Police Cases: “Truth of the Lie” is on its Way

26 February 2012 | Posted by  80 comments

Gonçalo Amaral told TVmais that he hired the lawyer of the police officers, that he is divorced and he assures there are going to be news in the upcoming days. Gonçalo Amaral can now sell the books that were banned, but no one returns them.

by Hernâni Carvalho

The version of the former PJ coordinator-inspector regarding the Maddie case was liberated by the court and can return to the news stands. It's a "victory of freedom against the inquisition" said Gonçalo Amaral to TVmais.

The book “The Truth of the Lie” was seized and its sales prohibited following an injunction that Maddie's parents filed against Gonçalo Amaral and his publisher.

Gonçalo Amaral opposed that decision to the Appellate Court, the latter proved the former PJ officer was right. Then the McCanns appealed to the Supreme Court of Justice. However, that superior court refused their request. That means the book can be sold and Gonçalo Amaral can receive the author rights from his writings.

The problem now is that the trustee of the book copies - the McCann couple's lawyer herself - has not yet returned them to Gonçalo Amaral nor to the book publishers [Guerra e Paz].

“The Truth of the Lie” still awaits.

Police Super Lawyer

Due to the process the McCann couple have against him, Gonçalo Amaral had his goods and assets seized, as well as his author rights. With the recent release of his books, part of this sequestration stands without effect. It's the first victory in Gonçalo Amaral's new defence strategy.

Gonçalo Amaral confirmed that he discharged his previous lawyer and gave all the cases to Santos de Oliveira, known as the police super lawyer. “I can confirm that I have hired Dr. Oliveira, but I won't make further comments. Results will speak for themselves”.

In good spirits, the PJ coordinator-inspector says that he can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel. At the moment he is just waiting for his books to be returned so they can be on the market again, “as it should happen in a free country, after all I've only written what is in the case files”, he said.

Divorce

“Yes, I'm divorced from Sofia, of whom I remain a friend and with whom I share the education of our daughters. The priority is to give them stability. And, yes, I am living in Lisbon with my father and I won't say anything else about my private life. At the end of all this (a lot of water is still going to flow in the Thames river...) someone will reimburse me for all the wicked actions taken against me... Then, I will tell the rest”, said in a single burst Gonçalo Amaral, without accepting any further questions.

Court: Maddie's Guardianship

Upon request of the McCann couple, Maddie is at the guardianship of the court [Ward of Court]. In practice, this means that the search for the young girl will not be prevented. The decision to grant parental responsibility to a court in England may, in future, derail or inhibit the girl's parents to bring further actions on her behalf, since that becomes the prerogative of the court. But the important thing is to discover the whereabouts of the girl.

McCanns sue another one

The parents of Maddie, who disappeared in 2007 (when she was 3 years old) from an apartment where she was left alone with her two year old siblings, the twins, in Praia da Luz, in the Algarve, have now sued Anthony Bennett by attributing to him the authorship of a smear campaign. Bennett argues [based on the police case files] the McCann couple is responsible for the alleged death of the girl and has released this message in various publications and leaflets. The retired solicitor, Anthony Bennett, and chairman of the Madeleine Foundation, faces a possible prison sentence if found guilty of the accusations made by the McCann couple.

Madeleine Foundation

Founded in January 2008, the foundation aim was to draw attention to missing children cases. From the beginning, its chairman has always been critical of Maddie's parents, indicating that they had some responsibilities in the unknown fate of the child. In November 2009, after a long legal battle, the couple managed to close the Foundation's web site. Bennett and the couple have reached an agreement at that time and the solicitor took the commitment to not say or publish that the couple was in any way responsible for the death of their daughter. Now, the McCanns say that he did exactly the opposite.

in TVmais, paper edition, nº 996, 17 to 23 February, 2012

Note: with thanks to Maria C.

American Criminal Profiler probes McCann mystery

23 February 2012 | Posted by  11 comments

By Natasha Donn
Translations Bruno Filipe Pires (PT), Astrid Kuehl (DE)| Photos © Bruno Filipe Pires/Pat Brown 2012

American Criminal Profiler probes McCann mystery

«She arrived in Lisbon from Washington, D.C wheeling a travel-worn suitcase and carrying a metal detector. Inside her suitcase, she’d packed a soil probe and a spade. Pat Brown - Criminal Profiler, TV commentator and author - was on a mission. As social networking sites buzzed with the news – split between those that wished her well, and those that vociferously didn’t – Brown was undeterred. “This has nothing to do with self-publicity. I am simply trying to get to the truth”. We caught up with her when Brown arrived in the Algarve after meetings in the capital with Gonçalo Amaral and others who have put their reputations on the line in an attempt to solve the millennium’s greatest mystery.

«“Only the Truth” is intriguingly the title of the next book to be published by criminal profiler Pat Brown. A work of fiction, it is a story about a man who falls in love with a woman who is later arrested for murder. Hot on its heels will come a non-fiction handbook for parents, entitled: “How to Save your Daughter’s Life”, and then in 2013, Brown´s long-running research project, “The Murder of Cleopatra” will be published – her historical investigation inspired by profiling discoveries she made during a documentary for the Discovery Channel in 2004.»

One of the first questions we asked was why an American criminal profiler and TV personality felt the need cross the Atlantic to Portugal to investigate a missing person’s case that was almost five years old?

“Two reasons,” she told us. “One is that I have always been passionately involved in a search for the truth. It’s not something that makes me popular, but it’s something I care about above my own reputation as this case threatens to prejudice the way missing person’s cases are handled.”

“We have a situation here where there are two parents who have refused to cooperate fully with a police investigation – who have refused to answer questions, who have changed their stories and fled from jurisdiction – but who have then taken their story - in the way they want us to believe it - to the media, asking people to donate money to fund a search for a child who, statistically-speaking, is almost certainly dead!”

“I can understand bereaved parents doing some crazy things, but never have I seen parents like this before! Their actions have opened the door to speculation.”

“My other reason is to show support for Gonçalo Amaral and freedom of speech”.

