20th October 2013
Daily Mail
Good Samaritan 'questioned by Maddie police over pair of paedophiles he let live in his home after they were released from prison' *Charles O'Neill and William Lauchlan questioned two years ago in connection with Madeleine McCann's disappearance
*Pair jailed for life in 2010 for murdering a mother who threatened to expose they were abusing boys
*They first met Ewan Wilson who visited the duo in prison while they were serving time for indecent assaults on boys
*Mr Wilson has confirmed he has spoken to police
*Pair believed to be among a group of potential suspects of interest
Detectives are hoping a good Samaritan who let two convicted paedophiles stay in his home can shed light on where the pair were when Madeleine McCann vanished.
Friends Charles O'Neill, 50, and William Lauchlan, 36, from Largs near Glasgow, in Scotland, were questioned two years ago in connection with Madeleine's disappearance.
They were jailed for life in 2010 for abducting a 15-year-old and murdering a mother who had threatened to expose their abuse of boys.
They were interviewed in prison by detectives after inquiries revealed they had been touring Spain, and possibly Portugal, on false passports when Madeleine disappeared in May 2007.
Prison visitor Ewan Wilson offered the pair a home in Falkirk, Scotland.
They first met when Mr Wilson visited the duo in prison while they were serving time for indecent assaults on boys.
Mr Wilson confirmed to The Sun he had spoken to the police.
In 2006, locals learnt the two paedophiles were living at Mr Wilson's home which led to vigilantes throwing bricks and eggs at the house.
The pair fled to Spain and started up a cleaning business called Rainbow Cleaning Services.
At the same time a seven-year-old boy called Teremi Vargas disappeared in Gran Canaria where the pair were staying. The boy has never been found.
Lauchlan and O'Neill are known to have toured extensively and some reports suggested they were in the Algarve at the time Madeleine disappeared.
They returned to the UK and began living in Blackpool in November 2007.
As convicted sex offenders they were required to report to police but they failed to declare they had bought a van.
In 2008 they were charged with the murder of a Allison McGarrigle who lived with the pair.
She had threatened to expose their abuse to police.
At the High Court in 2010, the duo were convicted of strangling her, putting her body in a wheelie bin and dumping it at sea by the High Court in Glasgow in 2010.
The pair were also found guilty of a series of offences which included grooming a six-year-old boy and attacking 15-year-old in Benidorm in 2004.
O'Neill was jailed for 30 years while Lauchlan was sentenced for 26 years.
Detectives are examining the movements of a number of paedophiles – British and mainland European – who are thought to have been in Portugal when Madeleine vanished.
Officers are analysing mobile phone data of people in Praia da Luz on the day Maddie went missing, in bid to build a case against child sex offenders who feature in the inquiry.
They are also looking at credit card and bank transactions of these potential suspects to see if it proves where they were around the time she went missing.
O'Neill and Lauchlan are believed to be among a group of potential suspects or people of interest and police are following up a many lines of inquiry.
Last week, police issued new e-fit images of two men which resemble the pair.
Madeleine disappeared from her room at the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007.
Mother Kate McCann and her husband Gerry had been dining with friends less than 100 yards away in a tapas restaurant on the Mark Warner complex.
Detectives investigating the child's disappearance have received 1,400 new leads since a new appeal on BBC's Crimewatch aired last week.
Her parents said they are 'genuinely hopefully' that police can make progress in the investigation after the special broadcast.
With 6.7million viewers, the appeal attracted the biggest Crimewatch audience on record – almost double the average of 3.9 million.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman declined to comment this morning saying: 'We will not be giving a running commentary.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2468557/Good-Samaritan-questioned-Maddie-police-pair-paedophiles-let-live-home-released-prison.html
