(Descending articles in English)
Maddie serait morte d’une overdose
Société
Publié le 12 septembre 2007 à 15h51
Mis à jour le 7 janvier 2011 à 11h30
Le liquide découvert dans le coffre de la Renault louée par les McCann, vingt-cinq jours après la disparition de leur fille, a été analysé : les résultats indiquent que Maddie aurait avalé « une importante » dose de somnifères.
Le procureur général de la République du Portugal l’a assuré hier : les agendas et la correspondance des McCann ont été joints au rapport d’enquête, un dossier en dix volumes de plus de 1.000 pages.
Hier, les enquêteurs semblaient convaincus que des détails sur ce qui s’est réellement passé avec la petite Anglaise pourraient y être consignés.
Dans le même temps, on apprenait que le ministère public, en la personne du procureur de Portimao, José Cunha de Magalhaes, devrait délivrer dans les prochaines heures aux autorités judiciaires britanniques une commission rogatoire afin que soient interrogés des proches des époux McCann. En particulier les personnes qui dînaient avec eux au moment de la disparition de leur fille alors que, selon leurs affirmations, elle dormait dans la chambre qu’ils louaient dans le complexe hôtelier de Praia da Luz.
En attendant, plusieurs sources locales ont affirmé que les traces retrouvées dans la voiture de location des parents de Maddie étaient en fait des « liquides corporels » dont l’ADN correspondrait à celui de la fillette.
Ces mêmes sources ont également assuré que des tests toxicologiques effectués sur ces fameux liquides « prouvaient que la petite fille avait ingéré des médicaments, sans doute des somnifères, en grande quantité ». Suffisamment en tout cas pour « faire une overdose ».
En début d’après-midi, la police a par ailleurs reçu une autorisation délivrée par le procureur général lui permettant de fouiller l’église de Praia da Luz, dans laquelle les McCann avaient l’habitude de venir prier.
Un endroit où des chiens spécialement entraînés auraient perçu une odeur de cadavre, la même que celle détectée dans la voiture du couple…
La police en profitera pour interroger le prêtre de la paroisse, Jose Manuel Paticho, afin de savoir si le couple a fait d’éventuelles confessions au sujet de sa fille.
Seule certitude, des amis des McCann, interrogés par la presse anglaise, ont assuré que ces derniers commençaient à « craquer » : « Il y a deux jours, Gerry était encore sûr de lui et combatif.
A présent, il est découragé et commence sérieusement à douter… »
(Link no longer available online)
>>>
The Telegraph
MADELEINE MCCANN 'DIED FROM OVERDOSE'
By Gary Cleland7:00AM BST 14 Sep 2007
Madeleine McCann died from an overdose of sleeping tablets, reports in a French newspaper claimed yesterday.
Guilhem Battut, an investigative reporter for the French tabloid France Soir, said Portuguese police had given prosecutors a file detailing how they thought Madeleine had died.
Battut - an experienced journalist who has worked on a number of major inquiries - claims police believe that evidence found in the McCanns' hire car will "prove that the little girl had ingested medicines, without doubt sleeping pills, in large quantities".
A source at the newspaper claimed: "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 is 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."
DNA evidence which has reportedly been found in the hire car includes hair, blood and bodily fluids which match Madeleine's.
Police are said to want to examine the vehicle again. It is currently being kept in a safe place by the family who are considering having their own tests carried out on it as they strive to prove their innocence.
Portuguese police are said to be drawing up a list of 40 new questions that they want to put to Mrs McCann. But British forensic experts expressed doubts over the claim.
Alan Baker, of the independent forensic science organisation Bericon, said: "These samples are likely to be far from ideal. If it is just a smear or dried deposit you could detect the drug but not how much."
Last night friends of the family dismissed the latest speculation. Gerry McCann reportedly told a friend: "There are large craters in every one of these theories, in these ludicrous accusations.'
"As far as Kate and I are concerned there is no evidence to suggest that Madeleine is dead.
We are 100 per cent together on this, not one grain of suspicion about each other."
A close friend of Mrs McCann's said: "She is a gentle mother who loves her children very much.''
The Telegraph
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Report: Madeleine died from overdose
Original Source| UPI.COM
Sept. 14, 2007 at 7:17 AM
LONDON, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Madeleine McCann's parents have dismissed new accusations their daughter died from an accidental overdose of sleeping pills.
