutshell, if we and ancestors couldn't detect lies, we wouldn't be here now. Of course, the system isn't fool proof, but that's where natural selection and survival of the fittest comes in, but you get you gist.
In a recent opinion poll, 78% of the public said they did not believe the McCanns abduction story, and there is a good chance at least 70% of them don't know why! That is, they haven't read Goncalo Amaral's book or studied this case beyond skimming the headlines. Kate and Gerry can bring a thousand libel cases, but they cannot 'force' people to believe them anymore than the richest church in the world can force us all to believe in God. Even Jesus accepted that there would always be non believers.
It was my interest in the human psyche that drew me to this case 10:58, and it has provided a wealth of material I could never have imagined! I do indeed intend to write about the psychological aspects of the central characters, I find them endlessly intriguing.
From a psychological perspective, there is a possibility of folie a deux (shared madness) but it is difficult to tell because they have been very successful in keeping a wall around their 'real' lives. All the family, friends, bridesmaids, priests etc, who joined them on their holiday in PDL have kept their traps shut.
Also, the madness is not strictly confined to two people. It spread like wildfire! Within hours of Madeleine going missing, assorted VIPs from police and child protection agencies, lawyers, crisis managers and psychologists were booking their (1st class?) tickets on the first flights out there.
The McCanns or evil geniuses on their behalf, created a media phenomenon comparable to the death of Princess Diana. An entire channel on Sky News was devoted to Team McCann and their regular updates and every tabloid carried a sensational Maddy headline.
The McCanns were receiving donations on a scale akin to a global disaster, banks were providing helpful facilities for people to donate to the stricken parents, I even heard some supermarkets were putting out collection buckets. The sales of rubber bands, t-shirts and candles went through the roof! Exactly how many millions do you need to search for one child? £4m didn't anywhere near cut it, because by Christmas 2008, they were back begging for more. I want to do a 'kind' profile, or at least an understanding one, but when thoughts like that come into my head, it makes it very difficult. Especially, as genuine charities were often competing with them for funds.
I cannot imagine how you must have felt for those 2 hours 10:58. I once caught, quite literally, my neighbour's 4 year old little boy running through Surrey Quays bawling his eyes out. I grabbed hold of him and did my best to calm him down as a few moments later, his equally distraught mum appeared. It was around the time little Jamie Bulger went missing and there was sheer terror in her eyes, it was such a relief to see the two reunited!
Thanks cristobel tbh their personalities interest me every bit as much as the case itself I look forward to reading more of your wtf moments which personally I think is a great title it just conveys actually what you want it to convey. I can fully appreciate someone who provides you with a point by point analysis of what you say which contradicts your thoughts but a one liner like " oh no don't tell me cristobel is a profiler now" just dosent add anything to the subject" one wonders how long they sat at the keyboard fingers trembling in anticipation before they came up with that gem. Keep up the good work I sure you will be the first to admit that nobody can be right all the time but you do appear to work hard at this and there is many people like myself who have read and enjoyed your work for many years.
DeleteYou make a valid point about their offering too much detail - wind, curtains, doors, and so on. It has allowed people to prove them to be liars. If they had been more vague it would have been more difficult. They have condemned themselves
ReplyDeletePretty classy starting your blogs with the acronym for What The Fuck.
ReplyDelete18.02 Almost as classy as Queen Kate using the profanity in her book.
DeleteSometimes only the Fuck word will do, 18:02 - it has impact :)
ReplyDeleteas you are answering comments on here maybe you could provide the evidence to support the statement that you made yesterday:
Delete"Kate even did the washing on the Saturday, less than two days after her daughter was 'taken'. Strange, because she has stated many times that in the first 48 hours she and Gerry were virtually non functioning, but she was functioning enough to get the laundry on."
Ah so as an author, playwright, journalist, you consider the fuck word to be have impact do you?
DeleteNever harmed Geoff Chaucer
Delete@ 18.59
DeleteWell, it's obviously had an impact on you.
Somebody behind the scenes is scared. Religious indoctrination can sometimes make people feel terrified of certain words, their etymology and the organic nature of language. It can't be K&G because they have no problem with it, clearly.
DeleteApologies for the gaps, I've no idea how that happened. It looks weird and it wasn't spaced like that when I sent it.
DeleteSorry!
You can't beat a good 'fuck' on the page every now and then ... literary speaking, of course.
Deletehttp://www.mccannfiles.com/id165.html
ReplyDeleteAlso on 5th May 2007, two days after the announcement of Madeleine's disappearance, the police, according to Amaral, would commit an important error: "We were busy checking all the traces that came with the Ambassador. Traces that were moreover, found to be false".
New instructions from the regional national directorate of the PJ, given after the intervention of two British diplomats – Ambassador John Buck and Consul Bill Henderson – turned the investigator's attention away from the McCanns.
Kate and Gerry McCann, for the first and only time, went to hand in clothes to be washed in the Complex laundry, including Madeleine's clothes, which the inspectors only heard about two days later. Too late, according to Amaral.
