7 New Years' Days in the Search for Madeleine McCann

by Guest 31.12.13 23:13

7 New Years’ Days in the Search for Madeleine McCann

At this time of the beginning of a New Year, I thought I’d take a little look at how the McCann Team were probably spending each of the last seven New Years, as they continued their search for their missing, ‘findable’, little girl.

On 1 Jan 2007, Madeleine was a healthy, happy 3-year-old, just turned 3½, who was enjoying her nursery school. A video taken at Christmas 2006, subsequently released by the McCanns, shows her playing happily with her younger brother and sister, each aged 1 year 10 months.

On 1 Jan 2008, the McCann Team was preparing for two big New Year stories, four months after Gerry and Kate had been made suspects. First, Gail Cooper and Paul Gordon had been interviewed by Brian Kennedy and forensic artist Melissa Little. With the help of Det Supt Stuart ‘call-me-Stu’ Prior of Leicestershire Police, the McCann Team was gearing up for the publication of a sketch of the terrifying, mustachioed, ‘Monsterman’ to the British public. Second, one of the McCanns’ Portuguese lawyers, Marcos Aragao Correia, had met on 10 December with Metodo 3 investigators Francisco Marco and Antonio Jiminez Raso at the Arade Dam in Portugal. Just 7 weeks later, a search for Madeleine’s bones in the very same dam was conducted in the bright lights of world-wide publicity.

On 1 Jan 2009, the McCann Team was concentrating on two forthcoming events. Back in November, Dave Edgar had been appointed to lead the McCann Team’s private investigators, after the debacle of the appointment of Kevin Halligen of Oakley International, who had cost them well over £½ million - for nothing. They would shortly appoint the Halkyn Mountain pigeon-fancier, Arthur Cowley, to assist Edgar. They starred in a Channel 4/Mentorn Media documentary which included a dramatised reconstruction and openly suggested that ‘Tannerman’ and ‘Smithman’ were one and the same. In addition, the McCanns’ legal team were preparing for the launch of a £1.2 million claim against Goncalo Amaral, which they eventually issued in Lisbon in June.

On 1 Jan 2010, the McCanns were preparing for the trial of Goncalo Amaral’s appeal in Lisbon, having earlier obtained, in September, a draconian injunction on his book, ‘The Truth of the Lie’. Despite some unfortunate evidence and headlines in the British press, they were successful,

On 1 Jan 2011, the McCanns were in the middle of three things: (a) getting ready Dr Kate McCann’s book, ‘madeleine’, for publication, (b) demanding that Scotland Yard carry out a review into the case and (c) preparing for an unexpected battle about Goncalo Amaral’s book in the Supreme Court. The book was a great success, and with the help of News International CEO Rebekah Brooks threatening a week of bad headlines about Theresa May, Home Secretary, Prime Minister David Cameron set up the SY Review, with the welcome news that SY could ‘take as much time and spend as much money as you like’. The news from the Portuguese Supreme Court wasn’t good, though. For the second time in 5 months, they were to lose appeals in Portugal’s two highest courts.

On 1 Jan 2012, there was work to do with the Scotland Yard Review. There were meetings with DCI Andy Redwood to arrange. Also meetings with another forensic artist who would be able to draw what Madeleine would look like aged 9 years old. All of this led to a burst of publicity in May, conveniently coinciding with the publication of the paperback version of ‘madeleine’, updated with a 13-page epilogue.

On 1 Jan 2013, there were urgent decisions to be made about the final trial of the long-running case of McCanns v Amaral. Days before the trial was due to start, the McCanns broke with the usual custom by being amongst the handful of libel claimants to request a settlement. They wrote to Goncalo Amaral’s lawyer and the court asking for time in which to settle. But their terms were not acceptable.

On 1 Jan 2014, once again in the McCann household there will be anxiety about a forthcoming libel hearing. This time we really are at the final hearing of the final libel trial, under a week away on 7 January. Then, or soon afterwards, the McCanns will learn if they’ve won. In which case, Amaral’s book will be banned again as libellous, and the McCanns could win £1 million and claim a similar amount in legal costs. On the other hand, they could lose. In which case Amaral’s book can be sold, and the McCanns will have to pay a lot of money to Amaral’s lawyers – and the lawyers for the other three defendants. The case might end up in some kind of ‘draw’. But in all three cases, the lawyers will be laughing all the way to the bank.