"There are large craters in every one of these theories, in these ludicrous accusations," Gerry McCann reportedly told family friends Thursday night, London's Telegraph reported Friday.
Gerry and Kate McCann, of Rothley, England, are suspects in the May 3 disappearance of their daughter, then age 3, from a vacation apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, The Telegraph reported.
The French tabloid France Soir claimed Portuguese police found evidence in the McCann's rental car that reportedly proves Madeleine ingested a large amount of sleeping pills, The Telegraph reported.
Some British forensic experts have maintained the DNA evidence reportedly found in the car's trunk isn't reliable.
"These samples are likely to be far from ideal," Alan Baker, of the independent forensic science group Bericon, told The Independent. "If it is just a smear or dried deposit you could detect the drug but not how much."
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Madeleine overdose claim denied
Original Source| BBC
Friday, 14 September 2007
Gerry McCann and his wife met lawyers in London
The father of missing four-year-old Madeleine McCann has
dismissed a French press report that his daughter died from an overdose of sleeping pills.
Gerry McCann said the accusation by France Soir newspaper was "ludicrous".
Mr McCann and his wife Kate were named a week ago as formal suspects in the disappearance of their daughter in May while holidaying in Portugal.
They deny any involvement in her disappearance and spent Friday with their lawyers Kingsley Napley.
According to the Sun, Mr McCann told a friend: "There are large craters in every one of these theories, in these just ludicrous accusations."
Portuguese press have also reported that detectives may not have any "concrete" evidence to charge the couple as DNA traces of Madeleine in the holiday apartment and a rental car did not prove anything conclusive.
A Portuguese prosecutor handed the police file to a judge this week. The judge has 10 days to consider the 1,000-page dossier and review the evidence.
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Madeleine died of 'sleeping pill overdose'
Source| nzherald.co.nz
9:07 AM Friday Sep 14, 2007
Madeleine died of 'sleeping pill overdose' - report
A French newspaper has reported that Madeleine McCann, whose body has not yet been found, died from an overdose of sleeping pills.
France Soir says it has seen evidence that body fluids found in the boot of the missing girl's parents' Renault Scenic hire car prove that she had been sedated.
Analysis of the fluids showed four-year-old Madeleine had ingested large quantities of sleeping pills, it said.
Investigative journalist Guilhem Bettut, who made the astounding claims in France Soir, said a report outlining how she died was already with Portuguese prosecutors.
He said analysis of the boot "prove that the little girl had ingested medicines, without doubt sleeping pills, in large quantities".
The quantities would have caused "an overdose", said the report.
The newspaper noted that it had seen "hard evidence" about Madeleine's "death".
Portuguese investigators have already said that "bodily fluids" with a match at least 88 per cent accurate to the missing child's genetic profile were found in Gerry and Kate McCann's hire car.
Clumps of hair were also found in the boot in sufficient quantity to show she had been there.
Scientifically, both hair and body fluids - which investigators said were not blood - will show traces of drugs, including sleeping pills.
Other reports today include that Kate McCann has invited social services workers to check on the welfare of Madeleine's twin brother and sister.
Portuguese police are still investigating Kate and Gerry McCann in relation to Madeleine's disappearance.
Meanwhile, Reverend Haynes Hubbard, Anglican Vicar in Praia da Luz has defended the McCanns in light of massive publicity.
"I've got three children and if one of them was missing my heart would be broken," he told Reuters.
"My wife would be distraught. That is the people I know. They are distraught. They want their daughter home. Their tears are tears of fear and sadness because they dont know where their daughter is. They ae not hiding anything, they are not giving false stories they want their daughter home. Sean and Amelie want their sister home."
- NZ HERALD STAFF / REUTERS
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Maddie ‘died from tablets overdose’
Source| Metro
Thursday 13 Sep 2007 9:18 pm
Maddie overdosed?
Forensic evidence shows Madeleine McCann died of an overdose of sleeping pills, it was reported last night.
Bodily fluids found in the boot of the car the McCanns rented 25 days after Madeleine went missing showed she had been sedated, said a French newspaper which claimed to have seen the evidence.
France Soir said DNA results of the fluids showed the four-year-old had swallowed enough sleeping pills to ’cause an overdose’.
Guilhem Buttut, an investigative reporter, said he had seen ‘hard evidence’ about Madeleine’s death in a report now in the hands of Portuguese prosecutors.
