Did Gonçalo Amaral misinterpret the evidence?

[lordpookles]

Purely hypothetically - a cause of death might have been so shocking and damaging to reputation that 'neglect' was the lesser of two evils.

I agree, but can you add any detail to the hypothesis that makes sense?

[jassi]

I agree, but can you add any detail to the hypothesis that makes sense?

Not that has any chance of being published 

[pathfinder73]

Not that has any chance of being published 

  If a tragic fall happened it would lead to something else for a cover up of this scale. To think you would make someone disappear over a tragic accident is folly. The investigation starts from Madeleine's last sighting at 5:30 on 3 May not 8:30.

[lordpookles]

I did wado ryu karate
Have a friend who got to 2nd Dan
Trained in Japan at some point
Still just nuts  everyone as first option

True. A simple headbutt does the job. IMO a karate man vs a kickboxer/mma man looses nearly everytime...

[lordpookles]

If a tragic fall happened it would lead to something else for a cover up of this scale. To think you would make someone disappear over a tragic accident is folly. The investigation starts from Madeleine's last sighting at 5:30 on 3 May not 8:30.

Yep the clock starts ticking at 5.30. Hypothetically what kind of accident could possibly explain the timeframe? A blow to the head seems unlikely as does death from calpol.. Can't imagine how a blow to the head 24hrs previously would work at all given the child would be very poorly all that day...

[Mr Gray]

True. A simple headbutt does the job. IMO a karate man vs a kickboxer/mma man looses nearly everytime...

Head butt and as the assailant collapses forward upward reverse punch with the power coming from the hip twist to break several ribs
Job done

[jassi]

A smack around the head causing child's head into  contact with sharp corner of table might do the trick.

[slartibartfast]

Yep the clock starts ticking at 5.30. Hypothetically what kind of accident could possibly explain the timeframe? A blow to the head seems unlikely as does death from calpol.. Can't imagine how a blow to the head 24hrs previously would work at all given the child would be very poorly all that day...

Though from Davel's comment, the clock starts ticking 24 hours earlier.

[John]

The skull does have its weak points. One is the “pterion”, which corresponds to what is commonly called the “temple”.

Just beneath this thin bit of skull is the middle meningeal artery, between the skull and the dura. If you get clonked in the temple, this artery can rupture. And where does that blood go? Nowhere. It can’t burst through the rigid skull, so it simply expands, pushing against the dura mater, and hence the brain, and gives you the above scenario. Clinically, the injury can be inapparent until the pressure is sufficiently high inside the skull. At first, the injured person may feel fine, but as the blood accumulates, the patient develops a headache, and rapidly becomes unconscious and dies, unless a neurosurgeon opens the skull.

So death can occur after a fall and for the most part go unnoticed, it just depends on the circumstances.

[Mr Gray]

The skull does have its weak points. One is the “pterion”, which corresponds to what is commonly called the “temple”.

Just beneath this thin bit of skull is the middle meningeal artery, between the skull and the dura. If you get clonked in the temple, this artery can rupture. And where does that blood go? Nowhere. It can’t burst through the rigid skull, so it simply expands, pushing against the dura mater, and hence the brain, and gives you the above scenario. Clinically, the injury can be inapparent until the pressure is sufficiently high inside the skull. At first, the injured person may feel fine, but as the blood accumulates, the patient develops a headache, and rapidly becomes unconscious and dies, unless a neurosurgeon opens the skull.

So death can occur after a fall and for the most part go unnoticed, it just depends on the circumstances.

So death is not instant even with a blow to the temple...I've already explained this several posts back...the idea that maddie suffered a head injury and died whilst the mccanns were at the tapas is a non starter

[Admin]

So death is not instant even with a blow to the temple...I've already explained this several posts back...the idea that maddie suffered a head injury and died whilst the mccanns were at the tapas is a non starter

She could have sustained a knock to her head at any time, it was unlikely to have occurred after 8.30pm the day she disappeared.  Do people sustain knocks to their head whilst out in dinghies?

[Mr Gray]

She could have sustained a knock to her head at any time, it was unlikely to have occured after 8.30pm the day she disappeared.

It is unlikely this would have gone unnnoticed

[Angelo222]

It is unlikely this would have gone unnnoticed

One would think so but a brain swell is not noticeable.   Thinking outside the curve for a moment, a knock to her head would explain the lethargy which her parents put down to tiredness.  Maybe her brain swell increased as she slept, maybe she got up with a nose bleed and collapsed over the back of the settee.

Her parents come home and find her...oh shock horror what will people say...our careers are dust.

All entirely speculative of course and in my opinion a second place runner to walk...wandered...disappeared.

[Mr Gray]

One would think so but a brain swell is not noticeable.   Thinking outside the curve for a moment, a knock to her head would explain the lethargy which her parents put down to tiredness.  Maybe her brain swell increased as she slept, maybe she got up with a nose bleed and collapsed over the back of the settee.

Her parents come home and find her...oh shock horror what will people say...our careers are dust.

All entirely speculative of course and in my opinion a second place runner to walk...wandered...disappeared.

the main fault is that their careers would not be dust..this is a total misconception....it would have to have been a reasonably severe knock.../she would have cried and told someone

[Jean-Pierre]

One would think so but a brain swell is not noticeable.   Thinking outside the curve for a moment, a knock to her head would explain the lethargy which her parents put down to tiredness.  Maybe her brain swell increased as she slept, maybe she got up with a nose bleed and collapsed over the back of the settee.

Her parents come home and find her...oh shock horror what will people say...our careers are dust.

All entirely speculative of course and in my opinion a second place runner to walk...wandered...disappeared.

In which case there would have been a fair amount of blood around.  And why on earth would such an accident have any effect on their careers?