Amaral faces trial for defamation of the McCanns over the publication of his book, “The Truth of the Lie” in which he maintains that three-year-old Madeleine McCann died in apartment 5a on the night of May 3rd 2007. His trial was originally set for February 9th -10th, but postponed. Brown decided to take advantage of her booked flight to see if she could learn anything new by visiting the crime scene. And did she?

“Yes, absolutely. I discovered more about the situation on the street; I learnt about the locks on the doors and how they work; how the shutter and window would be impossible to open from the outside; about the kind of terrain here – but my line of thought has remained the same: there are two simple answers to this crime”.

“The simplest answer is that Madeleine was abducted by a local predator (in which case she would almost certainly have been killed within two to three hours) – and the second simplest answer is that she died in a tragic accident and her body was disposed of”.

“To eliminate the second simplest answer, we have to establish without doubt that there was an abduction – and that hasn’t happened”.

Does she believe, like Gonçalo Amaral, that what’s needed is a reconstruction of the night Madeleine went missing?

“Hell yes! And that’s what they have consistently refused to go along with – all of them: the McCanns and the rest of the Tapas group! The McCanns particularly have been their own worst enemies. They could provide answers in a number of ways: by taking part in a reconstruction, by submitting to polygraph testing. You see, they have to be eliminated in order for the first simplest answer to be the highest probability!”

“Another aspect that truly bothers me is the promotion of mythology. Sex rings have become the new bogeyman. Every parent has been made to fear that their child could be grabbed by a sex ring – but sex rings do not operate in hotel complexes!”

“If a sex ring wants a child, it grabs one off the streets in some poor neighbourhood. It doesn’t snatch a middle-class child from its bed while on holiday, particularly when - if the stories we’re led to believe are true - all the parents were jumping up and down from their dinner table every 15 minutes to check on their children! Any abductor would be lying in wait thinking “when the heck am I going to get a chance to break into an apartment!”

Brown’s experience of profiling began when she was already in her 40s and had been working as a sign language interpreter on hospital trauma wards for over a decade. During those years she “saw everything”: gunshot wounds, stab and rape casualties, victims and villains. The experience taught her a lot about life, crime and circumstance – and then she found herself having rented a room for four weeks to a man she believed should have been “a person-of-interest” in a brutal sexual homicide. This unsettling experience was the start of her interest in profiling and how homicide cases are handled. It took six years for the police to bring the man in for questioning and declare him a suspect in the murder – and it led to Brown specialising in a profession that invariably finds itself called in way too late.

“One of my ambitions is to make profilers a prerequisite on all police forces,” she told us. “We need to be called in right at the beginning. Crime scenes need better handling”.

“If parents were separated when police first arrived on the scene, along with everyone else involved, it would be much easier to verify everyone’s stories - and a true timeline could be established”.

“In this case, the McCanns and their friends were given days to confer with each other. The result is that in order to look better maybe, or to explain things that are embarrassing, they may have screwed up the timeline to the extent that they look guilty. Or, if the McCanns were involved in the death of their daughter, they had a chance to get their stories straight”.

So what’s the bottom line? Will this case ever be solved?

“If it could be proved that Gerry McCann was at the dinner table in the Tapas restaurant between 9.15 and 9.55” (when a man looking apparently very much like Gerry McCann was seen by an Irish family carrying a child in pink pyjamas over his shoulder as he walked in the direction of the beach) “then that would be proof that there was an abduction”.

“If the cadaver dogs were right” (brought in three months after Madeleine went missing, and which reacted positively to the possibility that a dead body had lain in the apartment) “then there was no abduction”.

“And for those two details to be established, we’re back to the reasoning of former police officer in charge of the case, Gonçalo Amaral: there has to be a reconstruction of that fateful night of 3rd May 2007 – using all parties involved.”

“But so far as we know, that doesn’t look like happening any day soon!” Brown shakes her head. “I honestly don’t know what the Metropolitan Police are doing with their current review of the case - which is costing millions of pounds. As far as I can see, they haven’t started where they should have started – with crime scene reconstruction.

“That’s where there’s the best crack at getting to the truth!”

Pat Brown and Gonçalo Amaral, Lisbon 2012

Investigadora americana investiga caso McCann

«Chegou da capital dos Estados Unidos a Portugal com uma mala de viagem bastante usada e um detector de metais. Na bagagem, trouxe ainda uma sonda para pesquisas no solo e uma pá. Pat Brown, 56 anos, profiler criminal, autora e colaboradora de vários programas televisivos nos Estados Unidos da América, veio em missão por conta própria. A notícia da sua viagem ao Algarve fez eco nas redes sociais, dando origem a mensagens de apoio e de escárnio. Nada que afectasse a determinação de Pat Brown. “Isto não tem a ver com publicidade para a minha pessoa. Apenas vim à procura da verdade”, disse-nos em entrevista. Uns dias antes, Brown esteve em Lisboa, para falar com Gonçalo Amaral e outros que também já sofreram as consequências por procurarem desvendar um dos maiores mistérios da actualidade.

«O próximo livro a ser publicado pela profiler criminal Pat Brown vai ter o intrigante título «Only the Truth». É uma obra de ficção que narra a história de um homem que se apaixona por uma mulher que vai ser presa por homicídio. No prelo está também um livro não-ficcional para pais com o título «How to Save your Daughter’s Life». Finalmente, 2013 vai ser o culminar de um longo projecto de pesquisa histórica sobre o assassinato da rainha egípcia Cleópatra. O livro, a publicar, revela todas as descobertas que fez durante a produção de um documentário para o Discovery Channel, em 2004.»

Uma das nossas primeiras perguntas foi por que motivo uma investigadora criminal norte-americana – e celebridade televisiva – sentiu necessidade de atravessar o Atlântico até Portugal para rever o caso de uma criança que está desaparecida há quase cinco anos?

“Por duas razões”, respondeu. “A primeira é que porque sempre estive muito empenhada na busca pela verdade. Isso não é algo que me faça popular, mas é algo que respeito mais do que a minha própria reputação, até porque este caso ameaça prejudicar a forma como as investigações sobre pessoas desaparecidas são feitas.”

