Author Topic: The Smithman e-fits  (Read 137166 times)

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Offline Robittybob1

Re: The Smithman e-fits
« Reply #1005 on: March 22, 2018, 08:33:45 PM »
And the employees who searched would have pointed out that they had been emptied. The search would have moved on to the sites the rubbish was taken to.
It should have, but we're told it didn't happen.
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Offline Carana

Re: The Smithman e-fits
« Reply #1006 on: March 22, 2018, 08:38:17 PM »
And the employees who searched would have pointed out that they had been emptied. The search would have moved on to the sites the rubbish was taken to.

Good point. Unless it was just one of those things that never quite got followed up.

Offline blonk

Re: The Smithman e-fits
« Reply #1007 on: March 23, 2018, 08:32:59 PM »
I will begin my replies by trying to find as many as I can of the cites, references or sources members have asked for.

In my list of questions, I made these references:

(1) Martin Smith said: “…the man’s rude behaviour should have aroused my suspicions. The man put his head down and averted his eyes. This is very unusual…  (Media reports, 3 Jan 2008), and

(2) Martin Smith: “I heard that a kidnapping had happened in the village of Luz. We were looking at all the commotion on Sky News…it had a terrible effect on [the children].  They all wanted to sleep in the same room as us until we went home on the Wednesday”.

I have traced three media reports dated 3 January 2008. One was in the Sun, one in the Daily Mirror, and one in the Daily Mail.  The Mail report was by far the longest, here it is:

3 January 2008 in the Daily Mail

Maddie: Irishman provides dramatic new clues Daily Mail (appeared in paper edition only)
 
EXCLUSIVE: Tourist met rude man carrying child in blanket on night Madeleine vanished - by Sandra Murphy, Vanessa Allen - January 3, 2008
 
The following is extra information supplied by the Daily Mail:

AN IRISH holidaymaker has spoken publicly for the first time of his disturbing encounter with a man carrying a child wrapped in a blanket on the night Madeleine McCann disappeared.

“Now investigators hired by Madeleine's parents hope Martin Smith and his family can provide a crucial breakthrough.
 
“…the sighting…is strikingly similar to one by a friend of the McCanns, Jane Tanner. In hindsight, the retired Mr Smith said, the man’s rude behaviour should have aroused his suspicions.

“Martin Smith said: ‘The one thing we noted afterwards was that he gave us no greeting. My wife Mary remembered afterwards that she asked him: 'Oh, is she asleep?' But he never acknowledged her one way or another. He just put his head down and averted his eyes. This is very unusual in a tourist town at such a quiet time of the year".

“Their description of the barefoot child and the man, who wore beige trousers, echoes that of Miss Tanner…Though the Smith family believe they met an almost identical man closer to 10pm, the coincidence prompted them to contact police after they returned to Ireland. Mr Smith said: ‘Luz is such a small place and so quiet, we felt a duty to tell police and let them decide if it was important’."

“Last night, McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said detectives from the Spanish agency Metodo 3 now hoped to speak to the family…”

“On the night of the disappearance, Mr Smith was dining with his wife in the Dolphin restaurant in Praia Da Luz, where they are frequent visitors. The couple were with [the Mail names all members of the party]…All nine met the man holding a child but their recollection differs slightly from Miss Tanner's.
 
"The family added: “…Luz was very, very quiet at that time of the year and the likelihood of two young children being carried around like this is very small. Our timings are a bit different. She saw the man at 9.15pm. We say 9.45or 9.50pm…I don’t know if this information will help the McCanns. We kept interested in what’s going on but we tried to avoid the limelight”.
 
“Martin Smith added: ‘We have not been contacted by the private detective hired by the McCanns, and have had no contact with the investigating police since May 26 last year’.
 
