Is there any hard evidence whatsoever in the Madeleine McCann case?

[Alfred R Jones]

Also that she seems to have been the only person who touched that window on 3rd May 2007.

Or perhaps the only one who didn't worry about leaving prints at the scene of the crime.

[G-Unit]

Seems it was a donor, Brietta!

On 24 September Control Risks, a British security company, took hair samples from the McCann twins at their parents' request. An anonymous donor paid for Control Risks' services. The McCanns were concerned that the abductor might have given the children sedatives; the twins had slept through the commotion in apartment 5A after Madeleine was reported missing, but despite requests the Portuguese police had not taken samples. Control Risks took a sample from Kate McCann too, to rebut allegations that she was on medication. No trace of drugs was found.[110]

I can find no records of requests to the PJ to take samples. The only reference to this is;

One of these questions was that they wanted the PJ to be aware of was Madeleine's revelation about Wednesday night, when she said that she was left alone during the night. She told Kate and Gerry that she remembered the twins crying and that she wanted to know why neither her mother nor her father had gone to the room to see what was happening.

They also wanted to know whether the PJ had any evidence that would suggest that the person who took Madeleine had used any substance to facilitate the abduction.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/STEPHEN_MARKLEY.htm

The story about the twins crying later evolved into Madeleine crying, but Markley is correct, originally it was the twins;

04 May 2007

(11:15am)
    
Gerry McCann

(First police interview)
Madeleine reported to Gerry McCann
Who was crying? The twins

...on the morning of May 3rd, MADELEINE asked her father, GERALD, why he had not come into the room when the twins were crying. Gerry had heard nothing and had not gone into the room. It was the first time that MADELEINE had made that kind of comment.
04 May 2007

(2.20pm)
    
Kate McCann

(First police interview)
Madeleine reported to Kate McCann
Who was crying? The twins

She only refers to one episode on the morning of the 3rd, when Madeleine asked her why she had not come to her room when the twins were crying. Kate, as she did not hear anything, did not go to the room and found this a strange comment for her daughter to make to her. This was the first time that she made such a comment.

The story grew later;

on the day Madeleine vanished, when the little girl disconcerted her mother by asking: ‘Why didn’t you come when Sean and I cried last night?’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1384828/Kate-McCann-fears-daughter-Madeleine-tried-warn-intruder.html#ixzz3cYGcPa4j
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

[G-Unit]

Or perhaps the only one who didn't worry about leaving prints at the scene of the crime.

I'm just documenting the hard evidence. The only evidence that anyone touched that window at all.

[Alfred R Jones]

I'm just documenting the hard evidence. The only evidence that anyone touched that window at all.

It's unlikely that Kate McCann was the only person ever to have touched the window, but she is the only person proven to have touched the window which is evidence, but not of wrong-doing IMO.

[Brietta]

It's unlikely that Kate McCann was the only person ever to have touched the window, but she is the only person proven to have touched the window which is evidence, but not of wrong-doing IMO.

It isn't the presence of fingerprints from the occupants of the apartment which is strange it is the absence.

I think I am going to go on a mission to Portugal to track down the apartment cleaner and pay her to come back with me for a couple of days ~ what an absolute treasure she must be ~  going on the forensic cleanliness she manages to achieve so effortlessly

[Carana]

I think we all agree that Kate's fingerprints were on the inside window pane. It's physical evidence, but is consistent with what she said happened.

Was the handle dusted? It looks devoid of red powder.




Unfortunately, hard forensic evidence is dependent on what was searched. The absence of evidence can presumably be of as much interest as the presence of it, but presumably only in the light of a thorough sweep.

The frame of that window doesn't appear to have been dusted, nor the outside of that window, nor the inside of the patio doors.

The assumption seems to have been that someone came in through the patio door (hence the interest in the outside glass door and the frame) and opened the window from the inside (hence the dusting of the inside of the kids' window), plus checking for signs of lifting the shutter from the outside.

Checking other entry / exit scenarios doesn't appear to have happened: e.g., that someone came through the front door (as there doesn't appear to be a record of that), nor

[pegasus]

It isn't the presence of fingerprints from the occupants of the apartment which is strange it is the absence.

I think I am going to go on a mission to Portugal to track down the apartment cleaner and pay her to come back with me for a couple of days ~ what an absolute treasure she must be ~  going on the forensic cleanliness she manages to achieve so effortlessly

Here is a video interview with the cleaner
Watch from 5:07 to 7:35
There are 3 cleaners in the video, the 5A cleaner is the older of the three, in blue.
She is a very nice lady.
http://youtu.be/46axwTbsKCo?t=5m7s

[Carana]

I would think that the cleaning staff wipe the windows on changeover day (the Saturday), unless there were obvious smear marks. The McCanns apparently didn't touch the kids' bedroom window until the Thursday, so if the blind was left down, with the curtain drawn, and the kids were only in there at bedtime, I don't see an issue.

There may well have been prints on the inside of the patio door, but it doesn't seem to have been dusted.

[misty]

Here is a video interview with the cleaner
Watch from 5:07 to 7:35
There are 3 cleaners in the video, the 5A cleaner is the older of the three, in blue.
She is a very nice lady.
http://youtu.be/46axwTbsKCo?t=5m7s

She said the McCanns left the apartment that morning via the patio door. Interesting.

[Brietta]

She said the McCanns left the apartment that morning via the patio door. Interesting.

      I wondered about that too, Misty.  If they had asked her to lock the door after them, she didn't say.

[pegasus]

She said the McCanns left the apartment that morning via the patio door. Interesting.

Arrival of cleaner could be either Wednesday early morning (before morning kidsclub), or Wednesday early afternoon (before afternoon kidsclub)?

[Carana]

      I wondered about that too, Misty.  If they had asked her to lock the door after them, she didn't say.

But was she asked? That's a problem with that type of police statement: you're only expected to answer questions and even then what gets recorded is only what the police officer deems potentially important.

If she had been asked to recount her day and everything that she could remember, there might have been extra information...

[Carana]

02-Processos Volume II Pages 346 - 349

TRANSLATIONS BY INES

 Marina Paula Raposo Baptista Castela

Date/Time: 2007/05/07 11H10
General Governess

(...)

 That she has been an employee of 'The Ocean Club' for about 20 years, being actually responsible for the 'Department of Hygiene and Comfort' of all the apartments in the tourist complex.

(...)

. During the stay, as with any other client, the cleaning is carried out on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The collection of rubbish is carried out on Tuesdays and Thursdays with Saturdays being the day were a deeper cleaning is carried out. Referring to block 5 where the McCann family lodged, the person responsible for cleaning there is employee Mara Julia Serafim Da Silva; also being an aid to the preparation of the apartment before check-in for new guests. Before the McCann check-in, Maria Julia had aided Dina Maria Does Reis Rocha as she was more available;

(...)

. There is a preference to clean those apartments with children guests in the morning, with the rest being reserved for the afternoon;

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/MARIA-CASTELA.htm

[pegasus]

Thanks Carana. "There is a preference to clean those apartments with children guests in the morning" So when we examine the hard evidence of the prints, we can say the apartment was cleaned on Wednesday probably at about 9AM? and the family went out through the balcony door. What time did the kidsclubs start? But we don't know whether this included cleaning the inside of the window.

[pathfinder73]

She said the McCanns left the apartment that morning via the patio door. Interesting.

Not very interesting if you read the rogs. Leaving it unlocked at night is interesting.

I mean if we were just sort of all popping out and just quickly to the pool, we'd go out the patio doors and just leave them unlocked, erm cos you couldn't lock them from the outside. (RO)