“Temos aqui uma situação na qual há dois pais que se recusaram a cooperar totalmente com a investigação policial – que se recusaram a responder a questões, que mudaram as versões dos seus depoimentos e escaparam à jurisdição – e que depois contaram a sua história da forma em que querem que acreditemos, levaram-na à imprensa, e pediram ao público para doar dinheiro para um fundo destinado a pagar as despesas da procura por uma criança que, estatisticamente falando, muito provavelmente já estará morta”, argumenta.

“Posso compreender que pais em luto possam fazer coisas insensatas, mas nunca tinha visto antes pais portarem-se assim. As suas atitudes abriram as portas à especulação”, diz.

“A outra razão é que quero demonstrar apoio para com Gonçalo Amaral e a liberdade de expressão.”

Como é sabido, o ex-inspector da Polícia Judiciária que na altura coordenou a investigação criminal do caso, tem um litígio legal com Kate e Gerry McCann, por causa da publicação do seu controverso livro «Maddie, A Verdade da Mentira». Está acusado de difamação, porque o livro sustenta a sua tese que a filha do casal britânico morreu no apartamento 5A na noite de 3 de Maio de 2007. O julgamento estava inicialmente marcado para os dias 9 e 10 de Fevereiro, mas acabou por ser adiado.

Depois de ser ter encontrado com Amaral, Pat visitou o local onde tudo aconteceu em busca de novos dados. Perguntamos-lhe se encontrou alguma coisa na Praia da Luz?

“Sim, definitivamente. Descobri mais sobre a situação na rua. Descobri mais sobre as fechaduras e as portas e como funcionam; como a persiana e a janela seriam impossíveis de abrir a partir do exterior, e também sobre o tipo de terreno aqui. Mas no fundo, a minha linha de pensamento ficou na mesma. Há duas respostas simples para este crime.”

“A resposta mais simples é que Madeleine foi raptada por um predador local, e neste caso, ela teria sido morta, quase de certeza, nas duas ou três horas imediatamente a seguir. A segunda resposta mais simples é que ela morreu num trágico acidente e o corpo foi descartado.”

“Para eliminar a segunda resposta mais simples, temos de estabelecer, sem quaisquer dúvidas, que se tratou de um rapto – e isso não aconteceu!” Então, perguntamos a Pat Brown se acredita, tal como Gonçalo Amaral, que é necessária uma reconstituição da noite em que a criança de 3 anos de idade desapareceu?

“Obviamente que sim! E isso é algo que eles se têm sistematicamente recusado a fazer – todos eles, os McCanns e o grupo de amigos que estavam no restaurante Tapas! Os McCanns em particular têm sido os seus próprios piores inimigos. Eles poderiam providenciar respostas de várias formas, ao participarem numa reconstituição, ou a submeterem-se a um teste no polígrafo. Portanto, como vê, isto tem de ser eliminado para que a primeira resposta mais simples tenha as mais altas probabilidades”, diz.

“Outro aspecto que verdadeiramente me incomoda é a promoção da mitologia. As redes de pedofilia e de sexo infantil são os novos papões. Cada pai tem vindo a ser convencido que deve temer a possibilidade da sua criança cair nestas situações – mas a verdade é que estas redes não operam em complexos hoteleiros. Se uma rede de pedofilia quer uma criança, agarra uma na rua, sobretudo em meios mais pobres e desfavorecidos. Não vai roubar uma criança da classe média alta da sua cama de férias – particularmente quando – e se é que as histórias a que temos vindo a ser convencidos a acreditar são verdadeiras – todos os pais estavam a saltar da mesa para os seus quartos a cada 15 minutos para verem se as crianças estavam bem! Qualquer raptor perderia a paciência a pensar quando é que teria uma oportunidade de entrar no apartamento!”

A experiência de Brown enquanto profiler criminal começa já depois dos 40 anos de idade. Antes, trabalhou como intérprete de linguagem gestual nas urgências de vários hospitais durante mais deuma década. Durante esses anos, Brown diz ter “visto tudo”: ferimentos provocados por tiros de caçadeiras, mortes, violações, punhaladas, vítimas e vilões. A experiência ensinou-lhe muito sobre a vida, o crime e a circunstância – e certo dia, viu-se ela própria envolvida num caso. Durante quatro semanas, alugou um quarto a um homem que acredita que deveria ter sido o principal suspeito de um brutal homicídio sexual. Esta má experiência marcou o início do seu interesse em traçar perfis e em como os casos de homicídios eram tratados. Demorou seis anos até a polícia finalmente interrogar o homem e declará-lo suspeito no dito assassinato. Foi também este caso que a levou a especializar-se numa profissão que, invariavelmente, só é chamada à acção quando já é demasiado tarde.

“Uma das minhas ambições é fazer dos profilers um pré-requisito em todas as forças policiais. Precisamos de ser chamados logo de início. E os locais dos crimes precisam de ser melhor processados.”

“Se os pais tivessem sido logo separados quando a polícia chegou ao local, tal como todos os outros envolvidos, teria sido muito mais fácil verificar todos os depoimentos e versões, e poderia ter sido estabelecida uma verdadeira cronologia dos factos”.

“Neste caso, os McCanns e os seus amigos tiveram vários dias para conferenciarem uns com os outros. O resultado é que, talvez de modo às coisas parecerem melhores, ou para explicarem coisas que são embaraçosas, eles talvez tenham adulterado a cronologia para além daquilo que os poderia comprometer”, diz. Isto é, se os McCanns estiveram envolvidos na morte da sua filha, tiveram uma oportunidade prévia de organizarem as suas histórias.

Em última análise, será que alguma vez este caso será resolvido?

“Se puder ser provado que o Gerry McCann estava na mesa do jantar no restaurante Tapas entre as 9h15 e as 9h55” – hora em que um homem muito parecido com ele foi visto por uma família irlandesa, a carregar ao ombro uma criança em pijama cor-de-rosa, em direcção à praia – “então, isso seria a prova que realmente teria havido um rapto.”