"Mr Smith said it was some time before the family realised they could be star witnesses: ‘We were out the night it happened…We went home about 9.50pm and we heard nothing at all about Madeleine McCann until the next day. I was taking my son Peter to the airport and on my way back, I heard that a kidnapping had happened in the village of Luz”. [NOTE: Peter Smith says he found out about Madeleine’s disappearance at the airport: QUOTE: “He didn’t find out about Madeleine’s disappearance until the morning of 4 May through someone he knew, the son of the builder of Estrela da Luz, who was also at the airport, as he (Peter Smith) was waiting for his return flight to Ireland”.

"We were looking at all the commotion on Sky News and we really felt quite helpless. We had two grandchildren with us at the time, aged four and five, and it had a terrible effect on them. They all wanted to sleep in the same room as us until we went home on the Wednesday”
 
"We were home two weeks when my son rang up and asked was he dreaming or did we meet a man carrying a child the night Madeleine was taken. We all remembered that we had the same recollection. I felt we should report it to the police. I rang the Portuguese police and they took a statement from me on the ‘phone. Then they asked me to make a statement to Gardai, which I did in Drogheda two weeks after the disappearance. Two days later, Leicestershire police got on to us and said they wanted to speak to all nine of us. But we felt there was no point dragging grandchildren and the whole lot out to Portugal so just my eldest son, Peter, and youngest daughter, Aoife, and I flew to Luz to make a statement.
 
"The police were fairly busy and the station was pretty typical. They didn’t seem to be the most efficient police you ever came across but they are probably no different to police anywhere else. We were interviewed separately and told them what we saw, and showed them on the map where we met the man and child. We spent the whole day there from 10.30am to 7pm with an interpreter. That day, May 26 last year, was the last time we had any contact with the investigation. I remember clearly because it was my wedding anniversary.
 
"As we made our way back to our apartment in Estrella da Luz, we met a guy with a child that appeared to be asleep….it was getting dark and he was looking downward so I couldn’t tell you exactly what he looked like.
 
"None of us was 100 per cent sure what he was wearing but we all told police he was wearing beige trousers and a darker top”.

“We all put him in his early 40s.

“I didn’t think he was Portuguese".

“Insisting he knew chief suspect Robert Murat visually for years, Mr Smith told police the person he saw carrying a child could not be him. I told police it was definitely not him because the man wasn't as big as Murat. I think I would have definitely recognised him".

========

8 August 2007 - The Drogheda Independent runs a story headed: ‘Drogheda family hit out over Madeleine case clue coverage’.

Extracts from the long article ran as follows:

“A DROGHEDA family who may hold vital clues as to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have hit out at media distortion of evidence that they have given to Portuguese police. Maple Drive man Martin Smith, his wife and his children had just left the Kelly bar…400 metres from the McCanns' apartment at the Ocean Club between 9.50-10.00pm on the night Madeleine disappeared.

“They returned to Ireland the next day, and because the reported abduction times didn't originally match, they never had cause to examine their journey that night.

“As it emerged that Madeleine was abducted around the same time, one of the family members [Peter Smith – see above] had a flashback of the moment some time later and encouraged the others to jog their memory.

“They remembered passing a man walking towards the beach with a child in his arms.
Other than his approximate height and the fact that he was wearing beige clothes they cannot be more specific than that. 'We are annoyed at how vague our description is’, said the family member.

“The family contacted the Portuguese police and flew back over to give evidence. However, contrary to media reports, Mr Smith had not seen chief suspect Robert Murat in a bar the evening that Madeleine was abducted. 'He definitely didn't see him on the night in question,' said a family member.

“The family are also mystified at reports that he knows Mr Murat. 'They met once in a bar about two years ago. My Dad would only know Mr Murat by sight,' said the family member. 'However, from what he knows, he can say that the man who was carrying the child was not Robert Murat”.


NOTE, I have been invited by one member, I think Carana, to supply a copy of the article to which Martin Smith objected and felt constrained to consult a solicitor. My belief is that this article was removed from the internet by the paper after Martin Smith's complaint. I also believe that a photograph of him was removed by the paper also.   There is a reference to this dispute in the article above, namely this:  hit out at media distortion of evidence that they have given to Portuguese police.

