Fine - so we can conclude (in answer to the O)P that witness discrepancies between statements are more ofen than not down to improved memory rather than lying then?
No
Discrepencies exist where witness statements have been 'changed' ... as with Gerry McCann saying that he entered the apartment through the front door using his key, and then changing his statement to say something entirely different ... that he had entered the apartment through the unlocked patio doors
That is a discrepency ( one of those witness statements had to be untrue )
When the three witnesses cited in this thread reported that Gerry McCann had fallen to ground like a praying Arab, they were giving 'additional information'
There was no discrepency
'improved memory' played no part in either case
Like this one you mean?
Nelson Filipe Pacheco da Costa
Date/Time: 2007/05/07 18H45
G.N.R. Military Personnel
Concerning the issue of the process said;
. In the sequence of facts, he was with the patrol of the GNR that went to the Ocean Club Gardens establishment (situated in Para da Luz) on night of May 03, 2007, with the goal of investigating the circumstances that surrounded the disappearance of a minor, of British nationality, that was installed there temporarily, together with the rest of her more direct family ' knowing these to be, the respective parents, and two siblings, twins, minors, whose name do not need to be clarified;
. Clarifies that the occurrence in question was transmitted to the above referenced patrol via radio, at time when they were located in Odiaxere;
. The patrol of which he took part, and now as a witness, went immediately to the principal reception of the aforementioned establishment, where there was encountered the father of the missing child;
. Following, this patrol went to the residence where the family of said minor was staying in the 'Ocean Garden' together with the father;
. At reaching the location, the two elements that made up the patrol , the current witness and his colleague, Jose Roque, proceeded into the interior of the apartment, with the goal of investigating the contours which eventually surrounded the disappearance of that minor;
. In this sentiment, the deponent states that they searched al the dependencies of the residence and all the pieces of furniture, in order to confirm the disappearance -- effectively confirming that that she was not in the interior;
. The question made, the deponent states that the access to interior of the residence was accessed through a principal door- that is, a wood door which is placed facing north;
.
Inside, the deponent encountered the mother and two siblings of the missing minor; . The deponent stats that he is unable to specify if that entrance door was found open or closed when he reached the apartment during which he was taking in the facts with the witness is now clarifying;
. In the sequence of confirming the facts of the effective disappearance of that minor, he states that this has been communicated prior, for the reason of helping the Polícia Judiciara;
. States that other details that may be relevant to the investigation concerns that they were directed to a citizen, of British nationality, who made up the group of tourists together with the family, name of Jane Tanner, and who detected the presence of a suspicious movement of an individual in the immediate area above identified, in the discourse of which was seen transporting a child of an early age; . And nothing more said, having read the statement, finds it in conformity and signs it;
. The document is duly signed by me '
Pedro Varanda, an Inspector with this Polícia Judiciara.
05-Processos Vol V Pages 1340 – 1341
Witness Statement
Nelson Filipe Pacheco da Costa
Date: 2007-05-16
Occupation: GNR Officer
This is his second statement, in the first he gave a detailed description of police intervention at the site of the events.
He has been a GNR officer since 1994. He is a soldier, currently employed at the Lagos GNR post.
On the 3rd May he arrived at the resort in P da L at about 23.00, accompanied by officer Roque.
They went to the OC reception.
At that moment Madeleine’s father arrived at the reception and informed them of the events.
After having found out what happened, he went to the exact place Madeleine had disappeared from, accompanied by Roque, the girl’s father and a woman who was acting as interpreter, whose name he does not remember and another individual, a friend of the girl’s father, whose name he does not recall.When asked, he says he never saw Robert Murat during any of the time he was on the scene.
No more is said. Reads, ratifies, signs.
Then in October, he says:Witness Statement
Date: 17-10-2007
Nelson Filipe Pacheco da Costa
He comes to the process as a witness, as an officer from the Lagos GNR, he has worked for the Guarda for 13 years.
He confirms the integrity of his previous statements.Regarding the facts on 3rd May, when he was on patrol with his colleague Roque in the Odiaxere zone, they received a radio communication from the central, telling them to go to P da L, specifically to the OC resort reception where the father of a little girl who had gone missing was. When they were on their way to this place and in the Valverde area, they received a new communication, informing them that this was a very young child and that her father had called again. They continued on their way, now with urgency, heading for the main reception of the resort.
When they arrived they saw the girls father, a friend whom the witness describes as tall and blond, an OC employee and a translator who was also an OC employee, named Silvia Baptista.
After hearing about the circumstances of the disappearance (from the father with the help of translation) he does not remember whether the word abduction was mentioned, and he went in his police car, to the apartment, accompanied by the father, the friend and the translator. When he arrived at the apartment he saw that the wooden door, now referred to as the main door, was closed and he thinks someone who he cannot identify opened it. When he entered, there were other individual apart from the mother, he does not know how many but there was at least another couple present.Then, with his colleague, he searched the apartment. He opened all the cupboards of the bedrooms, living room and kitchen and he checked under the beds and in the fridge. He did not see the washing machine. He did not see anything strange during the search and there was no sign of a break in. As regards the bed clothes of the child’s bed, he found it to have a normal disposition.
He found it notable that when they were still at the main reception, the father kneeled down, laying his head on the ground and crying, at the same time as making an expression which the witness did not understand.After the search of the interior, his colleague went to check the area around the apartments and the Tapas Bar, while the witness remained next the apartment, just outside it. At that moment a female individual, he does not know whether she was a member of the group of friends, who was in the neighbouring apartment, said that she saw an individual carrying a child, running, and that because of the pyjamas she was wearing it could have been Madeleine. It was in these circumstances that abduction began to be talked about. He made a report about this situation and sent it to the police.
This sighting did not seem to him to be very credible, because when he asked her about the physical characteristics of the individual, she said it was very dark, however she saw the pyjamas clearly.
When asked, he said that at that time he also saw a lot of local people, who were searching for the missing girl.
Whilst he was outside he talked to the witness mentioned previously and to some residents who had not seen anything. He exchanged some words with the mother, who was crying and only asked for more police officers.When questioned about the bedroom windows, he only remembers that blinds of the window of the girls bedroom were not totally closed. He does not remember about the existence of curtains or whether the window itself was closed.
He says that in the apartment there were two beds and two cots placed in Madeleines room, he does not remember their position. The children never woke up, he is sure, not knowing what position they were in, however he found this situation to be very strange, as a lot of noise was made.
As regards the parents, he says they were nervous and anxious, emotional. He adds that upon observing the scene it did not appear to him to be an abduction, but rather a normal disappearance where the child had left by her own means.
As regards the living room sofa, next to a curtain, he cannot be sure whether the sofa was against the wall.
He also refers to a situation at about 02 or 03.00, that the parents asked for a priest and his colleague had tried to contact one on his mobile, but did not manage to find one.
He also emphasises the situation that someone, who he cannot identify, having contacted Sky News and the Embassy that night. He does not know if were the parents.
He also notes that he saw various photographs on normal A4 paper of the girl, which had been printed at the reception, as well as other photos on photographic paper, poster type 10x15, that could not have been printed at the reception. This seemed unusual to him and he later confirmed that it was not possible for them to have been printed at the reception.
He has nothing else to add.
Reads, ratifies, signs.
