Joana's stepfather Leandro Silva certainly believes that João Cipriano was capable of just about anything, he states as much in his interview with the Algarve Press.
Certainly, the last statement given by Leonor in 2009 claims that it was her brother João who took the girl away.
Reading between the lines there appears to be several possibilities and each one involves Leonor, João or both of them. It also appears, according to Leandro, that Joana had been at risk from sexual exploitation and had in fact been examined in hospital in respect of this allegation. The finding of sperm in Joana's underwear after her disappearance is forensic evidence which again supports these allegations. Just what the hell was that little girl exposed to?
Leandro also states that Joana was becoming increasingly aggressive towards her mother and was apt to swear at her. Was Joana beginning to realise that what was being done to her was not normal? Did she threaten to expose her abuser and was murdered to keep her quiet?
Did Leonor agree to take part in a cover up and the reconstitution in order to protect João believing that if she admitted to having accidentally killed the child that she would get a reduced sentence whereas if he admitted assault with his record that he would get a much heavier sentence?
On the potential sexual abuse issue... no idea. It all seems to be a bit of a shambles, with very little that seems verifiable.
- According to some accounts, MM had unprotected sex with his girlfriend on either Joana's bed, or one nearby. Did the forensics do a DNA test to verify?
- Then, there's a story about semen found on her knickers, which was never identified, but could have been contamination due to general laundry being stuffed in the same basket.
- And, there's this somewhat odd justification... that it would have cost €10,000 for a test, which was too much and was therefore never done.
A DNA test doesn't cost €10k, surely?
http://miscarriageofjustice.co/index.php?topic=3050.msg114919#msg114919I have no idea whether any test for semen ever turned up positive on her knickers or not... nor whether this was ever more than rumour, or whether it was another mistaken test for other fluids. So far, it seems to be one of those nebulous aspects that were never quite clarified.
if a child's knickers had been found in isolation with only her DNA and semen of a male, that would indeed be suspicious. In this case, however, a child's knickers in a laundry basket with that of several adults could reveal semen (or any body fluid mistakenly assumed to be such) in a mix that would be impossible to isolate.