He said toxicological tests carried out on the liquids ‘proved the little girl had ingested medicines, without doubt sleeping pills, in quantities large enough to cause an overdose’.
Sources linked to the investigation revealed earlier this week that police discovered an 88 per cent DNA match to Madeleine in the boot of the McCanns’ rented Renault Scenic.
Clumps of hair were also reported to have been found in the boot, allegedly showing that her body had been in it.
Scientifically, it would be possible to test such bodily fluids for drugs, including an overdose of sleeping pills.
The news came as Portuguese media reported that police want to question Kate McCann again over the disappearance of her daughter.
Police may also quiz her about her diary. It has been suggested that the diary has been seen by detectives who took photocopies, but a request is being filed for possession so it can be examined in more detail.
Portuguese newspapers said yesterday that they had seen the photocopies of extracts.
Correio da Manha claimed Mrs McCann wrote in the diary that her children are ‘hysterical’ and exhausted her.
It also claimed her husband gave her little help with family chores.
It added: ‘She complains frequently that her children are “hysterical” and speaks of
Madeleine as a child whose excess activity exhausts her.
She tells also how Gerry doesn’t help her with the family chores and that she has to cope alone with her two youngest children.’
The daily Publico claimed Mrs McCann’s worries about her children’s behaviour and her difficulties disciplining them were contained in the diary.
Sources close to the McCanns said they were not aware of police plans for a second interrogation.
‘This is speculation, not fact,’ said one.
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Maddie 'died of sleeping pill overdose'
Original Source| Stuff
14 September 2007
Forensic tests show Madeleine McCann died of an overdose of sleeping pills, media reports said today.
Body fluids found in the boot of a car hired by the parents of the missing four-year-old British girl 25 days after she went missing in Portugal showed she had been sedated, according to a French newspaper which said it had seen the evidence.
France Soir said DNA results of the fluids showed Maddie had swallowed enough sleeping pills to cause an overdose.
Guilhem Buttut, an investigative reporter for the newspaper, said he had seen "hard evidence" about Madeleine's death in a report now in the hands of Portuguese prosecutors, the metro.co.uk news website reported.
Buttut said toxicological tests on the liquids "proved the little girl had ingested medicines, without doubt sleeping pills, in quantities large enough to cause an overdose".
Sources close to the investigation said earlier this week that police discovered an 88 per cent DNA match to Madeleine in the boot of the McCanns' rented Renault Scenic.
It was also reported that hair was found in the boot, allegedly showing that her body had been in it.
The McCanns are reportedly planning their own independent forensic tests on the hire car.
A family friend said the car was being kept in a "safe place", believed to be a pound at Faro airport in Portugal, The Independent newspaper reported today.
The latest revelations come as Portuguese media reported that police wanted to question Madeleine's mother Kate yet again.
Sources close to the McCanns said they were not aware of plans for a second interrogation.
Police may also quiz her about her diary, which police are seeking, along with her husband Gerry's laptop computer.
There are suggestions the diary has already been seen by detectives who took photocopies but police want to examine it in more detail.
Overnight, a warrant was passed from Portuguese authorities to British police to go to the McCanns' home in Rothley, Leicestershire, as early as today.
Portuguese newspapers said yesterday that they had seen the photocopies of extracts.
Correio da Manha said Mrs McCann wrote in the diary that her children were "hysterical" and exhausted her.
It also said her husband gave her little help with family chores.
"She complains frequently that her children are 'hysterical' and speaks of Madeleine as a child whose excess activity exhausts her," the paper said.
The daily Publico said Mrs McCann's worries about her children's behaviour and her difficulties disciplining them were contained in the diary.
Social workers have also visited the MCanns to discuss the welfare of the couple's two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.
It is standard practice for a mother or father named as a suspect overseas to have their case considered by British authorities. - Agencies
- The Press
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Gerry McCann in outburst after Maddy sleeping tablets overdose claims
Original Source| Belfast Telegraph
By Claire McNeilly
September 14 2007
Gerry McCann today slammed as "ludicrous" accusations that he and his wife played any role in the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine.
His unexpected outburst comes after a spate of unconfirmed allegations including reports that tests on a liquid found in the family's hire car suggest the four-year-old might have overdosed on sleeping tablets.
Toxicological analysis showed Madeleine consumed a "significant" quantity of the pills, the French newspaper France Soir reported yesterday, citing unnamed sources in Portugal.
