Witnesses claimed to have seen Robert Murat the night Maddie disappeared.

[Benice]

I suppose for the same reason as many people in the UK don't talk to the police after a serious incident.

[/b]

That's news to me but I doubt if it's because they were scared of how they might be treated in the police station - and so decided it would be safer not to get involved.   I'm sure the Portuguese were well aware of how some of their policemen conducted interviews.   As we know, torturing witnesses was one of those ways.

To imagine the Portuguese themselves were oblivious to such behaviour is totally unrealistic IMO,

[faithlilly]

[/b]

That's news to me but I doubt if it's because they were scared of how they might be treated in the police station - and so decided it would be safer not to get involved.   I'm sure the Portuguese were well aware of how some of their policemen conducted interviews.   As we know, torturing witnesses was one of those ways.

To imagine the Portuguese themselves were oblivious to such behaviour is totally unrealistic IMO,

It may be news to you Benice but unfortunately it's true.

[Benice]

It may be news to you Benice but unfortunately it's true.

You still haven't said why.  What are the reasons why a person would be scared to come forward with info in the UK?

[pathfinder73]

Mrs Murat said the reason she set up her 'table' was because she realised some locals would be too scared to approach the police.  Why do you think they would be scared of getting involved with the police? 

Haven't you heard of crimestoppers?

[Carana]

The sisters:

"They all thought his behaviour a bit odd. He was wearing a navy blue T-shirt and jeans. He was very sweaty and said, 'I must shower and change, I've been in these all day'.

"They felt that was strange because he had been in a striped shirt and trousers earlier.

"It was then that both the friend and Jayne Jensen remembered seeing him the night before at the scene.

"Jayne remembers seeing him outside the entrance, smoking cigarettes, between 10.30pm and 11pm.

"So every time they see him claiming he was not there on the night, they find it ridiculous."


No idea if it was him they saw smoking outside that evening, but they seem to have got DP and Murat mixed up over the T-shirts.

4 May
DP (in stripey T-shirt)


Murat (in navy T-shirt)

[Benice]

Haven't you heard of crimestoppers?

I have - but apparently Mrs Murat hadn't.   Did they have an equivalent method of reporting crime in Portugal at that time?

[Eleanor]

The sisters:

"They all thought his behaviour a bit odd. He was wearing a navy blue T-shirt and jeans. He was very sweaty and said, 'I must shower and change, I've been in these all day'.

"They felt that was strange because he had been in a striped shirt and trousers earlier.

"It was then that both the friend and Jayne Jensen remembered seeing him the night before at the scene.

"Jayne remembers seeing him outside the entrance, smoking cigarettes, between 10.30pm and 11pm.

"So every time they see him claiming he was not there on the night, they find it ridiculous."


No idea if it was him they saw smoking outside that evening, but they seem to have got DP and Murat mixed up over the T-shirts.

4 May
DP (in stripey T-shirt)


Murat (in navy T-shirt)

Good catch.

Personally, I've seen nothing to make me suspicious of Robert Murat.

[pathfinder73]

There was a woman who worked, I think she was work, had worked in the bar in Praia da Luz and she had actually almost invited herself up onto the balcony and was just quite drunk and not being, just not saying anything very helpful and I remember getting quite cross with her, saying 'Look', you know, 'Why are you here', you know, 'If you're going to be helpful get out and look for her' and, erm, and I remember Gerry actually asking her quite politely if she wouldn't mind just leaving them. Erm, I think she was the only one really that, that actually came anywhere near the apartment that wasn't one of us or a Policeman. (FP)

That drunk woman could be Jayne Jensen  &%+((£

Mrs Jensen, a bar manager. "I left Annie in the bar and came back up to the apartments to see if I could help."

[Carana]

Good catch.

Personally, I've seen nothing to make me suspicious of Robert Murat.

Neither have I.

More importantly, Kate doesn't seem to have any either, once she'd got over the drip-feed of leaky insinuations.

[Eleanor]

Neither have I.

More importantly, Kate doesn't seem to have any either, once she'd got over the drip-feed of leaky insinuations.

Fed to her by the leaks from The PJ itself.  This was a disgrace in the land of Secrecy.

[Alice Purjorick]

You still haven't said why.  What are the reasons why a person would be scared to come forward with info in the UK?

Provided you are WASP, well dressed, speak Queen's English and have the demeanour of being well heeled no problem otherwise keep your head down. May be it shouldn't be like that and some will swear blacks white it isn't like that, but the reality is it is like that.

[misty]

You still haven't said why.  What are the reasons why a person would be scared to come forward with info in the UK?

Our police don't do a very good job of protecting witnesses, especially in respect of violent crime. Friends of ours found that out after their details were leaked to the accused & his mates stepped in. The accused escaped justice as our friends withdrew their statements, after their house was trashed & their car burnt out. No-one was charged for that  either due to lack of evidence.

[pegasus]

"there was somebody who was alsotranslating for us that evening who I briefly chatted to, stood next to a policeman, that I thought to be Robert MuratT, but I would never say conclusively that that was Robert Murat" (DP rog)

Note that DP was not sure whether it was RM and did not fly to Portugal (only FP ROB and RO did) on 15 June to testify that it was RM. The solution is simple - in addition to SB, there was another person helping to translate that night who resembles RM but is not RM, whom some witnesses mistook for RM.

[Brietta]

Our police don't do a very good job of protecting witnesses, especially in respect of violent crime. Friends of ours found that out after their details were leaked to the accused & his mates stepped in. The accused escaped justice as our friends withdrew their statements, after their house was trashed & their car burnt out. No-one was charged for that  either due to lack of evidence.

If he was translating it should be easy enough to find out who was; the police will have a list naming everyone who assisted in the translations.

[misty]

If he was translating it should be easy enough to find out who was; the police will have a list naming everyone who assisted in the translations.

I tend to be of the opinion - if he looked like RM, translated like RM, lived in the vicinity like RM - then it most likely was RM.
As you said - why didn't the PJ seek out this doppelganger to clear up any confusion & help substantiate RM's alibi?
A simple question, addressed to all those who said he was there, would have been "what was the translator wearing?".