The locked front door versus the unlocked rear patio door issue.

[Carana]

From Rachel's statement:
The window shutters of the McCann's apartment were closed. The patio door that they used to enter the apartment also had its shutter closed. In order to enter they had to raise the shutter.

Something seems to have got a bit garbled. Kate, Gerry and Matt lifted up the shutters on the patio doors to do their checks on 5A? That seems somewhat unlikely.

[Mr Gray]

From Rachel's statement:
The window shutters of the McCann's apartment were closed. The patio door that they used to enter the apartment also had its shutter closed. In order to enter they had to raise the shutter.

Something seems to have got a bit garbled. Kate, Gerry and Matt lifted up the shutters on the patio doors to do their checks on 5A? That seems somewhat unlikely.

That's the point I am making. There is no way shutters were raised and lowered on the patio doors yet posters want to make inferences from these statements...they are not reliable due to translation errors

[Brietta]

what a garbled mess these twice translated statements are...its such a shame we don't know what they actually said

I am sure that NSY and the Drs McCann have access to professional unbiased translations of the files.
They and the PJ will be using those.

Unfortunately, since neither video nor audio recordings were made of the statements taken in Portugal we have to rely on the expertise or not of the individual taking notes to write them up and making the initial translation if such was necessary.
Just a nuance or slight misunderstanding can totally change the meaning of a sentence.

Therefore there is room for error which could have been avoided if modern technology had been used.

[pathfinder73]

I am sure that NSY and the Drs McCann have access to professional unbiased translations of the files.
They and the PJ will be using those.

Unfortunately, since neither video nor audio recordings were made of the statements taken in Portugal we have to rely on the expertise or not of the individual taking notes to write them up and making the initial translation if such was necessary.
Just a nuance or slight misunderstanding can totally change the meaning of a sentence.

Therefore there is room for error which could have been avoided if modern technology had been used.

They were signed. A key can't be mistranslated because you don't need one to go though an unlocked door  8-)(--)

[Benice]

what a garbled mess these twice translated statements are...its such a shame we don't know what they actually said

This note from the translator  - would strongly suggest that translating the statements was not exactly a walk in the park.

QUOTE
905 to 917 Witness statement of Matthew David Oldfield 2007.05.10
918-Consent for mouth swab for Matthew David Oldfield
TRANSLATION BY ALBYM
 
04-Processo 04 Page 905 to 917
 
 
[M Oldfield's  Statement 10th May Again, there were several omissions from, and errors in, the original Portuguese. I corrected those that I found. Also, much of the Portuguese statement is written with a convoluted 'future + past' verb construct that attributes an 'uncertainty' to the words, whereas I have translated much of it in a non-literal manner to make it read more definitively. Hence, the reader must understand that neither the Portuguese nor my translation necessarily constitute the exact words spoken by Oldfield.
If you read MO's Rogatory Letter testimony you will get a sense of the difficulty the Portuguese interpreter faced when listening to this man.]
End quote
 
 
 

[Carana]

They were signed. A key can't be mistranslated because you don't need one to go though an unlocked door  8-)(--)

If you are writing up someone's statements based on scribbled notes, it's easy to mistake front (needs key) and back (no key), particularly with the first person to be interviewed that morning.

[pathfinder73]

If you are writing up someone's statements based on scribbled notes, it's easy to mistake front (needs key) and back (no key), particularly with the first person to be interviewed that morning.

No it isn't. When Gerry said he used a key to enter it is clearly obvious was he meant.

[Carana]

No it isn't. When Gerry said he used a key to enter it is clearly obvious was he meant.

I disagree, for the reason I stated just above. In addition, there is no description of the layout of the apartment in that first statement, let alone any clarification as to what back and front might mean.

[John]

Remember there was only one way to open a completely secured apartment when they arrived back from their daily sojourns out and about and this was by opening the front door using a key.  It was only when access was gained via the front door that the latch on the patio door could be released from the inside allowing entry.

I can't help wondering however if the apartment was secure as the bedroom window and the shutter appear to have not been locked?

[pathfinder73]

I disagree, for the reason I stated just above. In addition, there is no description of the layout of the apartment in that first statement, let alone any clarification as to what back and front might mean.

You don't need to see a plan when the key is used. You can't get confused whether it's front back or on the moon. ONE key for ONE door.

[peter claridge]

At 10pm, his wife Kate went to check on the children. She went into the apartment through the door using her key and saw right away that the children’s bedroom door was completely open, the window was also open, the shutters raised and the curtains drawn open. The side door that opens into the living room, which as said earlier, was never locked, was closed.

[Mr Gray]

At 10pm, his wife Kate went to check on the children. She went into the apartment through the door using her key and saw right away that the children’s bedroom door was completely open, the window was also open, the shutters raised and the curtains drawn open. The side door that opens into the living room, which as said earlier, was never locked, was closed.

which statement is this...Kate always used the patio doors...which did not have a key...and what is meant by the side door...which was never locked but closed...truly garbled

[Carana]

You don't need to see a plan when the key is used. You can't get confused whether it's front back or on the moon. ONE key for ONE door.

Yes, one key for one door. I have no problem with that. However, the three people (Gerry, the "interpreter" and the officer) ought to have been clear about which entrance was considered to be the "back" and the "front". There is nothing in that initial statement that would indicate that that was the case.

In future, it would be a good idea to record interviews.

[Mr Gray]

Yes, one key for one door. I have no problem with that. However, the three people (Gerry, the "interpreter" and the officer) ought to have been clear about which entrance was considered to be the "back" and the "front". There is nothing in that initial statement that would indicate that that was the case.

In future, it would be a good idea to record interviews.

It seems theres a side door now as well

[Eleanor]

Didn't we all have  terrible time in the beginning, trying to work out which door was which.  Which was front and which was back.  There was a lot of confusion.