”Se os cães que detectam vestígios de cadáver estiverem certos” – foram trazidos ao local três meses depois do desaparecimento de Madeleine, e reagiram positivamente à possibilidade de um corpo morto ter estado no apartamento – “então, não houve qualquer rapto.”

“E para que estes dois detalhes possam ser determinados com rigor, voltamos ao raciocínio de Gonçalo Amaral que se tem batido pela reconstituição do que aconteceu – utilizando todas as partes envolvidas.”

“Mas, pelo que sei, não me parece que isso irá acontecer em breve!”, lamenta Brown, abanando a cabeça. “Honestamente, não sei o que a Metropolitan Police está a fazer com a sua revisão actual do caso em curso, e que está a custar milhões de libras. Pelo que vejo, eles ainda não começaram por onde deveriam ter começado – com uma reconstituição da noite do desaparecimento”.

“É aí que está a melhor chave para chegar à verdade!”


Kriminalfall-Analytikerin untersucht McCann Geheimnis

«Sie traf mit einem abgenutzten Rollkoffer und einem Metall-Detektor aus den USA ein. In ihrem Koffer befand sich ein Spaten und eine Bodenprobe. Pat Brown, Kriminalfall- Analytikerin, TV Kommentatorin und Autorin war in einer Mission unterwegs. Als sich die Neuigkeit in Windeseile in den sozialen Netzwerken verbreitetete, war die Meinung geteilt zwischen denen, die ihr alles Gute wünschten und denen, die lautstark die gegenteilige Ansicht vertraten. Brown liess sich nicht abschrecken. “Es hat nichts mit Eigenwerbung zu tun. Ich versuche einfach die Wahrheit herauszufinden“. Algarve123 traf sich mit Brown bei ihrer Ankunft an der Algarve. Zuvor hatte sie in Lissabon einige Treffen mit Gonçalo Amaral und Anderen, die ihren guten Ruf aufs Spiel setzen, um das grösste Rätsel des Jahrtausends zu lösen.

«“Only the Truth” ist der vielversprechende Titel des nächsten Buches von Kriminalfall- Analytikerin Pat Brown. Der Roman erzählt die Geschichte eines Mannes, der sich in eine Frau verliebt, die später wegen Mordes verhaftet wird. Kurz darauf kommt ein Sachbuch für Eltern mit dem Titel “How to Save your Daughter’s Life” heraus und 2013 wird Browns Langzeit-Forschungsprojekt
“The Murder of Cleopatra“ veröffentlicht. Die historische Untersuchung ist inspiriert von Entdeckungen, die die Fallanalytikerin 2004 im Rahmen einer Dokumentation für den Discovery Channel machte.»


In einer der ersten Fragen wollten wir erfahren, warum eine amerikanische Kriminalfallanalytikerin und TV-Persönlichkeit das Bedürfnis verspürte, den Atlantik bis nach Portugal zu überqueren, um in einem fast fünf Jahre alten Vermisstenfall zu ermitteln.

“Zwei Gründe,” sagte sie uns. “Zunächst einmal war ich schon immer mit Leidenschaft in die Suche nach der Wahrheit involviert. Es macht mich nicht berühmt, aber es ist etwas, das mir sehr am Herzen liegt, weil dieser Fall die Art und Weise wie mit Vermisstenfällen umgegangen wird, zu beschädigen droht.”

“Wir haben hier eine Situation, in der die Eltern nicht vollständig bei einer polizeilichen Ermittlung kooperierten, sich weigerten, Fragen zu beantworten, ihre Aussagen änderten und vor der Gerichtsbarkeit flohen, dann aber mit ihrer Version der Geschichte an die Presse gingen, um Leute dazu zu bringen, Geld zu spenden für die Suche nach einem Kind, das statistisch gesehen beinahe sicher, bereits tot war.”

“Ich verstehe hinterbliebene Eltern, die verrückte Sachen machen, aber noch nie habe ich solche Eltern gesehen! Ihr Handeln öffnete den Mutmassungen Tür und Tor.”

“Mein anderer Grund ist zu zeigen, dass ich Gonçalo Amaral unterstütze und für die Freiheit der Rede eintrete.”

Amaral ist angeklagt wegen Verleumdung der Familie Mc Cann durch die Veröffentlichung seines Buches “The Truth of the Lie” (auf deutsch: “Maddie - Die Wahrheit über die Lüge”), in dem er behauptet, dass deren Tochter in der Nacht des 3. Mai 2007 in Appartment 5a starb. Der Prozess war zunächst für den 9. und 10. Februar angesetzt, wurde aber verschoben. Brown entschied sich, den gebuchten Flug zu nutzen, um zu sehen, ob sich aus dem Besuch des Tatorts neue Schlüsse ziehen liessen. Und war es so?

“Ja, tatsächlich. Ich fand mehr über die Situation in der Umgebung heraus. Ich erfuhr etwas über die Türschlösser und deren Funktion - es wäre unmöglich gewesen, die Fensterläden und die Fenster von aussen zu öffnen - und über die Art des Geländes hier. Aber meine Grundposition blieb bestehen: es gibt zwei einfache Antworten in diesem Kriminalfall.”

“Die einfachste Antwort besagt, dass ein ortsansässiger Verbrecher Madeleine entführte (in diesem Fall wurde sie fast sicher innerhalb von zwei bis drei Stunden getötet) und die zweiteinfachste Antwort ist, dass sie bei einem tragischen Unfall starb und ihr Körper beseitigt wurde.”

“Um die zweiteinfachste Antwort auszuschliessen, müssen wir zweifellos beweisen, dass es eine Entführung gab und das ist bisher nicht geschehen.”

Glaubt sie, ebenso wie Gonçalo Amaral, dass die Nacht, in der die dreijährige Madeleine verschwand, unbedingt rekonstruiert werden müsste?

