Was the video footage of the dog inspections 'doctored'?

[Mr Moderator]

You are right.  You can even catch where it was edited out. 

What did Martin Grime think he was playing at?  He obviously saw what Eddie did with cuddle cat, and then produced it as though something amazing had been found.
And how many times did he point to that cupboard before the dog showed any interest at all, and not even in the right place.
Hardly scent accumulation, was it.  Shit, I am feeling sick.

I tend to agree, Eddie was scenting his toy, not a cadaver.

[Eleanor]

I tend to agree, Eddie was scenting his toy, not a cadaver.

If Eddie was scenting anything at all.  That clip alone would have been laughable, if it hadn't been so serious.

No wonder Martin Grime won't or can't talk about it.  It's a joke.  And the chances of The Dog Videos or Martin Grime's opinion ever being discussed in Court are so far to the left of zero that there isn't even a minus.
Even an Abductor would have that thrown out.

Sorry,  Rarely do I feel so angry.  It will pass.

[Carana]

This whole business of Levy and The Dog Videos is extremely suspect in more ways than one.  Was Levy there?  I doubt this somewhat.
Was the other person filming doing it for Martin Grime, or did he just get copies from The PJ?

How could Levy apply Copyright if all he did was to edit out the bad bits?  Which he undoubtedly did.  Levy's Videos went a long way towards influencing Public Opinions since they were the first that we saw.
So how did he get hold of them?  And why was it necessary to edit them?  Who organised that?  Who was the other person filming?  Was this even legal?

I doubt that Levy was actually there at the time. I've always understood that it was GNR officers doing the filming. There were probably two in case one camera conked out (and in some shots there is clearly another camera).

I expect that he simply added his "copyright" to it as publicity for himself.

I'm not entirely convinced that he edited the footage (although that's a possibility). It may have been edited by the PJ and Levy somehow got hold of the edited version. There is the point made by Dias, but he may have taken the time to watch the raw footage.


IMO, the worst was the clip sold to The Sun of Eddie barking at the car. I remember finding that quite chilling at the time and wondered if the parents were indeed involved after all.

It wasn't until I watched the longer version that I realised that he never did bark at the boot, let alone go in it.

And it was only quite a bit later that I realised that Tavares de Almeida's report stating that Eddie had reacted to the boot was a mistake in the translation of the transcript, where it is perfectly audible that Grime did NOT intend to put him in it (the "not" got missed out in the translation done or organised by the PJ).

Either TdeA did not actually check the filmed scene for himself or he chose to use the mistaken transcript. Not terribly professional, whichever way one looks at it.

[Eleanor]

I think we all had our moments of doubt.  Who wouldn't?

I don't really care who edited The Videos.  Someone did.  And they didn't do it for fun or to reduce the time span since only the suspect bits were edited out.

This was deliberately orchestrated, and does Martin Grime no favours.

[Mr Moderator]

Just in case anyone still has doubts about what is being posted about Eddie and Cuddlecat, here is an extract from the official ANALYSIS REPORT OF THE FIRST 11 VOLUMES OF THE INQUIRY (pages 1-3004) Central Department of Criminal Investigation, February, 8th, 2007.

www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/OUSTROS_APENSOS_11_VOLUMES.htm

From the screening of the videos, referred previously, done when the dogs were working, some doubts arise. We don't want and we can't take the place of the trainer, we only wish to alert, with this paragraph, to some facts, that according to us, need further clarification.

 If the dog is trained to react when he detects what he is looking for, why, in most of the cases, we see the dog passing more than once by that place in an uninterested way, until he finally signals the place where he had already passed several times'

 On one of the films, it's possible to see that 'Eddie' sniffs Madeleine's cuddle cat, more than once, bites it, throws it into the air and only after the toy is hidden does he 'mark' it (page 2099). Whys didn't he signal it when he sniffs it on the first time'

 Apart from all that was said about the dogs, we must also take into attention the results of the forensic analysis that was performed by the experts on the Scientific Police Laboratory on the day immediately after the facts, and already mentioned where no vestige of blood was found.

[Carana]

Another feature of the video of the inspection of the villa that has long disgusted me (on several levels) is prolonged, close-up video footage of boxes of antii-Parkinsonian medication taken by Kate's father.

Why?

What was the point?

To reinforce the business about some 'link' between Madeleine's (in some quarters) assumed death and drugs-overdose?

Kate's father arrived after Madeleine had been abducted, so chances of Madeleine taking anything like that were/are zero!

Assuming that the GNR were filming, they wouldn't have known at the time what the medication was, nor whether it had any relevance. They were just filming. I don't object to the fact that the medication was filmed, but to the invasion of privacy that resulted from it being splattered all over the Internet. On the other hand, the fact that it is quite clearly medication for Kate's dad (who only came out to PdL later) dispels any myth that the PJ had found sedatives at the time she disappeared.

[Carana]

You are right.  You can even catch where it was edited out. 

What did Martin Grime think he was playing at?  He obviously saw what Eddie did with cuddle cat, and then produced it as though something amazing had been found.
And how many times did he point to that cupboard before the dog showed any interest at all, and not even in the right place.
Hardly scent accumulation, was it.  Shit, I am feeling sick.

Another scene that appears to have been edited out is how Cuddle Cat got into the buffet cupboard in the first place. Who put it there? Was it Grime or Harrison? Was Grime aware of where it had been hidden?

[Carana]

I think we all had our moments of doubt.  Who wouldn't?

I don't really care who edited The Videos.  Someone did.  And they didn't do it for fun or to reduce the time span since only the suspect bits were edited out.

