In the Portuguese Algarve on 12 September 2004, a young Portuguese girl disappeared in suspicious circumstances. Her mother was later convicted of her murder and her uncle of concealing her remains.
That young girl was
Joana Cipriano aged eight years.
Joana's mother and uncle initially claimed that they had sent the girl to a local shop to pick up some groceries but she never returned. Posters were duly printed out and distributed around the area, the local Press ran a story based on the theory that the girl had been abducted. On the day that Joana disappeared a fair was being held in the village and there were many strangers milling around.
Some things just didn't add up however, the girl was seen heading home by a neighbour and there was an inexplicable delay in reporting her missing. It was also revealed that the uncle had a prior conviction for attempted murder and was prone to violence. When the full story relating to the missing girl's background and upbringing were revealed by locals, the police became even more sceptical so brought in detectives to reinterview the mother and other family members. A different story soon emerged, the mother eventually revealed that in truth she had had an argument with the child after her return from the shop, that she had hit her head off a wall to her fatal injury. She also claimed that the uncle had taken the girl out the back and hidden her in some wasteground.
Both the mother and the uncle were arrested before being arraigned on charges relating to the girls homicide. The mother was remanded in custody while the uncle was bailed so that he could assist police to recover the girls remains. Despite several searches in different areas no body was found. The police then turned their attention to the mother, she was taken out of prison and subjected to sustained physical torture in an attempt to extract information relating to the girls whereabouts. Both mother and uncle were later convicted, the mother with murder and the brother with concealment of a body. The girl's remains have never been found.
The missing girls mother, Leonor Cipriano, photographed after being returned to prison by police.
Five police officers were indicted in the torture of Leonor Cipriano including Goncalo Amaral, the lead/coordinating detective who initially ran the Madeleine McCann case. Amaral was later found guilty of misrepresenting evidence in an attempt to cover for other officers, he was given an 18 month suspended sentence. Another officer received a 2 year 6 month suspended sentence for forgery while three other officers were acquitted on the basis that the victim could not identify her abusers, she had a paper bag over her head at the time of the assaults.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1186727/Madeleine-chief-detective-convicted-falsifying-evidence-separate-missing-child-case.html243
