Madeleine’s parents named as suspects

Police find traces of blood in McCanns’ car; 4-year-old went missing in May

PRAIA DA LUZ, Portugal - The British parents
who have run an international campaign to find their missing toddler
were declared suspects in the case Friday, their lawyer said, after
traces of blood were found in their rental car.
Kate
McCann was named a suspect in the morning when she went to a police
station in southern Portugal for her second straight day of
interrogation, lawyer Carlos Pinto Abreu said. Her husband, Gerry, who
later spent more than seven hours at the same police station, was also
declared a suspect, Pinto Abreu told reporters.
“They have not been charged, and the investigation continues,” he said without elaboratingThe girl’s aunt said police suggested
Madeleine McCann might have been killed accidentally and offered the
mother a plea deal if she confessed.
“They
tried to get her to confess to having accidentally killed Madeleine by
offering her a deal through her lawyer — ’If you say you killed
Madeleine by accident and then hid her and disposed of the body, then
we can guarantee you a two-year jail sentence or even less,”’ Gerry
McCann’s sister, Philomena, told ITV news.
Gerry McCann followed his wife into the police station surrounded by journalists and watched by dozens of onlookers.
A
police spokesman, Olegario Sousa, confirmed to The Associated Press
that police had named a new suspect, but would not say it was Mrs.
McCann. He cited privacy laws in declining to comment further. He could
not be reached for comment later on Gerry McCann.
The couple strenuously professed their innocence Friday.


The day’s developments marked a dramatic turn
in a case that has pulled at the world’s heartstrings for months, ever
since Mrs. McCann ran screaming from a hotel room saying her daughter
had disappeared. The McCanns, both doctors from central England, said
they were dining at the time in a hotel restaurant, but returned
frequently to check on Madeleine and her twin 2-year-old siblings.
Since
then, the McCanns have toured Europe with photos of Madeleine and the
child’s stuffed animals and clothing, even meeting with Pope Benedict
XVI at the Vatican. Celebrities including J.K. Rowling and David
Beckham made public appeals that helped the family raise more than $2
million.
The money, controlled by an independent auditor, is meant for charities that aid in missing children cases.


Sniffer dogs uncover blood evidence

Until
Friday, suspicion had focused on a British man who lived near the hotel
from which Madeleine disappeared and who was the only formal suspect.
But police said new forensic tests done on evidence gathered months
after the girl vanished found traces of blood in the couple’s car,
according to Justine McGuinness, a spokeswoman for the family.
The new evidence — including the traces of
blood missed in earlier forensic tests — was uncovered by sniffer dogs
brought from Britain.
McGuinness
said the police allegations against Mrs. McCann didn’t add up, since
the rental car had not been acquired until 25 days after Madeleine’s
May 3 disappearance. Gerry McCann called the allegations against his
wife “ludicrous.”
“We will fight this all the way, and we will not stop looking for Madeleine,” he wrote on the couple’s Web site on Friday.


Fresh criticism of police

Even
as public opinion reeled from the new allegations, there was fresh
criticism of police for taking so long to build their case.
John
Corner, a McCann family friend, told the British Broadcasting Corp.
that the listing of Mrs. McCann as a suspect gave him “an uncomfortable
feeling that the police are not looking outward” for Madeleine’s
abductor.
But
Sonya Sceats, an international law analyst at London’s Chatham House
think tank, said police were allowing the evidence to lead their
investigation.“It’s all turned on the DNA evidence. It only
became available very recently, and they are moving in response to
that,” Sceats said by phone.
Under
Portuguese law, formal suspects gain certain legal protections, but
police also have more latitude to question them. Police also have to
show suspects any evidence against them.
Clarence
Mitchell, a family friend and former spokesman for the McCanns, said
Friday after speaking with Mrs. McCann that she found the police
questioning — which included an 11-hour session Thursday — “grueling.”
“It’s
very intense, but she’s remaining strong and determined to prove that
they had nothing to do with their daughter’s disappearance and they are
innocent victims of the crime,” he told the AP.
Asked
about a plea deal, Mitchell said: “It is my understanding that during
the police interview with Kate McCann, senior police officers told her
lawyer that that if she were to confess to killing Madeleine
accidentally it would help her case when she came before the judges for
sentencing and that they would probably consider a relatively short
sentence of three to four years — in other words, a plea bargain.”


Reported sightings

The
McCanns’ cause, and the couple’s apparent strength in the face of
adversity, has hit a nerve among millions, who have followed their
lives as they cared for their two other children and went to church in
Praia da Luz, the seaside town where Madeleine disappeared, and where
they have stayed ever since. Photographs of the bright-eyed,
fair-haired girl have been posted throughout the world.
The
publicity has helped lead to numerous reported sightings of the girl,
from as far away as northern Europe and Morocco, amid speculation she
might have been taken by an international pedophile ring.
Just
after Mrs. McCann entered the police station Thursday, another family
representative read out a statement from her appealing to what she
called Madeleine’s abductors to “do the right thing.”
“It is not too late. Please let her go or call the police,” she said.
The
only formal suspect until now has been Robert Murat, who lives with his
mother near the hotel from which the girl disappeared. He has always
maintained his innocence. Sousa said Murat’s status as a suspect had
not changed.
.
.
.
.
.