But Mr McCann said that he and his wife knew they were innocent - but were frightened and had been "backed into a corner".
"There are large craters in every one of these theories, in these just ludicrous accusations," he told a friend quoted in The Sun.
"As far as Kate and I are concerned, there is no evidence to suggest that Madeleine is dead.
"We are 100% together on this, not one grain of suspicion about each other."
Meanwhile, Kate's father, Brian Healy, also spoke out to confirm that she and Gerry had been considering trying for a baby before Madeleine vanished.
"Having another child was something they've been thinking about," he told the Daily Mirror.
"But that was before Madeleine went missing.
"Now all they want is Madeleine back, and they're not thinking about anything else.
"Children are the most important thing in their lives."
The news comes as Portuguese police prepare to reinterview Kate over Madeleine's disappearance - so they can ask her over 40 questions she previously refused to answer.
It has been 134 days since the little girl went missing from her family's Algarve holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.
Shock reports in some of the other national newspapers also suggest that the little girl died of a sleeping pill overdose.
A damning police dossier is said to show that body fluids found in the boot of the Renault Scenic rented by parents Kate and Gerry, both 39, suggest she was drugged, according to the Daily Express.
Meanwhile, sniffer dogs have allegedly detected blood in an apartment close to the flat where Madeleine went missing, it was claimed in the Daily Mirror.
But, in a desperate bid to prove their innocence, reports in the Daily Mail indicate that the couple have challenged the police to produce their daughter's body as proof they killed her.
These astonishing allegations have thrown Kate - who remained silent when detectives initially put the questions to her in the presence of her lawyer, according to the Portuguese newspaper Publico - back into the spotlight. It is understood that police are now preparing to reinterview her, possibly in Britain or at headquarters in Portmoa, Portugal.
They also want fresh interviews with some of the friends on holiday in Portugal with her and Gerry.
Mrs McCann's private diary documents her struggles to look after her " hysterical" children and reveals details about the night Madeleine went missing, it was reported yesterday.
The diary is among a number of personal items prosecutors want from the young girl's parents, sources close to the investigation said.
Mrs McCann was frequently seen writing her journal in private moments after Madeleine went missing from the family's holiday apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz on May 3.
Unconfirmed reports in Portuguese newspapers suggested that her journal portrays Mrs McCann as being worn out by Madeleine's "excess of activity ".
She also complains her husband does not help with family chores, meaning that the burden of looking after their twins falls on her, according to the Correio da Manha.
Although Kate McCann does not confess to any crimes in the diary, it is considered "fundamental" to the investigation, the paper said.
A McCann family spokeswoman refused to confirm or deny any of the reports.
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Madeleine overdosed, say French
Original Source| theage.com.au
James Button, London
September 15, 2007
BRITISH girl Madeleine McCann died from an overdose of sleeping pills, a French newspaper has claimed, citing "hard evidence" in the hands of Portuguese prosecutors that "prove the little girl had ingested (the pills) in large quantities".
France Soir said it based its report on scientific analysis of bodily fluids found in the hire car of Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann.
But Britain's Daily Mail, which led its newspaper yesterday with the French report, also quoted a British forensic specialist, who expressed grave doubt the fluids showed a conclusive match with Madeleine's DNA or could reveal the presence of an excessive amount of drugs.
Eight days since the McCanns were formally declared suspects in the disappearance and possible death of their daughter, the latest report only deepens the confusion surrounding a case that has Britain talking about little else.
Portuguese newspapers have carried theories, allegedly held by police, that Dr McCann accidentally killed Madeleine with sleeping pills and that her husband helped dispose of the body.
The McCanns vehemently deny the charge and say they are being framed by police in an effort to cover their failure to solve the case.
As the McCanns consider hiring top public relations adviser Phil Hall, a former editor of the tabloid News of the World, to better manage their presentation in the media, attitudes to the couple remain divided.
Donations to the Find Madeleine fund have reached more than £1 million ($A2.25 million), yet 18,000 people signed a petition asking social workers to investigate why the McCanns left their three children unattended on the night of Madeleine's disappearance from a Portuguese beach resort on May 3.
Britain's uncertainty was captured in the Daily Mirror, which devoted the top half of yesterday's front page to an "exclusive" soft profile of the McCanns, and the bottom half to the "Maddy pills overdose" allegation.
