"As he approached the corner of the McCanns apartment, he saw Gerry appear from the area of the gate. He crossed the road and engaged in general conversation with Gerry. At this time they were stood with Gerry's back to the building near to the gate and Jeremy facing him. Rua Dr Agostino was about 10-15 meters to his right and the pathway leading to the front of the apartment blocks about 5 meters to his left." This is taken in November 2007
Earlier statement not so detailed "As I got the baby to sleep, I was on my way back to the apartment. I came out at the top road.
I met him near the stairs of a ground floor. There was a gate leading up to some stairs. I was pretty certain that he had left the apartment. We spoke for a few minutes. He said you're on walking duty. I said I was staying in and [ censored word ] and cons and what to do with the children."
So if he crossed the road how did he meet Gerry by the gate? Or did he see Gerry coming out of the apartment then crossed the road to meet Gerry by the gate?
From his rogatory "When I left the street, I remember seeing Gerry on the other side of the same. I believe that there was some speculation in the press regarding the circumstances of this encounter. I remember that I crossed the street to talk to Gerry. According to what I remember, Gerry was walking when I spotted him. As I mentioned previously, I assumed that he had gone to check on the children and was headed back to the Tapas Bar."
I defy anyone to draw the route that jez took regardless of where Gerry and Jez finally meet up.
The names of the streets are not mentioned but they end in T intersection, so if he gets to the intersection and then sees Gerry on the other side of the road Gerry just having left his gate. How did he with a pram catch up with Gerry or did Gerry walk up hill to meet with Jez? If he had called out to Gerry maybe Gerry turned around and went back up to talk to Jez but if you start off 20 meters apart it is hard to see how they met up with each other.
Let's look at what Gerry says to see if what Jez says twice that he was at the intersection initially.
Gerry's 10th May statement states: "----- After going through the side gate, and while on his way to the secondary reception entrance, less than 10 metres from the gate, he saw JEZ coming up the street on the opposite pavement bring with him a baby carriage with his youngest child. He crossed the road in JEZ's direction who would come up on the right-hand side [when viewed] from the ascending direction, both having chatted for 3 to 4 minutes, about tennis, holidays and children. While he maintained the conversation with JEZ he saw no-one from the group, nor detected any suspicious individual or vehicle. Because he had been specifically asked, he relates that during this period of time he did not see with certainty JANE pass that location, although it is clear that he was speaking when in front of JEZ, his back to the other pathway on which his apartment is situated. He relates also that JEZ never said to him that he had seen any person given that he was in front."
Here I get the picture of Gerry going down hill and Jez coming up hill on the other side of the road. Somewhere in the middle of the road they chat for a while. Gerry would have been facing away from the footpath Jane says she was on.
Nothing specific in his 4th May statement: "he remained for a few moments, left, and bumped into a person he had played tennis with and who had a child's push chair, he was also British, he had a short conversation with him, "returning after that to the restaurant."
Jane does not give much detail either: "At that time she observed GM talking to an English citizen called Jez that they had met on these holidays. He played tennis with them. She doesn't know if they saw her giving the assurance that, on her part, she did not start a conversation with either of them.
She passed them knowing that GM had already been in the apartment to see the children.
She doesn't recall the position/orientation of either Jez or GM while they spoke to each other on the street, only having the perception that one was on the pavement and the other was in the road next to the other. Jez had a baby carriage, the deponent knowing that he had a small child." 10th May
4th May says even less. "She remembers that at about 21.10 Gerald left the restaurant (3) to go to the apartment to check on the children. Five minutes later, the witness left, to go to her apartment to see whether her daughters were OK. At this moment she saw Gerry talking to an Englishman called Jez whom they had got to know during the holidays. They played tennis with him.
She passed by them knowing that Gerry had already been in the apartment (1) to check his children."
Rogatory:"I mean, I thought they were, as you’re going up here, I thought they were more, erm, again I know this is where me and Gerry differ, but I thought they were sort of more near the little alleyway. I think sort of”
.
4078 “Is that the alleyway, sorry, would that be (inaudible)?”
Reply “Yeah, sort of here. I thought they were sort of round this sort of bit here”. and later "
I don’t think they were by the apartment gate, I thought they were sort of a bit further down, down the road than that”.
4078 “So where would the apartment gate be then?”
Reply “Probably here I should think”.
4078 “And that would lead down to the roadside door of their apartment or the poolside door of their apartment?”
Reply “That leads to the poolside door”.
4078 “Right. So you think they were quite a bit further down?”
Reply “I think, yeah, I mean, somewhere within this, I don’t think they were right outside the gate for sure. "
So I think Jane agrees more with Gerry that she does with Jez. The alley way she recalls could have been the entrance to the car park.