“Na klar! Aber sie weigern sich beharrlich, sie alle: die McCanns und der Rest der Tapas Gruppe! Vor allem die McCanns waren ihre eigenen ärgsten Feinde. Sie könnten auf verschiedenste Art antworten: durch ihre Beteiligung bei einer Rekonstruktion des Tathergangs, durch die Teilnahme an einem Test mit dem Lügendetektor. Sehen Sie, sie müssten als Tatbeteiligte ausgeschlossen werden können, damit die erste, einfachste Antwort die wahrscheinlichste ist.”

“Ein anderer Aspekt der mich wirklich stört, ist die Schaffung von Mythologien. Sex-Ring heisst das neue Feindbild. Den Eltern wird eingeredet, dass ihr Kind von einem Sex-Ring geschnappt werden könnte, aber Sex-Ringe arbeiten nicht in Hotelkomplexen! Wenn ein Sex-Ring ein Kind will, entführt er es auf offener Strasse in einem sozial-schwachen Viertel. Man entführt kein Kind der Mittelschicht in den Ferien aus dem Bett, vor allem nicht, wenn wir den Geschichten Glauben schenken wollen, dass die Eltern alle 15 Minuten vom Tisch aufgestanden sind, um nach ihren Kindern zu sehen. Jeder auf der Lauer liegende Entführer würde sich fragen “wann, verdammt nochmal,werde ich die Chance bekommen in ein Appartment einzubrechen!”

Browns Erfahrung mit der Erstellung von Fallanalysen begann als sie schon über 4o war und bereits mehr als ein Jahrzehnt als Gebärdensprachedolmetscherin in Krankenhäusern mit Unfallopfern gearbeitet hatte. In diesen Jahren sah sie “Alles”: Schussverletzungen, Opfer von Messerstechereien und Vergewaltigungen, Leidtragende und Schurken. Die Erfahrung hatte sie einiges über Leben, Kriminalität und Umstände gelehrt. Dann fand sie heraus, dass sie selbst für vier Wochen ein Zimmer an einen Mann untervermietet hatte, von dem sie glaubte, dass er ein Verdächtiger in einem brutalen Sexualmordfall sein könnte.Dieses beunruhigende Erlebnis markierte den Beginn ihres Interesses für die Erstellung von Kriminalfall-Analysen und den Umgang mit Mordfällen; man benötigte sechs Jahre, um den Mann zur Vernehmung vorzuladen und zum Verdächtigen in diesem Mordfall zu erklären und es brachte sie dazu, sich in einem Beruf zu spezialisieren, dessen Dienste grundsätzlich zu spät in Anspruch genommen werden.

“Eines meiner Anliegen ist es, Fallanalytiker zu einer Grundvoraussetzung bei allen Polizeieinheiten zu machen. Wir müssen gleich zu Anfang gerufen werden. Tatorte bedürfen besserer Vorgehensweisen.”

“Wenn Eltern ebenso wie alle weiteren Beteiligten sofort nachdem die Polizei am Tatort eintrifft, voneinander getrennt würden, wäre es viel einfacher, die Aussagen zu überprüfen und einen genauen Tathergang zu ermitteln.”

“In diesem Fall gab man den McCanns und ihren Freunden tagelang Zeit sich zu beraten. Mit dem Ergebnis, dass sie vielleicht, um besser dazustehen oder um peinliche Dinge zu erklären, die Ermittlungen zum Tathergang in einem Masse behinderten, welches sie schuldig erscheinen lässt. Oder, wenn die McCanns in den Tod ihrer Tochter verwickelt waren, die Chance ihre Geschichten zu korrigieren.”

Wie ist ihr Fazit? Wird der Fall jemals gelöst werden?

“Falls bewiesen werden kann, dass Gerry McCann zwischen 21.15 und 21.55 Uhr in dem Tapas Restaurant beim Abendessen sass” (während ein Mann, der Gerry McCann anscheinend sehr ähnlich sah, mit einem Kind in einem rosafarbenen Pyjama auf dem Arm auf dem Weg Richtung Strand von einer irischen Familie gesehen wurde)“wäre das der Beleg dafür, dass es eine Entführung gab.”

“Wenn die Spürhunde richtig lagen, (eingesetzt drei Monate nachdem Madeleine verschwand, reagierten sie positiv auf die Möglichkeit, dass sich eine Leiche in dem Appartment befunden hat) dann hat keine Entführung stattgefunden.”

“Um diese beiden Details zu beweisen, kehren wir zurück zu der Argumentation des damals verantwortlichen ehemaligen Polizeibeamten Gonçalo Amaral: es muss eine Rekonstruktion des Verbrechens geben bei der alle Beteiligten anwesend sind.”

“Aber soweit uns bekannt ist, sieht es bisher nicht so aus, als würde dies in naher Zukunft geschehen!” Brown schüttelt den Kopf: “Ich weiss wirklich nicht wie die englische Polizei bei der aktuellen überprüfung des Falls vorgeht, der Millionen britische Pfund kostet. Soweit ich es beurteilen kann, haben sie nicht dort angefangen, wo sie hätten anfangen sollen: bei der Rekonstruktion des Tathergangs.”

“Darin liegt am ehesten die Chance, die Wahrheit zu ergründen!”

Published in Algarve 123, n.º 717, February, 23, 2012 - VivaAlgarve Supplement



Get the 'Profile of the Disappearance of Madeleine McCann' before the McCanns Carter-Ruck it.

Brief synopsis: What really happened to Madeleine Beth McCann in Praia da Luz, Portugal in 2007? Was she abducted as the Gerry and Kate have claimed or did something happen to Madeleine on May 3 in the vacation apartment and the incident covered up? Criminal Profiler Pat Brown analyses the evidence and takes the readers through the steps of profiling, developing a theory that is intriguing and controversial.

Barnes & Nobles | Smashwords

Follow Pat Brown's continuous analysis of the McCann case at her blog.



Gonçalo Amaral - Maddie Case leads to Divorce

14 February 2012 | Posted by  62 comments

Picture © 2012 Impala Serviços Editoriais, S.A

The marriage of ten years yielded to the pressure of the Maddie case. Without assets nor money, the former inspector returned to his parents' home at the age of 53. To Nova Gente he spoke of his divorce, of his writings, about his daughters and of the litigation with the McCann couple...