I do not have to hand the name of the newspaper Martin Smith complained about nor the date of publication. I am looking

Offline Robittybob1

Re: The Smithman e-fits
« Reply #1008 on: March 23, 2018, 09:38:54 PM »
When someone says "I told police it was definitely not him because the man wasn't as big as Murat. I think I would have definitely recognised him".   
Does that mean Mr Smith is saying Smithman was smaller than Robert Murat?

Is Gerry McCann smaller that Robert Murat?
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Offline blonk

Re: The Smithman e-fits
« Reply #1009 on: March 23, 2018, 09:41:23 PM »
SOME MORE CITES


Quotes from the statements of Martin, Peter and Aoife Smith:
 
Peter Smith to the PJ: “He did not try to hide his face nor did he lower his gaze”.

Martin Smith to the PJ: “He put his head down”.

Aoife Smith to the PJ: "I didn’t see the child's face because she was lying vertically against the man’s left shoulder…”    [i.e. the child's head was turned away from her] 

Peter Smith to the PJ: “The girl was asleep; her eyelids were closed” [so Peter Smith could see the child's face and said her eyelids were closed]

Martin Smith to the PJ “The man didn’t speak, nor did the child as she was ‘in a deep sleep”.


Peter Smith quoted: 

“We knew that what we had seen was so vague that we couldn't identify the guy”, (Drogheda Independent, 9 Jan 2008)

=====

How well did Martin Smith know Robert Murat?

SKY News, 4 January 2008:  “I told police it was definitely not him because the man wasn't as big as Murat - I think I would have recognised him because I'd met him several times previously”.

Daily Mail, 3 January 2008:  "'I’ve known him for years'. Insisting he knew chief suspect Robert Murat visually for years, Mr Smith told police the person he saw carrying a child could not be him”.

=====

4 Jan 2008: SKY News Report (extracts)

“An Irish tourist who saw someone carrying a child in a blanket on the night Madeleine McCann disappeared insists that the mystery man was not Robert Murat…

But Mr Smith is certain that the man he and his family saw that night was not Robert Murat, who is still officially an ‘arguido’ in the Madeleine McCann investigation. I told police it was definitely not him because the man wasn't as big as Murat - I think I would have recognised him because I'd met him several times previously.

“The Smith family's suspicions were aroused because the man made no response when they asked if the barefoot child was asleep. ‘He just put his head down and averted his eyes, which is very unusual in a tourist town at such a quiet time of the year’, said Mr Smith”.

“Initially the Smith family thought nothing more of the encounter - and even the next day when the story broke they still didn't make the connection. ‘We were home two weeks when my son rang me up and asked was he dreaming or did we meet a man carrying a child the night Madeleine was taken? We all remembered the same recollection, and I felt we should report it to the police’, said Mr Smith”. 

"We've all been beating ourselves up that we should have made the link sooner, if only we'd remembered the next day. But the Portuguese police said you see these things on holiday all the time."

=====

30 January 2008: Martin Smith’s Statement to the Irish Gardai
Here it is in full:

QUOTE

“I hereby declare that this statement is true to the best of my knowledge and belief and that I make it knowing that if it is tendered in evidence I will be liable to prosecution if I state in it anything which I know to be false or do not believe to be true.

“I would like to state that the statement I made on 26th May 2007 in Portugal is correct. The description of the individual that I saw on 3rd May 2007 carrying a child is as follows. He was average build, 5 foot 10” in height, brown hair cut short, aged 40 years approximately.

"Wearing beige trousers and darkish top maybe a jacket or blazer. He had a full head of hair with a tight cut. This individual was alone. I saw Gerard [sic] McCann  going down the plane stairs carrying one of his children on 9th September 2007 BBC news at 10.00pm. I have been shown the video clip by Sergeant Hogan which I recognize; a clip I have seen before on the internet. In relation to the video clips of Gerard [sic] McCann and the person I saw on 3rd May 2007 when I saw the BBC news at 10.00pm on 9th September 2007 something struck me that it could have been the same person.

