Madeleine McCann's parents investigated for neglect

Madeleine McCann's parents investigated for neglect


The parents of Madeleine McCann are being investigated for possibly
neglecting their daughter on the night she disappeared from their Portuguese
holiday apartment, it has been revealed.

The first published court ruling on the Madeleine case confirms that the
police inquiry covers homicide, abandonment, concealment of a corpse and
abduction.

The reference to "abandonment" suggests that Portuguese detectives are
investigating if there is evidence that Kate and Gerry McCann were negligent
in leaving their daughter alone on the night she was reported missing. The
charge carries a maximum 10-year jail sentence.

Mr and Mrs McCann, both doctors from Rothley, Leicestershire, have
strenuously denied negligence and said they were just 50 yards away at the
time their daughter was taken.

The court ruling also reveals that the public prosecutor wants access to the
content of text, audio and video messages from 10 mobile telephones believed
to belong to Kate and Gerry McCann and seven of their British friends.

Investigators are particularly interested in the content of 18 text messages
allegedly sent from an unidentified mobile number to Mr McCann between May 2
and 4 last year. They also want details of all calls made between members of
the group between 8pm on May 3 and midday of the following day.

Madeleine was reported missing at 10pm on May 3 from her bedroom at the
Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz. Her parents and their friends had been
dining at a Tapas restaurant while Madeleine and her twin 18-month-old
siblings were asleep.

The investigation has been covered by Portugal's strict laws on judicial
secrecy which meant that even Mr and Mrs McCann, who were made official
suspects last September, have been unable to access details of the inquiry
or any evidence against them.

However, details of the investigation have emerged in a court judgment, seen
by The Times, after prosecutor Magalhães e Meneses was refused access to the
content of the group's telephone messages.

He had requested a "complete listings of all telephone traffic to calls made
to and from" numbers between April 28, when the group arrived in Portugal,
and September 9, when the McCanns left the country. He also sought details
of the locations of the mobile telephones which would allow detectives to
recreat the movement of the group.

The request for access to the messages was rejected by instructional judge
Pedro Frias at the court in Portimão. He said it would breach the right to
privacy and that Portuguese law did not allow for the retrospective
interception of telephone calls.

The Évora Supreme Court of Justice has now rejected the prosecutor's appeal
and published its reasons, giving the first glimpse into the investigation.

Judge Fernando Ribeiro Cardoso rejected the application, saying: "The
details of the content of the messages can only be objected to interception
in real time, with due judicial authorization."

Portuguese police had hoped to stage a reconstruction of the events
surrounding Madeleine's disappearance tomorrow. However, they have been
forced to abandon the re-enactment after some of the McCanns friends said
they could not see the value in returning to Portugal to take part.

Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the McCanns, said: "We are pleased to see
that the investigation covers abduction. Kate and Gerry have had legal
advice in both Portugal and Britain which say that everything they did was
within the boundaries of reasonable behaviour."

He said that Mr McCann had no knowledge of the texts referred to on May 3
and 4 and had received only a few calls on his mobile in the six days the
family had been in Portugal prior to Madeleine disappearance.



http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4022991.ece


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