And Madeleine McCann is still missing.

by Jontait 01.01.14 2:55

At the risk of being obtuse, how can mccann possibly win this case?

1. GA book exactly mirrors PJ files (publicly available)
2. GA was right to discount Tanner "sighting"
3. McCann themselves harmed the search by promoting the wrong suspect & concealing info on Smithman AND CONTINUING TO DO SO

by notlongnow 01.01.14 2:58

Jontait wrote:At the risk of being obtuse, how can mccann possibly win this case?

1. GA book exactly mirrors PJ files (publicly available)
2. GA was right to discount Tanner "sighting"
3. McCann themselves harmed the search by promoting the wrong suspect & concealing info on Smithman AND CONTINUING TO DO SO

Agreed.
Would be amazed if they won.
Guessing that's why i guess they were advised to settle out of court as the press maybe damaging after the verdict.

by Okeydokey 01.01.14 3:33

notlongnow wrote:
Jontait wrote:At the risk of being obtuse, how can mccann possibly win this case?

1. GA book exactly mirrors PJ files (publicly available)
2. GA was right to discount Tanner "sighting"
3. McCann themselves harmed the search by promoting the wrong suspect & concealing info on Smithman AND CONTINUING TO DO SO
Agreed.
Would be amazed if they won.
Guessing that's why i guess they were advised to settle out of court as the press maybe damaging after the verdict.

I think it all depends on the person(s) involved in making the decision. It is clear the Portugese lawyer elite are highly politicised and took the side of the McCanns in a battle against the Police back in 2007. Don't be naive - the Portugese legal elite will be discussing this case all the time at dinner parties, receptions and so on. So it depends what view the individual judge/magistrate takes in that context. I am hoping the Portugese elite can now see just how dangerous it has been to them to try and appease Team McCann. Portugal's reputation has been trodden in the dirt as a result. How many people for instance have NOT booked holidays in Portugal because they believe the Portugese authorities to be corrupt, bungling and anti-British? - all thanks to Team McCann propaganda...?

The evidence in this libel trial couldn't be clearer but sadly in the real world objective consideration of the evidence is not always followed.

by **tigger** 01.01.14 7:29

Brilliant post! roses

by Casey5 01.01.14 16:38

If the McCanns lose they'll probably appeal so that they don't have to pay out huge sums of money -that they maybe haven't got- straight away.
They would, however, have to pay more legal fees - unless their lawyers are providing their expertise pro bono.
An appeal would give them time to raise more cash - how I don't know- but they could sell their house and rent a small one. that's what lots of people would have done to fund the search let alone legal fees.
I wonder when we hear the result, it won't be Jan 7th will it?

by Seek truth 01.01.14 22:37

Casey5 wrote: If the McCanns lose they'll probably appeal so that they don't have to pay out huge sums of money -that they maybe haven't got- straight away.
They would, however, have to pay more legal fees - unless their lawyers are providing their expertise pro bono.
An appeal would give them time to raise more cash - how I don't know- but they could sell their house and rent a small one. that's what lots of people would have done to fund the search let alone legal fees.
I wonder when we hear the result, it won't be Jan 7th will it?

Or they may want to lose anyway, lose their house so they can get a new fund from their supporters (which aren't many) and blame the portuguese.

violin

by **tigger** 03.01.14 6:57

On 1 Jan 2008, the McCann Team was preparing for two big New Year stories, four months after Gerry and Kate had been made suspects. First, Gail Cooper and Paul Gordon had been interviewed by Brian Kennedy and forensic artist Melissa Little. With the help of Det Supt Stuart ‘call-me-Stu’ Prior of Leicestershire Police, the McCann Team was gearing up for the publication of a sketch of the terrifying, mustachioed, ‘Monsterman’ to the British public. Second, one of the McCanns’ Portuguese lawyers, Marcos Aragao Correia, had met on 10 December with Metodo 3 investigators Francisco Marco and Antonio Jiminez Raso at the Arade Dam in Portugal. Just 7 weeks later, a search for Madeleine’s bones in the very same dam was conducted in the bright lights of world-wide publicity.
Unquote

Starting in December, they were negotiating a film contract worth millions. By January a bidding war between Oprah Winfrey and another chat show host was also running up to a million or more.

I'm copying this to the abductor types topic as I've always wanted to do a list of the type of abductor according to TM. I think it would be very useful and give an insight on how the changing descriptions were backed up by witnesses. Such as the estimable Ms. Cooper... laughat