"It was the way Gerard [sic] McCann turned his head down which was similar to what the individual did on 3rd May 2007 when we met him. It may have been the way he was carrying the child either [sic]. I would be 60-80% sure that it was Gerard [sic] McCann that I met that night carrying a child. I am basing that on his mannerism in the way he carried the child off the plane.

"After seeing the BBC news at 10.00pm, footage on the 9th September 2007, I contacted Leicestershire police with this information. During that time I spoke to all my family members who were with me on the night of 3rd May 2007 about this and the only one who felt the same way as me was my wife. She had seen the video clip of Gerard [sic] McCann walking down the stairs of the plane earlier that day. We did not discuss this until some days later. This statement has been read over to me and is correct”.

=====

August 2008: Irish Mail on Sunday

This was quite a long report, titled: ‘Drogheda businessman told police he saw Gerry McCann carrying a child towards the beach the day Maddie disappeared’ (article in their paper edition only)

Points of interest from this report are as follows:

“Father-of-six gave Gardai a signed statement saying he and his wife were ''60 to 80% sure'' that the man they saw holding the child was Maddie's father...Since then the McCanns have been totally exonerated of any involvement.

“Mr. Smith had initially told police he had seen a man carrying a child that night, but that he couldn't identify him because he had not been wearing his glasses. The following September, however, the businessman saw clips of the McCanns returning from their holidays and said the footage of Mr McCann carrying his younger child had instantly reminded him of the mystery man.

“Friends of the McCann family said last night that the decision of the Portuguese police to pursue Mr Smith's claims prove that they were determined to pin the blame on Maddie's parents come what may. One said: ‘'Look at the facts. This man sees an individual carrying a child on the night Madeleine vanished. He waits 13 days to report this to the police, going back to Ireland. The McCanns return to England…it  was this image that alerted Mr Smith in the meantime. At this stage he admits he has no idea who the man is, other than a basic description. A further three, almost four months go by before, after seeing him on television, he feels it could be Gerry. By now the police have dozens of statements putting Gerry back at the apartment complex at that time. Yet the Portuguese ask a combination of the Leicestershire police and the Garda to re-interview this witness. About what?’

''And why? The truth is that this is part of the victimisation of Gerry and Kate which has gone on from the very beginning by the Portuguese, who were clearly desperate to get something against them."

“As they made their way back, the [Smiths] crossed paths with a slim man with a full head of chestnut coloured hair and dressed in beige trousers coming in the opposite direction.

“In the statement to Portuguese police on May 26th, the grandfather - who wears glasses but was not wearing them at the night in question - said he would not be able to identify the man he saw. Significantly though he was able to tell Police that the man was not Robert Murat, as he had met him on a number of previous occasions.

“This weekend, Mr Smith's wife Mary told the Mail on Sunday her husband had no regrets about coming forward. ‘He [Martin] doesn't want to talk, said Mrs Smith. He said what he had to say. I was with him [that night]. We saw a man carrying a child and that's all we know. We told them all that and that's it. The man he saw had the same stature as Gerry McCann. We felt we had to help. We're happy we did. We reported exactly what we saw…our hearts are breaking for her parents, as it would be if it were one of ours. 'I feel very much for them [the McCanns]. I have six grandchildren of my own and six children of my own. The poor McCann family must be heartbroken.''


NOTES:

1.  Martin Smith said his wife agreed with him about the man Jane Tanner saw being Gerry McCann. But none out of the other seven family members agreed. So we have:
One person, Martin Smith, who says he is 60-80% based on the way Garry was holding his head and put his head down
Another, Mary Smith, who is said by Martin Smith to agree but has made no statement to that effect, and
The other members of the family who simply disagree with their father's claims that the man they said they saw was Gerry McCann.

