Could an intruder have opened the shutter and climbed in the window?

[Martina]

Yes someone exiting via the front (north) door carrying a child would look less suspicious than someone exiting the north window carrying a child.
BTW taking your idea further, how about someone exiting the front door carrying a case? Would that look suspicious?

Not very much I think.

[pegasus]

Not very much I think.

Even if a policeman happened to be standing right there and he sees a person coming out of a front door carrying a case, he won't think it suspicious, it's an everyday occurence in a tourist resort.

[misty]

Even if a policeman happened to be standing right there and he sees a person coming out of a front door carrying a case, he won't think it suspicious, it's an everyday occurence in a tourist resort.

It's even less suspicious if the nice lady coming out of the apartment is carrying a sleeping child. Or maybe the child is even walking next to her.

[a.baker]

Re - the shutters. I am confused! The shutters were allegedly found raised up. Gerry was said to have ran outside to see if the shutters could be raised from the outside,and Diane also repeats this same procedure. So who then closed the shutters in order for them to be able to attempt to raise them?

[Martina]

Re - the shutters. I am confused! The shutters were allegedly found raised up. Gerry was said to have ran outside to see if the shutters could be raised from the outside,and Diane also repeats this same procedure. So who then closed the shutters in order for them to be able to attempt to raise them?

And for what, actually?

[pathfinder73]

"However, she states that KATE had repeatedly commented that, on arriving at the bedroom, she had found the
 window of the room, with its shutter, both open. Yet, she [DW] did not notice, while at the entrance to the room, if the window was or was not open.
 - However, she wants to stress that immediately afterwards, she went outside the apartment in order to ascertain whether she would be able to raise the shutters by hand from the outside, and found it was impossible for her. Consequently she infers that at the time of her arrival at the apartment the window would have been closed." (Dianne Webster 11 May Statement)

[pegasus]

... you think the window was opened from the outside but nobody entered...

Precisely.
My whole theory starts with this: The apartment looked like no-one was home.
If that's not true then my whole theory is rubbish.

[pathfinder73]

Precisely.
My whole theory starts with this: The apartment looked like no-one was home.
If that's not true then my whole theory is rubbish.

And what time was the window opened? Matt didn't notice any draught, slamming doors or whooshing curtains.

[Albertini]

And what time was the window opened? Matt didn't notice any draught, slamming doors or whooshing curtains.

Nor did any of the tapas lot as they walked across the car park to their own apartments to check on their children.

[faithlilly]

Not did any of the tapas lot as they walked across the car park to their own apartments to check on their children.

Despite the fact there was a table lamp on in 5a's lounge and if the shutter was up and the children's bedroom door open, the lamp would have filtered through the bedroom and illuminated the window.

[Albertini]

I'm also struggling to understand why an abductor would risk the noise of opening a shutter and blindly sticking his head out of the window to see if the coast was clear.

That's very high risk, given he could have simply used the recess around the door for hidden cover, particularly as most normal people walking past an open shutter would notice it. It's drawing attention to yourself and the crime.

Still we'll never know the truth given Gerry mccann destroyed the forensic evidence that the shutter could have provided, by opening the bleeding thing before the police got there.

[pegasus]

And what time was the window opened? Matt didn't notice any draught, slamming doors or whooshing curtains.

Try this experiment on a breezy day. Open a front window and a back door to create a decent draught.
Do two tests on an internal door inbetween.
1. Place the internal door in any reasonably well open position. Then observe whether it slams.
2. Place the internal door in a barely ajar position. Then observe whether it slams.
I got no slam with the first test, and a slam with the second..

[pathfinder73]

Kate said the patio door was shut not open. Matt said the door was half-open so if the window was opened after his check the bedroom door would've slammed shut before she arrived.

[VIXTE]

1. They leave at 8.45 doors left ajar and window closed
2. Gerry comes 9.05 finds window closed but the doors open wider than he left it.. Why? He returns the doors to 'ajar'
3. Matthew Oldfield comes at 9.30.. at this point the door is slightly open, wider than 'ajar' because he can see the twins in travel cots. Also he reports a little light. Possible the shutter(blind) is open, but not the window. Why?
4. Kate comes at 10pm, finds the doors open, finds the window and the blind open. And no Madeleine.

[Martina]

1. They leave at 8.45 doors left ajar and window closed
2. Gerry comes 9.05 finds window closed but the doors open wider than he left it.. Why? He returns the doors to 'ajar'
3. Matthew Oldfield comes at 9.30.. at this point the door is slightly open, wider than 'ajar' because he can see the twins in travel cots. Also he reports a little light. Possible the shutter(blind) is open, but not the window. Why?
4. Kate comes at 10pm, finds the doors open, finds the window and the blind open. And no Madeleine.

5.  After 10 p.m Dianne Webster comes and finds out the window is fully closed and the blind almost fully. Who closed it and why?