After a few years you have decided to separate from Sofia. Did that happen as a consequence of the problems that you still have with Maddie's parents, namely, the fact that you were left without any assets, without means to provide for the family?

It is still to early to make that kind of accountability. Marriages end for various reasons, which should usually remain within the personal scope of the former matrimony. However, it was a considered decision between me and the mother of my daughter, Inês.

I remember Sofia has always supported you and at all times during this process. Even though you are separated does she continue to support you? In what way? Do you, Gonçalo, also support her?

Indeed it has been like that and it remains as such, however right now I want to preserve hers and my space. It is good to know that she is willing to support me, but I feel better to go alone to the final fight. As someone once said: when we were kids we did not call our family to fend for us. Now it is time to be alone, making sure that this is the best way to defend my daughter and her mother interests.

Will there be a filing for divorce?

The divorce is by mutual agreement, and I do hope that is declared as soon as possible, so Sofia can follow her path and I mine. We do not hold any grudges and our only concern is the future of our daughters. I often say if the mother of my daughters is well, they will also be well, and that is my main preoccupation.

How often do you visit your daughters? How do you manage that? Do you go to the Algarve to see them or do they come to Lisbon?

Whenever I can I will go to the Algarve or they will come to Lisbon. I still consider Rita as my daughter, even though legally I might not be [her father], I continue to worry about her and her future; it was a decade that I saw her grow up, and it is not possible to erase that as if switching off a button. The internet and the cell-phone also help shortening the distance from my daughters.

You have been increasingly close to your eldest daughter, from another marriage. Did she followed your steps?

My eldest daughter, now 27 years-old, became my confidant. I still worry about her future, even though she has achieved her academical goals (Bachelor's Degree, Master in Criminal Law and an unemployed 1 Lawyer), I generally say she is part of the so-called “geração à rasca” [desperate generation] 2. Her mother and I were able to do for her what many parents did and wished they had been able to do, which was to provide her with conditions in order to succeed, but that seems to be delayed for now. My only wish is for her to be happy.

Don't you miss your family life?

I believe the nostalgic feeling for the family life is not beneficial. Obviously, I cherish the memories of that family life, but I am divorcing from my wife not from my daughters, and for me they remain the primary reason for my existence.

Are you enjoying your new life as a 'single man'? Is it easier to be married or to be single?

It is different, it isn't possible to make any comparisons.

How did you solve things? Was it difficult, lengthy, complicated?

It wasn't easy, but neither was it difficult. There was a consideration and a joint assessment of our relationship; the conclusion that it was exhausted, reached calmly and quietly, made us understand that it was necessary to change our lives, nothing more.

Did you ever thought that because of an investigation, such as Maddie's, your life would be turned upside down?

I never thought that, but that was only possible due to the servilism seen in our country in its relations with the United Kingdom, where our politicians and our intellectuals have forgotten the values of justice and truth. If, relatively, to the politicians, it is normal that they choose reasons of State rather than values that shape democracy, it is not acceptable nor understandable for the intellectuals to do the same. On the other hand, families feel helpless not knowing what they can do in pursuit of their loved one, and what to expect of police and judicial authorities.

The fact that you have now, with 53 years-old, returned to Olivais [area in Lisbon], to your father's home, is it a return to your origins, to the beginning of your life?

It is a fact. My mother has passed away, my brothers no longer live here, and now it is just me and my dad relearning to live together. It has been interesting in every aspect, mainly because he still sees me and my friends as the youngsters of other times portrayed in the book dedication [Vidas sem Defesa/Defenceless Lives] to the “moços do meu bairro” [boys from my neighbourhood].

How is life treating you?

My life is at a stage of profound changes. Everything is going well in terms of feeling supported by my family and childhood friends, here in the neighbourhood I am just like anyone else, I circle almost anonymously amongst friends and acquaintances. In economic and financial terms I am starting to take the necessary steps towards stability. To this end, I have defined a strategy with my new lawyer, which is to oppose the legal action taken by the McCann couple and to solve in a comprehensive manner all other situations.

“Vidas sem Defesa” [Defenceless Lives] is a manual for the parents of missing children or a cry of revolt? What led you to write this third book?

Defenceless Lives is a manual for the parents of long term missing children, for technicians working in the area of support to these families and also a cry of revolt in the absence, in our country, of structures capable of studying the phenomenon and of giving the answer that should be given during any disappearance of a child. A fast and effective response is slow to occur, there isn't a unified police structure, planning and specific training is lacking.

Of all the case mentioned by you in this book, which moved you most? And Rui Pedro's case?

All of them have touched me, it is difficult to elect one amongst all the cases, all of them filled with despair and anguish. Rui Pedro's case [disappeared in 1998] is special, since it serves as example of the inertia and inefficiency of the police, as a result of lack of planning and specific training of the investigators in charge of the case initially, but also as an example of the the struggle and tenacity of a family, particularly the child's mother, who did everything so his disappearance would not fall into oblivion or ended up covered in dust at the judicial archives.

The introduction to the book is a return to your childhood neighbourhood, of always... What lead you to write that memory?

It is an important memory because it took me to the time when the children of this country seemed able to play, like flocks of sparrows in the wild, and grow away from the dangers of today, without internet or cell-phones, and, as everyone says: we were happy. The dedication to the “moços do meu bairro”, was made after I returned to the neighbourhood were I grew up, where I met again many of my childhood friends and companions of those times. Amongst them, and still living in the same building, I have found the father of Margarida, this is a young woman of 19, who struggles like we do for the realization of her dreams. Among those, she dreams of studying theatre, if possible in England, but due to the current financial crisis, that might not be so easy. I always tell her it is good to dream and to believe in the realization of our dreams. Margarida decided to be baptised by the Catholic religion, something which will take place in the coming months, at the moment she is preparing herself at the local church in order to fulfil her desire and she has already chosen the godfather. The choice fell on me and fills me with pride, not only for the affection that I have for her, or for the friendship of decades with her parents, but mostly because I see in her a young woman who wishes to grow in faith, approaching the Church, knowing Jesus Christ, without stopping to live her youth times, like all young people she is able to distinguish between the temporal and spiritual. It was close to the parents of Margaret and her youth that I have rediscovered lost friendships over the years from a life of wanderer due to my profession as a criminal investigator.