2. There is a reference to Martin Smith not having his glasses on that particular night. There has been some confusion as to whether it was Martin Smith or Robert Murat who was not wearing glasses, and one forum member above thought it was Robert. It is pretty clear from the context I suggest that it is Mr Smith who was not wearing glasses that night. That gives him the following handicaps in attempting to draw up a efit for ex-MI5 man Henri Exton about a year after the event. When he saw this man:

It was dark - 10pm
He only saw him for a second or two
The Smiths admitted the street lighting was weak
Martin Smith didn't get to see the man's face properly and
In any case he didn't have his glasses on. 

Moreover, he frankly admitted (all three of them did) that if he saw this man again he would never be able to recognise him, and
He was asked to do the efits probably a whole year later.

I am a complete loss as to how he could possibly draw up any efit
       

Offline misty

Re: The Smithman e-fits
« Reply #1010 on: March 23, 2018, 10:00:11 PM »
SOME MORE CITES
It was dark - 10pm

snipped
. 

........Moreover, he frankly admitted (all three of them did) that if he saw this man again he would never be able to recognise him, and
He was asked to do the efits probably a whole year later.

I am a complete loss as to how he could possibly draw up any efit
     

The PJ investigation had been shelved. RM had been cleared. The efits were subsequently produced in conjunction with PI's working only for the McCanns. What would be the motivation for 2 (crucial) witnesses suddenly being able to produce efits at that late stage?

Offline Robittybob1

Re: The Smithman e-fits
« Reply #1011 on: March 23, 2018, 10:04:19 PM »
The PJ investigation had been shelved. RM had been cleared. The efits were subsequently produced in conjunction with PI's working only for the McCanns. What would be the motivation for 2 (crucial) witnesses suddenly being able to produce efits at that late stage?
Would there be a word starting with M?
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Offline blonk

Re: The Smithman e-fits
« Reply #1012 on: March 23, 2018, 10:05:13 PM »
One forum member asked: 

In which of the Smiths' PJ statements was it described as a "disturbing encounter"?


REPLY: Here are the cites I can find so far about the Smith family's reaction to their alleged 'sighting':

Mary Smith:  "We didn’t think anything of it" (Reports, 3 Jan 2008)

Martin Smith (audio recording in an Irish voice for McCanns’ website, May 2011) “I thought they were father and daughter, so I - I wasn’t so suspicious”.

Martin Smith had also said: “…the man’s rude behaviour should have aroused my suspicions. The man put his head down and averted his eyes. This is very unusual…  (Reports, 3 Jan 2008)

Martin Smith: “I heard that a kidnapping had happened in the village of Luz. We were looking at all the commotion on Sky News…it had a terrible effect on [the children].  They all wanted to sleep in the same room as us until we went home on the Wednesday”. (Reports, 3 Jan 2008)

=====

The reports are those of 3 May 2008 in the Sun, Daily Mirror and Daily Mail .

I believe there is a reference to one of the Smiths describing their sighting as 'a disturbing encounter' but at present I cannot locate it.

I would have to add a personal opinion that if Martin Smith is correct in describing the situation of his children being in fear all week because of the news reports, it becomes even more astonishing that not one of the nine family members apparently even thought about reporting this to the police - until the day after Robert Murat was arrested.

I also add this note: That in one of the news reports that followed the BBC McCann Special on Crimewatch, 14 October 2013, one newspaper, I am pretty sure it was the Daily Mirror, reported as an apparent fact that Martin Smith tried to report his sighting to the PJ, but they 'didn't seem interested'. There was no detail about whether this report was in person, in his flat, or by telephone - and besides that, it has never ever been mentioned by Martin Smith in any statement or media report. So I don't believe the Mirror report   

Offline Carana

Re: The Smithman e-fits
« Reply #1013 on: March 23, 2018, 10:06:43 PM »
Thanks for the effort in finding cites to the tabloid articles, Blonk.

Do you believe that rushed tabloid reporters always take time to verify every detail and are therefore always reliable?

In my experience of reading tabloids about the case, there is sometimes a detail that is accurate, some of it half-true, and some of it pure invention to fill space prior to the deadline. The problem is trying to work out what can be corroborated (as they don't generally bother).

