# Facts, truth, imponderables (3)



## Kepharel (May 23, 2014)

*In the absence of proof*

Yesterday I took a very broad brush to how my interest in the Madeleine McCann disappearance caused me to conclude, on a daily basis, we regard our own prejudices as the truth of a matter, and how easy it is to misconceive of a collection of subjective data as being facts when searching for the truth. The published case files of the Policia Judicaire came to a conclusion about what really happened to Madeleine McCann and presented it to their version of our Director Of Public Prosecutions on 10[SUP]th[/SUP] September 2007, and here it is in translation.

_A) the child Madeleine McCann died in apartment 5A of the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz, on the evening of the 3rd of May 2007;_

_B) an abduction was simulated;_

_C) in order to make the child's death impossible before 10 p.m., a situation of checking the McCann couple's children while they slept, was made up;_

_D) Kate McCann and Gerald McCann are involved in the concealment of the cadaver of their daughter, Madeleine McCann;_

_E) at this moment, there seem to be no strong indications yet, that the child's death didn't result from a tragic accident;_

_F) from what was established until now, everything indicates that the McCann couple, in self defence, don't want to hand the cadaver over in an immediate and voluntary manner, and there is a strong probability that said cadaver was moved from its initial location. This situation is susceptible of raising questions about the circumstances under which the child's death happened."_



_Therefore, we suggest that the case files are sent to the Republic’s Prosecutor, in the Lagos legal district, for:_

_G) a possible new questioning of the arguidos Kate and Gerald McCann;_

_H) an evaluation of the measure of restraint to be applied in this case;_

_During the house search at the McCann couple’s residence, a diary style manuscript was found, already photocopied, possibly authored by Kate McCann; admitting that it may contain information that may help to reach the material truth of facts, WE PROPOSE THAT:_

_I) the photocopies of said document are presented to the illustrious Judge for the purpose of its apprehension, if legal, its translation and eventual collection of information to be included in the process files, as necessary for the investigation._

_At this date, I subject the case files to your appreciation, for you to determine whatever you may see as convenient, hence I open:_

_CONCLUSION_
_On the tenth of September, two thousand and seven_
_Chief Inspector_
_(Tavares de Almeida)_
 
A decision was then made on 21[SUP]st[/SUP] July 2008 by the judicial authorities to archive the investigation.  Section G of that decision is as follows.


_Nevertheless, anyone who feels unsatisfied about the epilogue of the investigations, will have the possibility to react against it, having the possibility of eventually changing that epilogue, by prompting diligences based on new evidence, as long as that person has the legitimacy to request them and the requested diligences are serious, pertinent and consequent. They may do so in three ways: by requesting the reopening of the inquiry, under article 279, number 1 of the Penal Process Code; by appealing hierarchically against this dispatch under number 2 of article 278, or in another case, under number 2 of article 279 of the Penal Process Code, or by requesting the opening of the instruction under article 287, number 1, item b, of the Penal Process Code. _

_Finally, it should be noted that an archiving decision may be a fair decision, although of the possible justice, and, especially, to underline heavily that the archiving of the present files does not equal a definite and irreversible closing of the process. This process, as long as the prescription deadline for the possibly committed crimes does reach its term, and if new evidence that justifies it, appears, can always be reopened, officiously or through the request of an assistant, again ordinate to a final decision of accusation or non accusation. _

_Therefore, after all seen, analysed and duly pondered, with all that is left exposed, it is determined: _

_a) The archiving of the Process concerning arguido Robert James Queriol Eveleigh Murat, because there are no indications of the practise of any crime under the dispositions of article 277 number 1 of the Penal Process Code; _

_b) The archiving of the Process concerning arguidos Gerald Patrick McCann and Kate Marie Healy, because there are no indications of the practise of any crime under the dispositions of article 277 number 1 of the Penal Process Code. _

_Article 277 number 3 of the Penal Process Code is to be fulfilled. _

_Under article 214 number 1 item a) of the Penal Process Code, the coercion measures that have been imposed on the arguidos are declared extinct. _

_Portimão, 21.07.08 _
_The Republic's Prosecutor _
_(José de Magalhães e Menezes) _
_The Joint General Prosecutor _
_(João Melchior Gomes)_
 
And with that, the Portuguese authorities dumped the whole lot on a dusty shelf somewhere in the bowels of some Civic building, the case failing for lack of evidence, but not closed should new evidence present itself.  Time now to take a look at how the internet, and Forums in particular drew up the battle lines following this decision. To prevent this discourse becoming a monolith submission I would submit my findings (albeit a little out of date now) of one of the most prominent anti-McCann Forums, which invites us to join them in a search for the truth. It is the Jill Havern Forum. I was banned from this site for ‘not being sincere enough’ :-s Anyhow, subsequently, as a vehicle for research this is what I wrote at the time.