The Daily Mail, meanwhile, named the author of the France Soir report, Guilhem Battut, as an experienced investigative journalist.
But forensic scientist Alan Baker said that while decomposing bodily fluids such as urine or vomit could be tested for the presence of drugs, it would be "very difficult" to determine the amount.
On Thursday, social workers visited the McCanns' Leicestershire home to see whether their two-year old twins should be placed on the "at-risk" register. But officials stressed the visit was standard practice in such cases, and a spokeswoman for the family said it had been made at Dr McCann's behest.
A Portuguese judge is due to decide by next Thursday whether police have enough evidence to reinterview the McCanns, as prosecutors are reportedly seeking to study a diary Dr McCann made after Madeleine's disappearance — as well as her husband's laptop — for possible clues.
Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland no doubt spoke for many people when he asked: "How could two people under constant media scrutiny possibly have carried out and hidden their daughter's body without being seen?
"How could two people unfamiliar with the local landscape have found an eventual hiding place that would still, months later, remain undiscovered? … Could anybody maintain this front, a global lie, for so long without cracking?"
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'Sleeping pills overdose killed Madeleine McCann'
Original Source| news.com.au
OCTOBER 7, 2009 5:24PM
Neil Hickey
News Corp Australia Network
IN a sensational development in the case of missing British toddler Madeleine McCann, a French newspaper has today claimed she was killed by an overdose of sleeping tablets.
The newspaper France Soir said a report outlining how the four-year-old died was already in the hands of Portuguese prosecutors.
It was claimed the report contained scientific analysis of the bodily fluids found in the boot of the car hired by Kate and Gerry McCann which "prove that the little girl had ingested medicines, without doubt sleeping pills, in large quantities". See the story in pictures here.
But already there is scepticism about the accuracy of the claims.
Britain's Daily Mail newspaper has reported that UK forensic investigators have expressed serious doubts about the evidence found in the car, pointing out the fluid was only a partial match to Madeleine's DNA.
It was also argued the sample was not strong enough to determine the presence of drugs.
Gerry McCann, a GP, and Kate McCann, an anaesthetist, were yet to respond to the claims but have maintained their innocence throughout.
On his most recent blog entry, Mr McCann insisted he and his wife were "100 per cent confident" in each other's innocence.
The couple has led a high profile international campaign to find their daughter that has included an audience wit the Pope and televised messages of support from David Beckham.
But the French newspaper report is certain to place even more pressure on the McCanns who only returned home to Leicestershire last weekend, more than 130 days since their daughter was reportedly abducted from a bedroom in the family's holiday unit in Portugal.
The France Soir article backs 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 newspaper 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 continued: "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 Guilhem Battut, the reporter whose byline appeared on the story, 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 Princess Diana.
Meanwhile, British detectives will raid the Leicestershire home of the McCanns after a Portuguese judge signed an order formally requesting their help in the investigation.
The order specifically lists Mrs McCann's diary be seized along with the laptop computer Mr McCann had with him when the family flew home from Portugal last Sunday, which he has used to write his regular blog on his Find Madeleine website.
Originally published as 'Sleep pill overdose killed Maddie'
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The McCanns: Unbelievable truth or unimaginable nightmare?
Original Source| The Independent
Madeleine's parents have returned home to a storm of allegations, leaks and accusations. Cole Moreton and Ian Herbert in Praia da Luz sift the evidence
Saturday 15 September 2007 23:00 BST
Kate and Gerry McCann returned to Britain six days ago with the tide of public opinion turning against them. The huge outpouring of sympathy and support that followed the disappearance of their three-year-old daughter Madeleine in Portugal on 3 May had given way to shock and confusion for many of their supporters when the couple were named as formal suspects by police.
They flew back to Rothley in Leicestershire with friends claiming they were being framed. But while many people could believe the McCanns were going through hell, others suddenly felt able to express rage.
A BBC Radio 5 Live phone-in on the McCanns on Monday was abandoned after a flood of critical calls. The Leicester Mercury had to withdraw a website opinion page "bombarded" with "nasty, spiteful and defamatory" comments. More than 17,000 people signed an online petition calling for Leicestershire social services to investigate the McCanns for leaving their children sleeping alone in Praia da Luz that night. Social workers did go to see them, but had been invited.
Tabloid newspapers that campaigned to Find Maddie started to run brutal headlines like: "Madeleine Was Killed By Sleeping Pills". But there was no definite proof of that at all.