Here's an example:
“In the statement to Portuguese police on May 26th, the grandfather - who wears glasses but was not wearing them at the night in question - said he would not be able to identify the man he saw. Significantly though he was able to tell Police that the man was not Robert Murat, as he had met him on a number of previous occasions.

Did you check that against Martin's PJ statement?

When I went to check, I found that what Martin is recorded as supposedly having said is:

— Regarding the description of the individual who carried the child he states that: he was Caucasian, around 175 to 180m in height. He appeared to be about 35/40 years old. He had an average build, a bit on the thin side. His hair was short, in a basic male cut, brown in colour. He cannot state if it was dark or lighter in tone. He did not wear glasses and had no beard or moustache. He did not notice any other relevant details partly due to the fact that the lighting was not very good.

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/MARTIN_SMITH.htm

In that instance, there was indeed a mention of someone not wearing glasses, but - according to the statement - it was the person Martin saw, not Martin himself.


Offline Robittybob1

Re: The Smithman e-fits
« Reply #1014 on: March 23, 2018, 10:13:43 PM »
"Martin Smith (audio recording in an Irish voice for McCanns’ website, May 2011) “I thought they were father and daughter, so I - I wasn’t so suspicious”."  In that quote there is a hint that Martin Smith knew something about the guy; "he thought they were father and daughter".
That would have to be more than just considering the options wouldn't it?
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Offline blonk

Re: The Smithman e-fits
« Reply #1015 on: March 23, 2018, 10:27:57 PM »
The PJ investigation had been shelved. RM had been cleared. The efits were subsequently produced in conjunction with PI's working only for the McCanns. What would be the motivation for 2 (crucial) witnesses suddenly being able to produce efits at that late stage?

First, let's examine a few dates: We know from the multiple news reports on 3 January 2008 that Martin Smith had already been contacted by Brian Kennedy and had agreed to work with and help his dodgy Metodo 3 team (this was just after Metodo boss had been promising that his man 'knew where Madeleine was', were 'closing in on the kidnappers' and that Madeleine would be 'home by Christmas').

We also know, or rather we have been told, that Henri Exton drew up the efits. Henri Exton, we are told, was appointed by that rogue and convicted criminal Kevin Halligen. According to media sources (I don't think there are any others), Halligen's Oakley International (founded after Madeleine was reported missing) was hired by the McCanns/Brian Kennedy some time in April 2008. So April would be the earliest date that the efits could have been drawn up.

As to other dates:

When Robert Murat was cleared - I believe February 2008
When the PJ report was archived - July 2008.

It seems likely therefore that the efits may have been drawn up before the PJ archiving report in July 2008.         

'misty' asked: "What would be the motivation for 2 (crucial) witnesses suddenly being able to produce efits at that late stage?"

ANSWER:  The Oakley International - Kevin Halligen - Henri Exton team was hired by the McCanns with one express purpose: "To look for and find Madeleine".

To this end, the investigators would naturally want to talk to the Smiths who, to put it bluntly, were telling the PJ loud and clear that they had all seen a man hasting towards the beach carrying Madeleine who was 'in a deep sleep'.

First of all, however, they had to clear away one obstacle - namely that Martin Smith had told the PJ back on 20 September 2007 that he was up to 80% sure that the man they had all seen was Madeleine McCann (though seven of the nine members of his family disagreed with him).  When Martin Smith had his change of mind and began working for the McCanns instead of against them is one of those things we will perhaps never know.

Of course, if you believe Irish journalist Gemma O'Doherty, she will tell you that Martin Smith told her recently: "I have never changed my mind. I still say I am 60% to 80% sure it was Gerry McCann I saw that night". 
     