This was deliberately orchestrated, and does Martin Grime no favours.

Both Kate and Gerry were made to watch the car scene video - which is mainly why I think that it was the PJ that did some selective editing as opposed to making them watch all the raw footage.

The montage was no doubt in view of eliciting a confession and, beyond that, selected "evidence" to present to the prosecution. Fortunately, Dias seems to have waded his way through it objectively.

If this had been "evidence" in a certain other case, the jury and judges would have gasped and declared them guilty.

[Eleanor]

Another scene that appears to have been edited out is how Cuddle Cat got into the buffet cupboard in the first place. Who put it there? Was it Grime or Harrison? Was Grime aware of where it had been hidden?

Yes, I was waiting for the bit where cuddle cat was put in the cupboard.  Who decided that this was necessary?
After Eddie had thrown it around and generally played with it, who decided that it should be hidden for the dog to later "Find" and then bark in the general direction?  Not even at the cupboard door itself.

I am disgusted.  What an appalling use of a missing Child's toy.

[Carana]

Methinks the whole thing was heading the way of The Cipriano Case.  The PJ thought that if they could convince enough people then they would be bound to win a conviction.  Hence the rush to have The McCanns made Arguidos, and to release dodgy videos of the dogs, among other things.
Amaral still hadn't grasped that he wasn't going to get away with it on suspect evidence.
He would have written a book no matter what happened.

I must have missed this post earlier. Yes, I agree.

[Eleanor]

Both Kate and Gerry were made to watch the car scene video - which is mainly why I think that it was the PJ that did some selective editing as opposed to making them watch all the raw footage.

The montage was no doubt in view of eliciting a confession and, beyond that, selected "evidence" to present to the prosecution. Fortunately, Dias seems to have waded his way through it objectively.

If this had been "evidence" in a certain other case, the jury and judges would have gasped and declared them guilty.

I think you might be right about The PJ.  They did use edited parts of a video.  This surely can't be legally allowed.  Although as it happens it didn't work.

As for the other case, The Judges and The Jury did gasp and find them guilty.

[ferryman]

Assuming that the GNR were filming, they wouldn't have known at the time what the medication was, nor whether it had any relevance. They were just filming. I don't object to the fact that the medication was filmed, but to the invasion of privacy that resulted from it being splattered all over the Internet. On the other hand, the fact that it is quite clearly medication for Kate's dad (who only came out to PdL later) dispels any myth that the PJ had found sedatives at the time she disappeared.

Fair point about publication rather than filming.

Still, the focus was on those boxes (to the exclusion of all else) for at least 30 seconds or possibly longer.

Why?

If they had simply featured in a general sweep of the apartment by the person taking the film, that would have been different

If the medication had simply featured in a general sweep of the villa, that would have been different.

I question the filming and the publicity.

[Eleanor]

Fair point about publication rather than filming.

Still, the focus was on those boxes (to the exclusion of all else) for at least 30 seconds or possibly longer.

Why?

If they had simply featured in a general sweep of the apartment by the person taking the film, that would have been different

If the medication had simply featured in a general sweep of the villa, that would have been different.

I question the filming and the publicity.

Well that turned out to be an own goal, didn't it.  But the damage to the public at large was already done.

Never would I have believed that such an attempted stitch up could have happened.  But it did.  Which is why so many of us are still trying to make sense of what The PJ thought they were up to.

The PJ of those days damaged itself irrevocably, thank God.  Some good will come from this.

[Mr Moderator]

Official note on the dog inspection at the villa.


www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/INSPECTION_SITES.htm

Page 2099

Official record of the canine inspection at 18h14 on 2 August 2007 at the current residence of the McCann couple situated at Rua das Flores, 27, Praia da Luz, Lagos.

 The five participants are indicated as two PJ Inspectors; UK NPIA officer (Harrison); UK dog handler (Grime); UK English Springer spaniel (Eddy).

 The entire activity was recorded on video image and sound.

 As part of the residence search performed today at the above address, a canine search was also conducted.

 Thus, the activity started at the indicated time, all rooms at the address [property] having been walked through, the following result being confirmed:

 - 18h36 - the dog Eddy, that detects cadaver odour, 'marked' [alerted in] the area of a cupboard in the lounge, it being confirmed that the dog indicated a pink soft toy belonging to Madeleine Beth McCann.

 This document is drawn up to ratify the truth of the above and is duly signed.
 (two signatures)

[Eleanor]

Official note on the dog inspection at the villa.


www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/INSPECTION_SITES.htm

Page 2099

Official record of the canine inspection at 18h14 on 2 August 2007 at the current residence of the McCann couple situated at Rua das Flores, 27, Praia da Luz, Lagos.

 The five participants are indicated as two PJ Inspectors; UK NPIA officer (Harrison); UK dog handler (Grime); UK English Springer spaniel (Eddy).

 The entire activity was recorded on video image and sound.

 As part of the residence search performed today at the above address, a canine search was also conducted.

 Thus, the activity started at the indicated time, all rooms at the address [property] having been walked through, the following result being confirmed:

 - 18h36 - the dog Eddy, that detects cadaver odour, 'marked' [alerted in] the area of a cupboard in the lounge, it being confirmed that the dog indicated a pink soft toy belonging to Madeleine Beth McCann.

 This document is drawn up to ratify the truth of the above and is duly signed.
 (two signatures)

Ha!  Who wrote that?  Did they submit this with straight faces?  Where were they when all the shenanigans were going on?