The prosecutor in the Algarve passed a 4,000-page file on the case to judge Pedro Miguel dos Anjos Frias, who has until Thursday to decide what happens next. The McCanns, both 39, could be charged. Their bail restrictions could be tightened, possibly forcing them to return to Portugal. The police could be given more time. Or the whole thing could be dropped.
The leaked police case appears to be that Kate McCann accidentally killed her daughter with an overdose, and the couple then conspired to cover it up. They would have had to show extraordinary nerve in hiding the body, making repeated appeals for Madeleine's return then moving her corpse again when the world was watching almost their every move. If the accusations are false, and the McCanns innocent, then they are trapped in an unimaginable nightmare.
Which is it? As they await the decision of the judge, protesting their innocence and continuing to call for the hunt for their daughter to be stepped up again, here is what we now really know – and what we still don't.
What may the charges be?
Friends of Kate McCann say police told her they believed her guilty of "accidental homicide". Gerry McCann is said to be under suspicion of helping his wife hide the death. That could make him an accessory or lead to a charge of perverting the course of justice.
What evidence is there?
Without a body or a confession, detectives have tried to piece together a patchwork of clues about what happened that night at the Mark Warner Ocean Club resort. The McCanns say they left her sleeping with her two-year-old twin brother and sister in the apartment while they dined at a tapas bar 70 yards away with friends. Mr McCann checked on them at 9pm. A friend who was away from the dinner table for a while says she saw a man carrying a child wrapped in a blanket near the apartment at around 9.15pm, but thought nothing of it. Another friend listened outside the room at 9.30pm. Kate McCann returned to the apartment at 10pm then raised the alarm. Not all the alleged evidence against her has become public – far from it – but that which has arises from forensic investigations of the flat and a car the couple hired 25 days after the disappearance.
What was in the hire car?
The silver Renault Scenic was examined by a sniffer dog trained to detect any scent of a corpse, and police sources say they saw the dog "going crazy". Mrs McCann has said that as a GP she was with corpses before the holiday, so traces of them may still have been on her clothes. But the big breakthrough, the media claimed, was Madeleine's hair and bodily fluids being
found in the car.
How could hair be there?
If there was not much then it could have been gathered on a brush or even clothes before Madeleine's death and transferred to the car when the McCanns moved from the apartment to a rented villa. But there are strong indications from the police that there was an "unusual" amount of hair under the carpet in the boot, where the spare tyre goes, which they say could mean the young girl's body was hidden there before disposal. The tests will reveal whether the hair was torn out – by a brush, for example – or fell out, potentially as a result of death.
What could body fluids be?
Sweat, possibly, or urine from a potty, which would prove nothing. But experts say decomposing bodies give off certain kinds of fluids. Their presence would appear to place Madeleine in the vehicle after death. But as a reputable police source said, that "would not prove homicide, just that the body of the girl had been transported in the car".
What was in the flat?
One of the cadaver-sniffing dogs detected traces of a corpse there, on a Bible and Mrs McCann's clothes. Reports also say the scent formed a trail down to a local beach. Another dog reportedly found blood in a spatter pattern by the windowsill. The chief of police in Portugal, Alipio Ribeiro, said: "Various analyses were received but none of those tests are that exact (giving 100 per cent certainty) so, in other words, we cannot say blood belongs to person A or person B."
Where did the samples go?
The Forensic Science Service in Birmingham. The first results were passed to Portuguese police last week, with more to come. There has been no official comment about tests or results.
Was there a DNA match?
The bodily fluids found in the car reportedly matched Madeleine's genetic profile by 88 per cent, which the Portuguese press called "conclusive". But Sir Alec Jeffreys, inventor of DNA fingerprinting, said: "There are no genetic characters in Madeleine that are not found in at least one other member of the family. So when you have an incomplete DNA profile, that could raise a potential problem... given all other members of that family would have been in that car."
Could the samples reveal she was overdosed?
The newspaper France Soir reported that toxicology tests on the bodily fluid showed Madeleine to have died from an overdose of sleeping pills, but this has not been confirmed. Alan Baker of the forensic science company Bericon said: "These samples are likely to be far from ideal. If it is just a smear or dried deposit you would detect the drug but not how much."
What could be proved by testing the "cuddle cat"?
