Madeleine McCann parents: 'Cops claims we killed daughter and hid body in freezer stopped people searching for her'
Jul 08, 2014 21:38 By Paul Byrne_
Gerry McCann said of ex cop Goncalo Amaral's book: "It says Madeleine is dead, that there is no abduction and claims myself, my wife and our friends are liars and would be so cold and ruthless as to hide our daughter’s body"
Struggling to cope with the unbearable anguish of having a missing child was hard enough for Kate and Gerry McCann to bear.
But to be then accused of being involved in the death of their daughter Madeleine and covering it up came like a crushing blow to the couple.
And yesterday the pair told how allegations made in a book by disgraced Portuguese detective Goncalo Amaral left them “crushed and devastated”.
Kate said the policeman’s claims left her unable to sleep at night and are hampering the hunt for Madeleine, who vanished from the family’s Algarve holiday apartment in 2007.
And the 46-year-old former GP told a court she believed Amaral’s book, The Truth of the Lie, had turned the Portuguese people against the couple.
Kate also revealed the policeman’s smears had reached the ears of their nine-year-old son who asked her: “Mr Amaral said you hid Madeleine, didn’t he?” She was asked by judge Maria de Melo e Castro about claims she and 45-year-old Gerry dumped Madeleine’s body after she was accidentally killed in their Praia da Luz apartment.
Kate branded the allegation “far-fetched” and added: “It was about Madeleine being killed and us having moved the body and then storing her in a freezer and then transporting the body in a hire car several weeks later.
“We were so desperate to find Madeleine and I just felt it was destroying our chances.”
Asked how she felt when she first read Amaral’s book, she replied: “I was devastated. It made me feel quite desperate because of injustice I felt towards my daughter and our family.
“It was very painful to read and I felt sad for Madeleine and I also felt anxious and fearful because of the damage I felt it was doing in Portugal.
“For example, he insists Madeleine was dead. He also essentially accuses myself and my husband of being somehow involved in her disappearance and of faking an abduction. Throughout the book he consistently smears myself and my husband.”
Kate and Gerry are suing Amaral for libel, claiming his book and interviews on TV and radio are wrecking their bid to find their daughter, who was three when she vanished.
Kate said: “I think Mr Amaral’s book had most impact in Portugal. It was read by hundreds of thousands of people and this has been fortified by multiple media interviews. If they believed what he said, that Madeleine was dead, or that we were involved, they would not look for Madeleine and they would not come forward with information.”
Asked about a 2009 Portuguese TV documentary, based on the book, Kate said: “To be honest it felt even worse with regards to the potential power and damage. I felt the documentary was Mr Amaral being even more insistent.
“For me that intensified the pain because of the injustice and anxiety about the damage this could cause to the search. We were working so hard, we were flat out, drained, doing everything in our power to try and find Madeleine. It was hard enough in itself but when your efforts are being crushed in this way, it intensifies the pain.”
Kate told the hearing in Lisbon she felt anxious about returning to Portugal where she believes locals are now suspicious of her and her husband.
She said: “I still feel, and this is supported by what friends and associates have told us, that in Portugal the majority of people are against us. It also makes me feel uneasy and uncomfortable when I come to Portugal because I think people are thinking bad things about us.
“There were many, many nights where I was unable to sleep because I was too upset and crying too much. This pain and emotion was caused by what Mr Amaral was doing.”
Asked about how Sean and his twin sister Amelie have been coping with the relentless bad publicity, Kate replied: “They know Mr Amaral has written a book and about the documentary. Sean asked me in October, ‘Mr Amaral said you hid Madeleine, didn’t he?’ I just said, ‘He did, he said a lot of silly things.’”
Kate, of Rothley, Leics, told of a group in Britain called the Madeleine Foundation, which promotes Mr Amaral’s claims. She said: “They posted leaflets in our village reinforcing Mr Amaral’s theories just as the children were about to go to school.”
Kate spoke for 55 minutes before making way for Gerry. He told the court: “The book is an affront to me, my wife, my family and the people who believe in us. The documentary is even worse. It starts off that Madeleine is dead, that there is no abduction and essentially claims myself, my wife and our friends are liars and would be so cold and ruthless as to hide our daughter’s body rather than try to help her should something have happened.
“When the file was closed it was made clear there was no evidence Madeleine was dead and no evidence Kate and I were responsible for hiding her body.”
Kate and Gerry flew back home last night. A decision in the case is not expected until later this year.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/madeleine-mccann-parents-cops-claims-3830246
