MADELEINE MCCANN – REVIRAVOLTA MACABRA

A MÃE DE MADELEINE MCCANN, KATE, PODE SER DECLARADA SUSPEITA FORMAL, ISTO É, ARGUIDA NO PROCESSO,
É O QUE SE DEDUZ DAS NOTÍCIAS BRITÂNICAS QUER DA «SKY NEWS«, QUER DO JORNAL DA ESQUERDA BRITÂNICA «THE GUARDIAN» :



« Madeleine: 'Horrified' Mum To Be Suspect
Updated: 10:57, Friday September 07, 2007
Kate McCann is on her way to a Portuguese police station, where she is expected to be declared a formal suspect in the disappearance of her daughter Madeleine.
She is said to be "horrified" at the latest development in the investigation.
Mrs McCann's lawyer arrived at the police station in Portimao ahead of her.
Sky News Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt said the move doesn't mean that police are close to charging Madeleine's mother.
"The police are doing this so they can ask her a list of 22 questions about the night Madeleine disappeared," he said.
"There are specific questions they need to ask and they can only do that if she is a suspect."
But a family friend said: "They are treating Kate McCann as if she is involved in some way in the death of her daughter."
It is thought Kate will face questions linked to the results of DNA tests on samples taken from the family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.
Martin Brunt said tests have also been carried out on a car the McCanns hired five weeks after Madeleine's disappearance.
"They weren't using it at the time she went missing," he said.
Brunt added that Mrs McCann is "horrified to be under suspicion".
The McCann family spokesman said: "She is shocked and surprised in several ways. First of all that such an accusation could be made against her.
"And obviously she is concerned that such a line of investigation can become a distraction from further attempts to find Madeleine."
Gerry's brother John McCann said the prospect of Kate becoming a suspect was "unbelievable".
"We just want to see exactly what the Portuguese police are saying," he said.
"We cannot believe the line that they are going down - we just find it unbelievable."
Mrs McCann, who was questioned for nearly 11 hours yesterday, expects to be made an "arguido", a formal suspect, in the case.
An arguido receives more protection under Portuguese law, including the right to remain silent in formal interviews.
Madeleine's father is due to be re-interviewed at 2pm. »

(In «Sky News» o.l.)













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« Madeleine mother 'to be declared suspect'


James Sturcke and agencies
Friday September 7, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Kate McCann is to be formally declared an official suspect by Portuguese police investigating the disappearance of her daughter Madeleine, a family spokesman said today.
The announcement is expected to be made when Mrs McCann returns to a police station in Portimao later this morning. She left the station into a media scrum early today after spending 11 hours being interviewed by investigators.
A family friend told Sky News that Mrs McCann was "amazed" and very concerned by the development in the case.
She will be declared an "arguida" - someone who has not been arrested or charged but is being treated by police as more than a witness.
It is believed the change of status will allow police to ask Mrs McCann 22 specific questions about the disappearance of her four-year-old daughter from the family's holiday apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz on May 3.
"Just before the session ended last night, they made it clear they had some further questions to ask which would require her to be in arguido status rather than just witness status," the family spokesman said.
He could not confirm what these questions were, or whether her husband, Gerry, would also be made an arguido when he reported to the police station later today.
Yesterday's police interview was the first formal one Mrs McCann has had since the day after Madeleine's disappearance and she was accompanied by her lawyer, Carlos Pinto de Abreu.
Visibly exhausted, she made no comment but Mr de Abreu told reporters that she was interviewed as a witness.
Mrs McCann has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to her daughter's disappearance.
Yesterday, a family friend Justine McGuinness said the McCanns were "victims" in the extraordinary set of events.
"Kate McCann has returned to Portimao to be questioned by the Portuguese police, to assist them in their investigations," Ms McGuinness said. "Kate and Gerry are happy to help the police in their investigations to find their daughter, as they have since she was taken."
The decision to reinterview them appeared to be a direct consequence of test results sent from the Forensic Science Service in Birmingham late on Wednesday.
Portuguese police, who have remained tight-lipped during the investigation, said yesterday that they had new evidence to work on. "Part of the tests have arrived," a source close to the investigation told the Portuguese news agency Lusa.
Evidence analysed by the Birmingham laboratory reportedly includes blood samples and other evidence gathered from the Ocean Club holiday apartment where the McCann family was staying when Madeleine disappeared.
The evidence was gathered when British officers helped their Portuguese counterparts carry out a review of the case three months after the disappearance.
The Portuguese press speculated yesterday that the scientific evidence strengthened theories that Madeleine may have died on the night she disappeared, and in the apartment itself.
But there was no confirmation of that and the respected Publico newspaper, while quoting unnamed police sources who were prepared to back the speculation, warned that previous leads had come to nothing.
In a statement yesterday, Mrs McCann said she still believed her daughter was alive. "I miss Madeleine so much," she said. "Gerry and I want to appeal again to the person or people who took her ... to do the right thing. It is not too late - please let her go or call the police."
The McCanns have remained in Portugal to help search for their daughter but have recently indicated that they are considering moving back to the family home in Rothley, Leicestershire.
Mr McCann, a hospital cardiologist, has said he would like to return to work while his wife, a GP, reportedly wants to devote herself to their two-year-old twins, Amelie and Sean.
Mrs McCann will be the second arguido in the case, along with the British ex-pat Robert Murat, who lives close to where Madeleine vanished while her parents were dining in a nearby restaurant. »

(In «The Guardian»)