Parents killed madeline?

[steve threlfall]

I belive it's based on a number of other issues aswell. I have not personnaly taken to the McCanns at all.

It's is best not judge these people that none of us really know. The media portrays the McCanns in whatever light best suits their own agenda. The apparent sightings have stopped so rather than lose a real money spinning story, the tabloids are now accusing the McCanns of involvement. Great .

Its best to keep an open mind and of course, the protuges police must have good reason to warrent further investigation. I just hope that they will not be hounded by those who blindly believe all that they read.

[charleski]

Does anybody know if blood tests have been taken from the twins at any point, to see if they had been sedated at any time? And what is the legal situation about doing that, presumably parental consent would be necessary in normal cases....but with the parents as suspects, what happens?

A doctor is not licenced to treat a family-member, whatever the circumstances. But many sedatives, particularly ones used for children, have a very short half-life and will not be detectable if tested hours after the event.

I really can't help feeling that this is just the Portuguese police clutching at straws as a result of the intense media interest.

[JPreston]

Ah I meant I am sure parental consent would be necessary e.g. for the authorities to take a blood sample from one of my children (at least, for the time being anyway). But if the purpose of that sample was to provide evidence to charge me with murdering their sibling, what then? Who could decide....I suppose a judge could order it....don't know. It's a moot point if there would be no traces now, but maybe hair samples or teeth or something could be used to show whether or not the McCanns were routinely doping their kids to save on babysitting fees.

[Mama Sumae]

Just seen this, it's just the police giving info on DNA sample.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/...9,00.html?f=vg

Not the best police in the world but we shall se where it goes.

Guess your distrust in the Portuguese police came up in either the released media statements from the family or maybe the fact that the Portuguese police required help from British forensic teams to collect and test those same samples.

You might as well ask how they could have disguised a rotting human body for 25 days in a Portugese summer.

The forensic evidence is tripe. The chances of a lab being able to distinguish the DNA of a child from that of a parent is minimal.
.

Hmmm i am sure the blood of a 25 days Portuguese summer child corpse is exactly the same as the blood of the living parents.

[chicken]

What if she's not dead?

It may be a wacky idea but what if the parents have her hidden somewhere and she has been in the car alive? It's not terribly likely but they might have their reasons for wanting to cause a huge media fuss?

Money, fame, talk-shows, books, etc. after she miraculously reappears?

[roddines]

Nobody (other than them as individuals not even as a couple) ever does know the real Truth even if they are convicted or not. One of them could have done something and the other might never know. Such is life and apart from being fodder for discussions...Does it even matter?

[Mama Sumae]

Nobody (other than them as individuals not even as a couple) ever does know the real Truth even if they are convicted or not. One of them could have done something and the other might never know. Such is life and apart from being fodder for discussions...Does it even matter?

That’s assuming they are hiding something in the first place, but considering those forensic evidences really exist that indeed seems to be the case. Still it’s impossible to trace the events of that night with those evidences alone, this explains the recent rounds of cross-examination followed by the Portuguese police in a clear attempt to individually question and pressurize the parents.

The McCanns are now reported to be acquiring further legal representation in particular the previous lawyer of Ramón Pinochet.

[MadduckUK]

is it true that they are swingers and Gerry isnt the farther?

[pollaxe]

The McCanns are now reported to be acquiring further legal representation in particular the previous lawyer of Ramón Pinochet.

An extradition law specialist, I believe...?

[Mama Sumae]

An extradition law specialist, I believe...?

Michael Caplan is widely referred as an expert in international criminal law and was indeed appointed by Ramon Pinochet to prevent his extradition to Spain.

[Saracen]

An extradition law specialist, I believe...?

Amongst other things. But he is undoubtedly a legal heavy gun. VERY heavy.

I must admit that something I find interesting is that the McCanns said they were staying in Portugal until Maddie was found, and other than their globe-trotting publicity trips, they seem to have stuck to that. But, with what appears to be almost indecent haste after being declared 'suspects', all of a sudden they're on about the first plane back home. We certainly can't read too much into that, but it is .... well .... suggestive.