_As I speak this morning there are 118 users on-line, 111 of them guests. The total number of registered users (members I guess) is 3,206, up from 2084 in November 2012 which tells us this Forum continues to grow.  How much of the increase is due to a drive to enlist in October 2013, following the BBC Crime-watch re-enactment is not known but could be significant.  In any 24 hours there may be around 200 registered users popping in for a look-see._


_The Forum owner ‘joined’ on __25[SUP]th[/SUP] November 2009__ so we can take it that is when the Forum came on-line.  Interestingly, Tony Bennett, their most high profile member joined on that date too; I will leave you to make your own assumptions here. More peculiar, given his ‘national’ status, is his pervasive and very influential presence in the running of the Forum, while not appearing to hold any official status._


_The forum is policed and supported as follows._


*Forum Owner*
_Co-Admin_
_Moderator_
_Forum Support_
_MM research Group_
_Knutsford Research Group_
_Fund and Private Tecs research Group_
_Madeleine Foundation__._


_Let’s take a look at these research groups._


_The Madeleine McCann Research Group appears to be behind a publication entitled “50 facts about the Maddie case that the British Media are not telling you” At least according to one pro-McCann blogger I have found on the ‘net.  It is manned by Forum members such as ‘Tigger’ and ‘PeterMac’. What is the poor, uninformed, prospective Forum member to make of this? _


_The Madeleine Foundation is a vehicle for Tony Bennett, publishing such titles as “The Madeleine McCann Case Files Volume 1” and “What really happened to Madeleine McCann? 60 reasons which suggest she was not abducted” A visit to the site has piqued my interest in Bennett and I shall be taking a closer look at him at some point._


_The Knutsford Research Group draws a blank I’m afraid.  It may be something to do with the David Edgar/Arthur Cowley investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance set up by Brian Kennedy, a wealthy McCann supporter, which operated out of Knutsford. _

_The Fund and Private Tecs Research Group maybe is just that, somebody somewhere is looking into matters relating to the McCanns considerable No Stone Unturned fund, and maybe into the shenanigans involving the antics of the sometimes farcical private investigators Kate and Gerry have employed over the years. All in all this offering of the Forum to prospective members of serious research by research groups which sound like respectable bodies of integrity is a bit of a sham.  Tecs here not being a synonym for something, rather an abbreviation for ‘detective’._
 

A ‘guest’ visit to this forum will tell you more than ever I could where 'the search for truth' will take you.  So what are we to learn from all this?  For me it is that where there is doubt there is bias and prejudice, and the first casualty is always the truth but preoccupied mortals we are, we just don't seem to care in this day and age.  I would leave you with an extract from a debate between a pro and anti McCann supporter ‘at street level’  It was posted on a pro-McCann Forum following an exchange on Twitter  though I can’t pin down the date.


_Cristobell Today at 10:42 pm_
_Gerry was deluded into believing he could fool all the people, all of the time, and lets face it, we almost had another tragedy on the scale of the death of Diana, such was the public response. _

*This sentence is not a question inquiring about the case. It is a nasty and vicious slur on a man who has committed no crime and is desperate to find his missing child? Is it any wonder when you post such vicious and hateful claims that you are labelled “a hater”?*

_Their campaign was successful beyond their wildest dreams. _

*No it was not. Do you not have the tiniest amount of understanding in that nodding head of yours that the success that the McCanns dream of is them being re-united with their daughter. Your sick pretence to understand their dreams is tantamount to an evil rejoicing in their failure to find her. Yet more good reason for that label of ‘hater’ to stick to you like glue.*


_I tend to think these days that the McCann case will forever be linked to the birth of social networks, I may have said this elsewhere. Within hours Madeleine's face was was part of a chain mail campaign, one of those pass this on to at least 10 people or your doomed emails that are now happily spammed out, but they flourished in 2007. _

*I tend to think that you are now showing your truer colours. This nastiness is the real you isn’t it? There was no “doomed email” with Madeleine’s picture. There was a great swell of love for a missing child and a real and perceived desire to do whatever could be done to find her, no matter how small that action might be. Thus thousands stood in cold stadia and watched videos in virtual silence, football stars begged for news, people went up to Brian Kennedy and literally forced money on him in the hope it might help, people passed emails willingly with the little girl’s picture in the hope they were helping. But you see none of that. You call those efforts spam and doomed emails. Your comments are absolutely sick and perverse.*




Winston Churchill once said ‘The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter’, and to see the human nature and ignorance in the above conversation I think he had a point.  I think I've said enough for today, so tomorrow I’ll look at the very sophisticated and persuasive skills of some bloggers that turned even my cynical head for a short while.  But we can’t leave without another imponderable

*Imponderable 2*

Kate McCann selectively deleted all mobile phone records after 16:35 on 27[SUP]th[/SUP] April, and before 23:17 on the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] May 2007 (the day Madeleine went missing) with the exception of a Swansea ‘wrong number’ incoming call. Her husband, Gerry was not so selective, by the time he handed his phone over to the police he had deleted all activity up to the 4th May.


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