Very little, it would seem. The pink toy that Mrs McCann carries is her constant reminder of Madeleine. Reports suggest she washed the "cuddle cat" because it had become dirty and smelled of sun cream. At least one police officer has told reporters he finds that strange. In any case, it is obvious that Madeleine's DNA would be on her toy.
Does the search go on?
The police now appear to be looking for a body. Portuguese newspapers have reported that they will resume looking inside and around the church of Our Lady of Light in Praia da Luz where the McCanns attended services regularly.
What is in Kate's diary?
Her thoughts and feelings after 3 May, according to reports. The police have the original but under Portuguese law must apply to the judge for permission to use it. Detectives apparently believe the diary shows Mrs McCann had trouble coping with her three energetic children. However, it is not certain the diary could be used in court. Police also have Mr McCann's laptop.
What do the McCanns and/or their friends say?
They are innocent. The hunt for their daughter's true abductor has been neglected. Neither the flat nor the hire car were sealed off to protect the forensic evidence. Police should look again at the other formal suspect, Robert Murat. And detectives are ignoring the key claim about the man seen carrying a child. The battle to keep Madeleine in the public mind appears to have become an effort to rebut police leaks. Or alternatively, if you think they did it, to undermine the investigation.
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MADDY 'PILLS OVERDOSE'
Original Source| Mirror
14 September 2007
Shock claim that she died from sleeping tablets
Madeleine McCann died of a sleeping pill overdose, it was sensationally claimed last night.
Body fluids found in the boot of a Renault Scenic rented by parents Kate and Gerry allegedly prove the four-year-old had been heavily sedated.
The claim was made by French newspaper France Soir which said it had seen "hard evidence" to back it up.
Investigative journalist Guilhem Battut said analysis of the body fluids "prove that the little girl had ingested medicines, without doubt sleeping pills, in large quantities". The quantities were sufficient to cause an "overdose".
Battut said the forensic report was already with Portuguese prosecutors who are studying a 4,000-page dossier.
The file is believed to call for Kate to be accused of "accidental homicide".
Yesterday's development came as Portuguese police revealed they want to re-interview Kate, 39, who is at home with her family in Rothley, Leics.
Body fluids discovered in the tyre well of the McCanns' Renault are an 88 per cent DNA match to Madeleine, police sources have claimed.
Scientifically, it is possible to test such fluids for traces of drugs, including an overdose of sleeping pills.
Madeleine's hair has also reportedly been found in sufficient quantities to show that the youngster's body was in the Renault boot.
It can be determined if the hairs came from someone who was alive or dead.
Madeleine vanished from her family's Algarve holiday apartment at Praia da Luz 134 days ago.
Kate and Gerry, 39 - also parents of two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie - have been named as formal suspects.
Both fiercely deny any involvement in the long-running mystery.
They believe they are being set up to cover up a bungled police inquiry.
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MADELEINE DIED FROM SLEEPING PILL OVERDOSE, CLAIMS PAPER
Updated: Sep 15, 2007, 05.02 AM IST
Original Source| Mumbai Mirror
London: Madeleine McCann died of a sleeping pill overdose, it was sensationally claimed on Thursday night.
Body fluids found in the boot of a Renault Scenic rented by parents Kate and Gerry allegedly prove the four-year-old had been heavily sedated. The claim was made by French newspaper France Soir which said it had seen “hard evidence” to back it up.
Investigative journalist Guilhem Battut said
analysis of the body fluids “prove that the little girl had ingested medicines, without doubt sleeping pills, in large quantities”. The quantities were sufficient to cause an “overdose”.
Battut said the forensic report was already with Portuguese prosecutors who are studying a 4,000-page dossier.
The file is believed to call for Kate to be accused of “accidental homicide”. Thursday's development came as Portuguese police revealed they want to re-interview Kate, 39, who is at home with her family in Rothley, Leics.
Body fluids discovered in the tyre well of the McCanns’ Renault are an 88 per cent DNA match to Madeleine, police sources have claimed. Scientifically, it is possible to test such fluids for traces of drugs, including an overdose of sleeping pills.
Madeleine’s hair has also reportedly been found in sufficient quantities to show that the youngster’s body was in the Renault boot. It can be determined if the hairs came from someone who was alive or dead. Madeleine vanished from her family’s Algarve holiday apartment at Praia da Luz 134 days ago.
Kate and Gerry, 39 — also parents of two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie — have been named as formal suspects.