"At the time we had not established exactly which clothes Gerry was wearing on the night of the disappearance nor which clothes were handed in to be washed on 5th May", says Gonçalo Amaral.
It was by means of the statements by various members of staff from the complex, linked to the laundry service, that the inspectors were to learn that the McCanns had their children's clothes - those of Madeleine and also those of Sean and Amélie - washed.
"That would never have happened without the intervention of Mark Warner and, in particular, of the Ambassador. They took advantage of the space we gave them, It was a mistake on our part", admits Gonçalo Amaral.
"Last Saturday (05/05/2007) I received a bag of clothes brought in by Mark Warner staff, and was told expressly that these belonged to Madeleine's family – there was adult clothing (male and female) and children's clothing... ", states one of the laundry workers.
Although the laundry worker only remembers a pink skirt belonging to Madeleine, she has no uncertainty in confirming that there were also other clothes belonging to the small British girl, which has also been confirmed to the police by other colleagues.
*
Also on 5th May 2007, two days after the announcement of Madeleine's disappearance, the police, according to Amaral, would commit an important error: "We were busy checking all the traces that came with the Ambassador. Traces that were moreover, found to be false".
*
""Kate even did the washing on the Saturday, less than two days after her daughter was 'taken'"
DeleteThankyou for confirming that Kate did not do the washing.
Many thanks for that 19:44, much appreciated :)
ReplyDeleteAlso of course, Gerry had to return to Rothley to get a pillow case with Madeleine's DNA - where were her clothes, the ones she had on that day? Kate makes no mention of washing on that fateful night, the kids had been bathed and in their pyjamas. Also, where was the band Madeleine had in her hair in the last photo? The hairbrushes, the toothbrushes? When the police search dogs arrived, Kate gave them a towel to pick up the scent, the towel she had used to dry Madeleine when she got out of the bath. Wouldn't her dirty clothes have been more accurate? Her socks, the sandals she wore, the slippers? When the boot of the hire car was searched, they claimed the DNA came from Madeleine's sandals that were being worn by A,***** so why the trip to Rothley?
A couple of years ago, Kerry, the mother of Ben Needham told an interviewer that they were using DNA to help find Ben. That is, hospitals worldwide, would be alerted if someone's with Ben's DNA presented to them. I am not entirely sure how the scheme worked and all my '1984' heckles go up at the mention of DNA, but I wondered why this idea had not been used for the most highly publicised missing child in the world?
Whatever way you look at it, doing the laundry, or having someone else do it, less than 48 hours of something as traumatic as your child going missing, goes off the scale on odd behaviour.
Our sense of smell at times of loss is a huge comfort. We hold and hug close to us ANYTHING that smells of our loved ones. A huge hoo ha has been made of Kate washing cuddlecat, 7 weeks after ffs, she pointed out, but we are completely overlooking the clothes Madeleine wore that day, we saw a picture of them, they appear in the last photo. Where is the pink blanket photographed on Madeleine's bed? Wasn't the blanket, poignantly left as a reminder of Madeleine lying there only hours before, be equally important as cuddlecat, and just as heart wrenching if not more so? Were the McCanns so hard up, that they had to pass Madeleine's sandals onto A*****? I recently watched a documentary where a grieving mother showed her son's wardrobe and the clothes he had worn. The way in which she clutched onto his old, worn trainers, reduced me to tears. Where are the clothes Madeleine wore that day? I had to sound like a cynic, but they would have made a great photo opportunity?
The moment Madeleine went missing, didn't ALL her possessions become treasure? The band she was wearing in her hair, the book she was colouring in? I really struggle to get past neither parent screaming 'don't you dare, that's Maddie's' when 'whoever' tore up her colouring book to make a note of their timelines. Such lack of respect for the missing child's possessions chills me.
Heartbreaking
DeleteI'm also suspicious of that double buggy being pushed around by Gerry with the cover hiding whatever was behind it. It was a very sunny day by the looks of it, and appeared to be completely blacked out. The children wouldn't be able to look out, and no-one could see in!!
ReplyDeleteAnother very interesting blog Cristobell.
I thought Gerry sucking casually one lollipop while reading banalities in sites of the internet and talking about rugby and football with one of the english police officers was odd wtf behaviour
ReplyDeleteTrying to model himself on Kojak no doubt!
DeleteWhat a shower of sad Bastards you all are .
ReplyDeleteExcellent series of articles Rosalinda, you are writing well. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe at least one child would have woken up our Son had sleeping medicine and it seems like they wanted a night out no one can relax at a meal and leave every half hour or so. But if given a drug they could relax.. so why wasn't a blood sample taken from the twins within 3 hours nothing would show after a longer time then everyone would be assured Maddie wasn't overdosed and perhaps half dozy fell and died..and why to visiting the Pope etc Gerry should be a spin doctor
ReplyDelete