Writing has been a constant since you retired as a Judiciary Police inspector. Is it a passion?

I will reveal a secret. In my teen years I started “scribbling” an account about my family's life. We originate from a small village in Beira Alta [Northern region of Portugal] which in the early years of the 1960's migrated to Lisbon in search of a better life, having gone trough bad moments, but many good, remembering well what meant to be a member of a large and poor family, but when we were all together those were moments of eternal happiness. I never finished that story of life hoping one day to do it, but everything has its time and the right time to do so will arrive. For now it is time to conclude the “Madeleine case” and write about what, in my opinion, still remains to be done to ascertain the truth, the steps of investigation that need to be taken to know what really happened to that child. The investigation of this case can be considered as an unfinished investigation that needs to be completed. As I write about the “Madeleine case”, about which I am not obsessed, I fight solely for the fulfilment of justice and truth, values ​​that shape my life and the so-called democratic societies. I am also writing about another police world, the drug trafficking.

Do you already have an idea for the next book?

I have an unfinished book, with the title: “Trafficking and passions”, where I give an account about the criminal investigation of the crime of drug trafficking over the past three decades, the criminal organizations, traffickers as persons (subject to desires and passions), and not as mere criminals, the methods used by traffickers and the response given by the Judiciary Police.

The civil suit for defamation brought against you by the McCann couple - that was about to be tried but was postponed - and where they claim for 1 million and 200 thousand euros, do you see that as a Coup de grâce applied by them? Do you have good chances of winning?

It's not a Coup de grâce, it is a serious attempt to annihilate me as a person and as a citizen, however the McCanns have no facts to substantiate their claim and perhaps they don't even have the legitimacy to do so. I have always trusted in justice therefore I am certain and confident of winning that civil case.

Marinho Pinto has offered himself to testify in favour of the McCanns against you. What do you have to say about that? And what exactly is the libel case about?

Dr. Marinho Pinto is a free citizen and he is entitled to be a witness for anyone, whomever they might be, and regarding that matter I have no further comments. This is not a libel suit. In fact, under the scope of the injunction filed by the McCanns, the Superior Courts have already decided that I did not violate any private rights of the couple, let alone libelled them.

They were able to freeze your assets, the fees of “Maddie, The Truth of the Lie” book, in short, they have left you without funds and without employment; they have affected your life and of your family. Can you understand the reason why the couple wishes to see you completely destroyed? Is it hatred against you? What feeling does all this provoke in you?

The couple does not forgive me for the reason that in my book “Maddie, The Truth of the Lie” [“Maddie: A Verdade da Mentira”] I wrote the facts and the conclusions of the investigation up to September 2007. They had difficulties in coping with the truth. Initially they've depreciated the book. Two years later they remembered the book existed, coincidentally, I had just been appointed to be a candidate for Mayor of Olhão by a certain political party, and the book was about to be translated into English and eventually released in the United Kingdom. That was too much for them, they had to carry on with their campaign of discredit against my person and jeopardise the subsistence of my family, which by the way is not at all Catholic, as they claim to be. And all because the couple is afraid the truth is known.

Gonçalo, you have won at the Court of Appeals the injunction against the publication of the book “A Verdade da Mentira”, where you defended the thesis that Maddie had died in the Algarve. The appellate judges considered the prohibition on the book violated the Constitution. Was that a nice present? What happened next? Did you have the books returned, were you indemnified in some way?

The McCann couple does not comply with the decisions of the Portuguese courts since they have not yet returned the book copies of “Maddie: A Verdade da Mentira”, given to their lawyer as a trustee, although the court has already adjudicated 3. I doubt the books still exist, I even suspect they might have been destroyed, reason why I denounced the case to the Public Ministry [Attorney General's Office].

After nearly five years from Maddie's disappearance, do you believe the case will be reopened? Do you still defend the reconstruction?

It is very difficult for the case to be reopened in the near future, it's all a matter of political will. However the decision of the civil process, may play a role in creating that political will. In the case of a reopening of the investigation, the reconstruction will always be one of the first steps to be taken, there is no doubt about that.

Does the couple have feelings for vengeance against you?

I don't know if they nurture feelings of vengeance on me, everything points that way. They prey on me to silence uncomfortable voices.

The dispute that opposes them against you will end when? Is it a high price to pay because you didn't found their daughter or because you have said that probably they were the negligent ones?

They were negligent, you need only read the archival dispatch made by the Public Ministry and recall the facts. I have nothing to pay to the McCann couple, but they do, they should have already acknowledged publicly the commitment and efforts of the Portuguese investigators in their search for their daughter, often leaving behind their own families and children. They are rich and still ungrateful.

Where have you gone to get the strength to continue life?

To my daughters and to the values that I defend, among them, it is always worthwhile reiterating, justice and truth.

Do you have feelings of revenge at those who destroyed your life, like the McCanns?

I do not have feelings of revenge because I understand the couple is doing a “headlong rush”, for example, if the process where Madeleine's disappearance was investigated had not been prematurely archived, the reality would be different. However, the moment will come when the damages caused to my family and to myself will have to be accounted for and reimbursed, there is no doubt about that.

Gonçalo, you have lost everything you had. How have you survived?

I have survived with my retirement pension, or rather, with part of it, even because the company that I created after my retirement from the Judiciary Police has been ruined by the McCann couple. I do have projects for my life that do not depend on that couple, but since I know they do seek to destroy me I will not reveal them here.

Who was and who is now Gonçalo Amaral? Do you continue to fight for what you believe?

I am a Portuguese man like any other, with flaws and virtues, I have always placed my family above all, despite having constituted family twice. I live for my daughters and for the happiness of those who are near me, it is enough to know that the other is happy for me too be also happy. I defend the values that life has ​​instilled in me, and yes, I am stubborn in defending those values​​. A democracy only makes sense if there is justice and truth, if a man has value beyond the State, there are not neither should there be reasons of State which place in question those principles.