Both fiercely deny any involvement in the long-running mystery.
They believe they are being set up to cover up a bungled police inquiry.
KATE, GERRY WERE PLANNING ANOTHER BABY : KATE'S DAD
Kate and Gerry McCann were planning another baby before Madeleine went missing, Kate’s dad said on Thursday.
The couple, who had fertility treatment to conceive their elder daughter, four, and two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie, dreamt of a large family.
Kate’s father Brian Healy, 67, said, “Having another child was something they’ve been thinking about. Children are the most important thing in their lives. Now all they want is Madeleine back.”
- Daily mirror
DOGS DETECT BLOOD
Sniffer dogs have detected blood in an apartment close to the flat from where Madeleine went missing, it was claimed.
Detectives in Portugal, who suspect Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry of killing her, are waiting for the results of samples handed over to Britain’s Forensic Science Service. Police think tests will show Madeleine’s body was hidden in the second apartment. A senior police officer, said, “The fact sniffer dogs found the trail of Madeleine in another apartment in the complex is very important.”
Detectives fear forensic evidence found in the McCanns’ car will not support a prosecution unless cops can explain how hairs and body fluids, including blood, got there.
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Maddie 'was overdosed on sleeping pills'
Original Source| Evening Times
14 September 2007
Little Madeleine McCann had consumed a "significant" quantity of sleeping tablets and may have overdosed, it was reported today.
Leading French newspaper France Soir said sources had made the claim following toxicological tests on a liquid found in the boot of her parents' hired car.
It is the latest in a string of leaks' from Portuguese police, who say they now want to re-interview Madeleine's mother so they can ask her more than 40 questions she previously refused to answer.
Kate McCann remained silent when detectives initially put the questions to her in the presence of her lawyer, sources said.
Police also want fresh interviews with some of the friends on holiday in Portugal with her and her husband Gerry when Madeleine went missing.
Mrs McCann's private diary documents her struggles to look after her "hysterical" children and reveals details about the night Madeleine went missing, it was reported.
The diary is reportedly among a number of personal items prosecutors want from the young girl's parents.
Mrs McCann was frequently seen writing her journal in private moments after Madeleine went missing from the family's holiday apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz on May 3.
Detectives appear to be working on a theory Mrs McCann killed Madeleine by accident and covered up the death by claiming she was abducted.
Mr McCann's alleged role is not clear, but sources say police believe he might have been an accessory to the killing.
But Mr McCann said these were "ludicrous accusations".
Meanwhile, social workers visited Madeleine's parents at their home in Rothley, Leicestershire, yesterday to discuss the welfare of their other two children.
The McCanns invited the officials for talks about two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie in the light of their being named as suspects in their eldest daughter's disappearance.
It is not known what was discussed at the meeting or what, if anything, was decided from it.
Mr McCann's brother, John, said: "They will co-operate with anyone who has the family's best interests at heart."
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McCann: sleeping pill line 'ludicrous'
Original Source| Channel 4
14 September 2007
Gerry McCann, the father of missing Madeleine, today dismissed allegations that his daughter might have accidentally died of a sleeping tablet overdose.
McCann said the theory put out by a French newspaper was "ludicrous".
According to a France Soir report yesterday - which quoted unnamed sources in Portugal - toxicological analysis showed Madeleine consumed a "significant" quantity of the pills.
Traces of sleeping tablets were identified in the DNA samples from bodily fluids found in the McCann's hire car, the paper said.
'We are 100 per cent together on this, not one grain of suspicion about each other.'
Gerry McCann
The hire car was rented by the family 25 days after Madeleine's disappearance.
The car was at the centre of police inquiries last weekend when both Gerry and Kate McCann were named as arguidos - formal suspects - in the case.
But Mr McCann told a friend that this was just another line of inquiry that lacked substance.
"There are large craters in every one of these theories, in these just ludicrous accusations," he told a friend, quoted in this morning's The Sun.
"As far as Kate and I are concerned, there is no evidence to suggest that Madeleine is dead.
"We are 100 per cent together on this, not one grain of suspicion about each other."
Mr McCann said he and his wife felt they had been "backed into a corner" by the recent speculation linking them with their daughter's death.
The case is now in the hands of Pedro Daniel dos Anjos Frias, the judge appointed to oversee the police investigation. It is understood that he may rule as early as next Wednesday on whether Gerry and Kate McCann should be arrested and charged.