 


Offline Carana

Re: The Smithman e-fits
« Reply #1016 on: March 23, 2018, 10:41:54 PM »
@ Blonk

Picking up on a point you made:

"When Robert Murat was cleared - I believe February 2008"

How would it have been possible under PT law to be cleared prior to a judicial decision concerning the case?


byron

  • Guest
Re: The Smithman e-fits
« Reply #1017 on: March 23, 2018, 10:50:30 PM »
blonk
"It seems likely therefore that the efits may have been drawn up before the PJ archiving report in July 2008."         



Adrian Gatton
‏
 
@AdrianGatton
 Feb 4
More
Operation Omega: Smiths first interviewed by team 02/08/08. E-fits done 4th Sept 2008. Omega memo 08/09/08: "the SMITH family are now (and should always have been treated as) the investigation’s most important witnesses". Met release e-fits 2013 #OperationOmega #McCann #Halligen

Offline misty

Re: The Smithman e-fits
« Reply #1018 on: March 23, 2018, 10:55:11 PM »
First, let's examine a few dates: We know from the multiple news reports on 3 January 2008 that Martin Smith had already been contacted by Brian Kennedy and had agreed to work with and help his dodgy Metodo 3 team (this was just after Metodo boss had been promising that his man 'knew where Madeleine was', were 'closing in on the kidnappers' and that Madeleine would be 'home by Christmas').

We also know, or rather we have been told, that Henri Exton drew up the efits. Henri Exton, we are told, was appointed by that rogue and convicted criminal Kevin Halligen. According to media sources (I don't think there are any others), Halligen's Oakley International (founded after Madeleine was reported missing) was hired by the McCanns/Brian Kennedy some time in April 2008. So April would be the earliest date that the efits could have been drawn up.

As to other dates:

When Robert Murat was cleared - I believe February 2008
When the PJ report was archived - July 2008.

It seems likely therefore that the efits may have been drawn up before the PJ archiving report in July 2008.         

'misty' asked: "What would be the motivation for 2 (crucial) witnesses suddenly being able to produce efits at that late stage?"

ANSWER:  The Oakley International - Kevin Halligen - Henri Exton team was hired by the McCanns with one express purpose: "To look for and find Madeleine".

To this end, the investigators would naturally want to talk to the Smiths who, to put it bluntly, were telling the PJ loud and clear that they had all seen a man hasting towards the beach carrying Madeleine who was 'in a deep sleep'.

First of all, however, they had to clear away one obstacle - namely that Martin Smith had told the PJ back on 20 September 2007 that he was up to 80% sure that the man they had all seen was Madeleine McCann (though seven of the nine members of his family disagreed with him).  When Martin Smith had his change of mind and began working for the McCanns instead of against them is one of those things we will perhaps never know.

Of course, if you believe Irish journalist Gemma O'Doherty, she will tell you that Martin Smith told her recently: "I have never changed my mind. I still say I am 60% to 80% sure it was Gerry McCann I saw that night". 
     


 

Murat had his arguido status removed at the same time as the McCanns.

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/LEGAL_SUMMARY.htm

snipped
a) The archiving of the Process concerning arguido Robert James Queriol Eveleigh Murat, because there are no indications of the practise of any crime under the dispositions of article 277 number 1 of the Penal Process Code;

b) The archiving of the Process concerning Arguidos Gerald Patrick McCann and Kate Marie Healy, because there are no indications of the practise of any crime under the dispositions of article 277 number 1 of the Penal Process Code.

Article 277 number 3 of the Penal Process Code is to be fulfilled.

Under article 214 number 1 item a) of the Penal Process Code, the coercion measures that have been imposed on the arguidos are declared extinct.

Portimão, 21.07.08

The Republic's Prosecutor

(José de Magalhaes e Menezes)

The Joint General Prosecutor

(signature)

(Joao Melchior Gomes)


The efits were produced 4th September 2008, according to Adrian Gatton.
« Last Edit: March 24, 2018, 03:33:52 AM by misty »

Offline Robittybob1

Re: The Smithman e-fits
« Reply #1019 on: March 23, 2018, 11:04:09 PM »
the date I see (partially) is 2008-09-02 that would be their production date surely.

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