Was the colour of the bedroom curtains as seen by Matt a clue?

[misty]

The moon rises in the east and since the children's bedroom window faced due north I don't think moonlight was a factor.  The documentary makers and Dave Edgar missed an opportunity to prove this one way or another when they had Matt back at 5a.

The amber street light beside the car park entrance shone through the window, John, not the moon.

[Robittybob1]

Matt was quite unfamiliar with that room.  How would he know how much light was too much or if the door had been corrected by Gerry.  Does he set the door in exactly the right place.
Had the windows been actually checked for security at all at anytime?

I find Matt's statements odd and so did Goncalo and he really picked holes in it, but there maybe fully innocent explanations for all of that.
But if he returned via the internal path rather than the road he would have missed seeing the kid's window.  Did he look at it from the outside when he was on the North side of the building? It didn't sound like he had.
So he goes inside and remembers what he saw, but there is no way to assess whether the window is open or the shutters are up while the curtains are closed from the inside unless he went into the room.

[Robittybob1]

See Misty's post above. http://miscarriageofjustice.co/index.php?topic=7060.msg356082#msg356082

Matt describes what the curtains would have looked like with the shutters raised despite the fact he did not see them in that position.
Neither did Kate.  It was only the slamming of the door and the curtains blowing in that alerted her.

I'll have to have a look at this aspect.

[Brietta]

Matt was quite unfamiliar with that room.  How would he know how much light was too much or if the door had been corrected by Gerry.  Does he set the door in exactly the right place.
Had the windows been actually checked for security at all at anytime?

I find Matt's statements odd and so did Goncalo and he really picked holes in it, but there maybe fully innocent explanations for all of that.
But if he returned via the internal path rather than the road he would have missed seeing the kid's window.  Did he look at it from the outside when he was on the North side of the building? It didn't sound like he had.
So he goes inside and remembers what he saw, but there is no way to assess whether the window is open or the shutters are up while the curtains are closed from the inside unless he went into the room.

He stated the position of the door when he looked in and saw the twins in their cots.
Gerry stated the position he left the door in after checking on Madeleine and the twins. A comparison of both their statements would have indicated to an interested observer that the door had been moved between visits.

All he had to do was look into the room from the doorway to see the curtains, which he did when he saw the twins in their cots.

[misty]

Matt was quite unfamiliar with that room.  How would he know how much light was too much or if the door had been corrected by Gerry.  Does he set the door in exactly the right place.
Had the windows been actually checked for security at all at anytime?

I find Matt's statements odd and so did Goncalo and he really picked holes in it, but there maybe fully innocent explanations for all of that.
But if he returned via the internal path rather than the road he would have missed seeing the kid's window.  Did he look at it from the outside when he was on the North side of the building? It didn't sound like he had.
So he goes inside and remembers what he saw, but there is no way to assess whether the window is open or the shutters are up while the curtains are closed from the inside unless he went into the room.

If the shutters were down the curtains would not have had a green & yellow hue.  He could see the curtains from the doorway to the bedroom where he stood to observe.

[John]

Yes, I think she was abducted between 9.10 & 9.30pm that night, the colour of the curtains seen by MO & the open door being the 2 main pieces of evidence.

I would tend to place the event at the same time as Matt's visit to 5a.  There is every reason to think the shutter was up when he listened at the children's bedroom doorway and that Madeleine was still in her bed.  Consequently from about 9.25 to 9.40.

That half hour from 9.30pm to 10pm was the period in which no checks were made.

[John]

If the shutters were down the curtains would not have had a green & yellow hue.  He could see the curtains from the doorway to the bedroom where he stood to observe.

I tend to agree, which supports the theory that the shutter had been lifted but the windrow closed again.

[G-Unit]

I tend to agree, which supports the theory that the shutter had been lifted but the windrow closed again.

Matthews earliest description of the curtains is plain green. Gerry says the blinds weren't fully closed and at night when no other apartment lights were on weak light did come in from outside.

He recalls having the perception that the window curtains - green in colour - were drawn closed

He recalls having thought that in that bedroom there was more brightness than there was in his daughter's room (where the external blinds were always fully closed), adding to have had the feeling that that light was coming from the outside
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/MATTHEW-OLDFIELD-10MAY.htm

He is certain that, before leaving home the children's bedroom was totally dark, with the window closed, but he does not know it was locked, the external blinds closed but with some slats open, and the curtains also drawn closed. Asked, he relates that during the night the artificial light coming in from the outside is very weak, because, without a light being on in the lounge or the kitchen, the visibility inside the bedroom is much reduced.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/GERRY-MCCANN-10MAY.htm

[ShiningInLuz]

Matthews earliest description of the curtains is plain green. Gerry says the blinds weren't fully closed and at night when no other apartment lights were on weak light did come in from outside.

He recalls having the perception that the window curtains - green in colour - were drawn closed

He recalls having thought that in that bedroom there was more brightness than there was in his daughter's room (where the external blinds were always fully closed), adding to have had the feeling that that light was coming from the outside
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/MATTHEW-OLDFIELD-10MAY.htm

He is certain that, before leaving home the children's bedroom was totally dark, with the window closed, but he does not know it was locked, the external blinds closed but with some slats open, and the curtains also drawn closed. Asked, he relates that during the night the artificial light coming in from the outside is very weak, because, without a light being on in the lounge or the kitchen, the visibility inside the bedroom is much reduced.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/GERRY-MCCANN-10MAY.htm

You might wish to check Matthew's statement in Portuguese.  From memory, Pathfinder has raised the point that the bedroom Matthew was talking about having light from outside was the parents' bedroom, not the children's.

[Brietta]

You might wish to check Matthew's statement in Portuguese.  From memory, Pathfinder has raised the point that the bedroom Matthew was talking about having light from outside was the parents' bedroom, not the children's.

Looking at foto16 http://www.mccannfiles.com/id155.html  I don't immediately see a light source strong enough to alter the light levels in the parent's bedroom.
Whereas we know there was a light almost directly opposite the children's bedroom window.

[jassi]

Looking at foto16 http://www.mccannfiles.com/id155.html  I don't immediately see a light source strong enough to alter the light levels in the parent's bedroom.
Whereas we know there was a light almost directly opposite the children's bedroom window.

Could it be moonlight?

[Brietta]

Could it be moonlight?

I don't think so.

Without going into the physics of the spectrum of moonlight ... the hue of the curtains would not have been as as stated by Matt.

[Robittybob1]

Could it be moonlight?

It was a day after the full moon and so the Moon didn't rise till 10:00 PM

[Robittybob1]

The following is Amaral's description of the curtain.  It is this "blackout curtain" that concerns me. I have seen no sign of it in any of the photos.'

Looking more closely, the room is not as tidy as it looks. The bedroom window is protected by a shutter that only opens from the inside. A black-out curtain, that keeps out the light, comes down to the window ledge. At the sides, just brushing the floor, are two other curtains with tiebacks; they are drawn towards the centre of the window, but not completely closed.

[Brietta]

The following is Amaral's description of the curtain.  It is this "blackout curtain" that concerns me. I have seen no sign of it in any of the photos.'

I think the reference is to the net curtains which only reach to the window ledge. 
Translation error perhaps?  Portuguese > French > English.