[pollaxe]

^^Yes, that's something I found interesting too.

I must confess I'm less sure than I was a couple of days ago that the parents weren't involved. Simply on a practical level I find it hard to imagine how they could've achieved something like that though, all moral judgement aside.

As ever, conflicting reports in the media make it hard to decide (as there's now talk of large quantities of Madeleine's hair being found in the boot of the car by the spare tyre area on Sky News) but I stand by my earlier statement that we cannot make an informed judgement yet. Speculation and more speculation.

I will say that I've cherished a (perhaps naïve) hope that some day, they would find Madeleine alive somewhere but that hope is now completely gone, unfortunately. Poor kid. I really hope I'm wrong.

[merdat]

Well to be fair their flights were booked 2 weeks ago , long before they were declared 'suspects' . I certainly think they would have been very lucky people to have keep a 'body ' for 25 days then dispose of it with the 'world press' on their tail every step of the way.

[Brucelles]

I will not, personally, pillory a woman because I don't like the way she acts. I know how I would be if it were my daughter, but I also know that my father would not react by falling apart if it were my sister, even though he loves her to bits. People are just different, and doctors, more than most, have to learn to deal with some bad shirt.

If the evidence were at all compelling the McCanns wouldn't be home, they'd be in jail.

[pollaxe]

If the evidence were at all compelling the McCanns wouldn't be home, they'd be in jail.

That's another major factor in my wondering over the quality of the forensic evidence against them. I don't know how the Portuguese police work but I can't imagine them being happy with suspects leaving if there was a watertight or near watertight case against one or both of them.

[Saracen]

.... I certainly think they would have been very lucky people to have keep a 'body ' for 25 days then dispose of it with the 'world press' on their tail every step of the way.

Has there been anything, beyond media speculation, to suggest that whatever forensic evidence was found in that car came from Maddie directly?

One of the things about forensic evidence is that there are things it can tell you and things it can't, depending very much on exactly what was found. It is quite feasible for some types of forensic evidence to have been the result of transfer. Suppose Maddie regularly wrapped herself in her favourite blanket. There will be hairs, skin cells and all sorts on that blanket. If you subsequently put that blanket in the boot of a car, the odds are decent that there'll be transfer from blanket to car. At the very least, many forms of forensic evidence don't even prove conclusively that Maddie was ever in the car, even if her DNA was. Forensic techniques have improved vastly in recent years, and evidence containing samples small enough to be beyond detection limits even a relatively small number of years ago are no longer beyond limits.

As far as I'm aware, there's been nothing in the way of confirmation of exactly what forensic evidence was found in this car, and an absolutely fundamental and critical aspect of such forensic evidence is the interpretation derived from it by experts. Finding forensic evidence is one thing. Interpreting what it means is very much another thing.

In many respects, DNA is more useful for exclusionary purposes than affirmative ones, because finding DNA at crime scene doesn't necessarily tell you how or when, let alone under what circumstances, it got there.

Oh, and that same principle of transfer could work in reverse, too. DNA from a totally unrelated individual could end up on a murder victim by transfer, if the murder victim used a hire car (for instance) after that innocent person, so that person's DNA ending up on the victim doesn't mean that's who the murderer is. This is one reason why I feel a national (let alone international) DNA database is a dangerous thing - the temptation for police to find a DNA match and target their efforts on an innocent individual, ESPECIALLY in a high-profile case like this, would be immense. It tends towards putting the individual in the position of explaining how that DNA got there, which may be very hard or next to impossible to do. Just like most evidence, you have to be very careful how you interpret much forensic evidence.

Oh, and then of course there's the potential for planted evidence. Suppose a family member, friend or neighbour abducted Maddie. Is it conceivable that they could have planted evidence in the car, in order to throw suspicion on the parents and away from the guilty party? Dunno. Again, I'd suggest that it depends on exactly what was found, and on other circumstances, like whether the car was always kept secured and/or locked.

So far as I can make out, we still don't really know what was found for sure, let alone how whatever it was may have got to wherever it was found.