SMITHMAN - THE LADY DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH

When I first read about the sighting by the Smith family 8 years ago, I was astonished that the McCanns were not using it to support their claim that Madeleine had been abducted.  The Smiths, a family of 6, had seen a man carrying a child through the streets of PDL at almost the exact time that the alarm was raised, yet the McCanns went with the solitary sighting of Jane Tanner for the efit drawings and their public appeals. 

For me, the fact that they weren't using the Smith family sighting was one of the facets of this case that convinced me something was being covered up.  As more details emerged, it became apparent that the man seen by the Smiths looked exactly like Gerry McCann.  Looking at the overall picture, I considered the chances of a doppelganger of the father carrying a doppelganger of the missing child through the streets of PDL on the night of 3rd May, too much of a coincidence to dismiss. 

Even if there were a double of Gerry McCann in Portugal, or more specifically staying in the tiny resort of PDL at the same time as the tapas holiday group, what would be the chances of him being out and about at the same time as Gerry, and carrying a child who looked exactly like Gerry's missing daughter? The words snowball in hell came to mind. 

The idea that the Smith family are lying to protect a man known only casually to the grandfather is ludicrous.  Why would a nice family from Ireland embed themselves in a high profile crime and put themselves and their 12 year old daughter at risk of being charged with the very serious crime of perverting the course of justice?  Not to mention of course, that the case involved the possible death and disposal of the body of a 3 year old child. 

There is a sustained and ongoing campaign to discredit the evidence of the Smith family, not from Team McCann, but from a supposed truth seeker on behalf of Madeleine.  Why MUST he trash the evidence of these vital witnesses?  What is hoping to achieve?  And of course, how does this help Madeleine? 

The same campaigner is now attempting to discredit the evidence of the upstairs neighbour Mrs. Fenn.  Mrs. Fenn is no longer with us, but she gave statements to the police stating that she heard a small child crying for over an hour on the evening of Tuesday 1st May.  She is of course, no longer here to defend herself, so the smearing of her character is without limits.  She was also malevolently dismissed by Kate McCann in her book, who implied that she was nosy and uncaring. Bizarrely, neither Kate or Gerry asked her what, if anything, she had seen, when their daughter was allegedly taken.  Bizarre, because Mrs Fenn was in all evening and lived directly above apartment 5A.  

Returning to Smithman, when the Times revealed that an efit of Smithman existed in 2008 that had not been publicised, the McCanns claimed that they did not have the finances to publicise another suspect.  A strange excuse when you bear in mind that they were accruing millions in their Madeleine Fund and were paying a news agency £500k to keep their story on the front pages.  

In October 2013, Operation Grange and BBC Crimewatch released the Smithman efits and named him as their prime suspect.  Once more, the McCanns stuck with their own prime suspect, the sighting of Jane Tanner that was dismissed by Operation Grange as an innocent tourist collecting his child from the night crèche, and still do.  

It seems to me that the lady doth protest too much.  In this case, the lady being Tony Bennett who is up to his 9th (or is 19th) thread repeating for the zillionth time that Smithman is not Gerry McCann and the entire Smith family are of questionable character and are compulsive liars.  I actually left CMoMM because I was appalled at the stalking and harassment of this innocent family and of course others that 'dog with a bone' Bennett has stuck his teeth into. 

I have nothing but respect for the Smith family, they have kept their dignity and have stayed out of the circus created by Kate and Gerry and have maintained an honourable silence despite all the obscenities that have been hurled in their direction by a professional stalker who has attached himself leach like to their private lives. 

As I have said before, when this case comes an end, the Law must be reassessed so this type of stalking and harassment of witnesses in high profile crimes can be treated as the criminal offence it surely is.