Do you miss being an inspector? Of returning to the investigation? What do you miss most?

Of the adrenaline, of the decision on the edge, of the autonomy and initiative that each criminal investigator should have.

If the McCann couple come to Portugal to attend the trial, would you like to address them and tell them something?

Those questions would have to be answered within the scope of the criminal process that was investigating Madeleine's disappearance.

What would you like to tell the couple if you could say something to them?

That the lack of money is bad, but the lack of judgement is much worse.

What are your expectations for the future?

They are good, I hope in the coming months to resolve, with the support of my lawyer, all the problems that I have and be able to fulfil the dreams of my children and of those who are close to me.

And a dream of yours...

I would like one day to create a foundation that would support the integrated development of underprivileged children in order to fulfil their dreams and give them the material conditions to survive in a society which increasingly turns its back on the other.


in Nova Gente, published February 12, 2012



Translators notes

1 With the current financial crisis in Portugal, 28,1% of the younger generation are unemployed. This is considered by some the most highly skilled (with university degrees) generation in Portuguese educational history.

2Geração à rasca” - A youth movement that was created to protest against unemployment, opposes the deterioration of working conditions and the dismantling of social rights. They also actively question the effectiveness, inevitability, legitimacy and democratic nature of the intervention of the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and Financial Stabilization Fund in Portugal. Term used to describe the younger generation that is facing difficulties due to the financial crisis.

3 Res judicata, final judgement that is no longer subject to further appeals.

Criminal Profiler Pat Brown: A Picture Worth a Thousand Words



“Martha? I’m stepping out on the balcony for a smoke. Hey, Martha, come here! What the hell is that man doing at that window? You see right there? He’s busting in the window? Martha, go call the police! Hey, he’s crawling in flat…must be planning to steal…oh, my god, Martha! Tell the police he’s carrying out a child! I’m running downstairs! Maybe I can stop him!”

by Criminal Profiler Pat Brown

Yes, you are looking at Apartment 5A, the very apartment the McCanns were renting on May 3rd, 2007. The time is 10 pm on February 12, 2012. The photo was taken from the third floor of the building across the street. There was some shrubbery along the left wall of the parking lot that has been removed but the view of the McCanns door and window would not have been obscured. The lights on the buildings and in the streets turn the building into a veritable fish-bowl (some claim massive lighting improvement since that day but I have heard that it has not changed much). What idiot would think breaking in the window at Apartment 5A or carrying a child out of that window or even the door next to it would be a terribly bright idea? One thing kidnappers know is there are enough human fish in the sea that one doesn’t have to abduct someone under such risky conditions.


The next picture shows the front side of the apartment building with close-up of the window of Apartment 5A. I am standing in the doorway. Can you see how bright it is at night?


This picture shows the corner where Jane Tanner sees a man cross the street coming from the apartment, child in his outstretched hands. If you were an abductor, would you be comfortable choosing to walk out in the open, across the well-light street with three people on it? Would you at least think walking the other direction hugging the wall might be a bit smarter, maybe cut down your chances of being seen?


Robert Murat, the only other Arguido (suspect) in the case, lived on a couple blocks down the way in the direction Jane Tanner claimed the man carrying a child was walking. But, Robert Murat was a known individual in town and many people in Praia da Luz own places here or rent for a long period of time and return year after year. Would someone who knows people might recognize him walk down well-lit streets - his face totally exposed – straight to his own house? He would have to have an IQ far below 70 to think this would be clever.


If anyone took a child from the apartment, it would be smarter to walk the opposite way of the man Jane Tanner claims to have seen. Here you can see the wall I just mentioned that he could walk very close to and be out of sight of anyone looking down from the tall apartment building across the street. Even more intelligent would be for an abductor to leave the back of the apartment by the sliding glass doors and hurry down the enclosed path which leads up to the parking area at the front of the apartment and go out at the end of the street and onward to the darker end of the road. It is exactly this path that leads to the Smith sighting.


Praia da Luz is a very cosy, brightly lit, off-the-main road very small and charming resort town. No sex ring is going to choose this location to target children. A child sex predator might lurk about here but he would be wiser abducting a child from the outskirts of the town or in pretty much any other nearby village. There are some darker side streets further to the edge of the town that a predator or someone carrying a child would be a bit less visible . Apartment 5A would rank pretty much at the bottom of any abductor’s list of places to grab a kid. The only reason someone would remove a child from 5A would be of necessity. Then he would never take the route Jane Tanner claimed she saw the man carrying a child.

More on the most likely route one would take to carry Madeleine from Apartment 5A in my next blog.


in The Daily Profiler, February 13, 2012

Updated article/photos remain the same as above, on 15.02.2012

“Martha? I’m stepping out on the balcony for a smoke. Hey, Martha, come here! What the hell is that man doing at that window? You see right there? He’s busting in the window? Martha, go call the police! Hey, he’s crawling in flat…must be planning to steal…oh, my god, Martha! Tell the police he’s carrying out a child! I’m running downstairs! Maybe I can stop him!”

(The above is an imagined scenario for those who are pretended to not understand this...clearly I am just trying to make a point).

Yes, you are looking at Apartment 5A, the very apartment the McCanns were renting on May 3rd, 2007. The time is 10 pm on February 12, 2012. The photo was taken from the third floor of the building across the street. There was some shrubbery along the left wall of the parking lot that has been removed but the view of the McCanns door and window would not have been obscured (I must add since I have been rightly corrected and I have double-checked the photos at that time, there are trees also lining the back side on the street, it is difficult to say today if one is high up looking down from one balcony or the other, who can see the window). My purpose of this photo was to show that the window and door of 5A was not a location that was as hidden from view as one might think.

Predators who crawl in and out windows tend to choose windows that look out on dark empty spaces or are nowhere near other buildings. For example, a predator might break in on the back side of an apartment building that has no lights and nothing but a deserted lot behind. A predator might crawl in the back window of an isolated house. But the 5A window was on a corner with traffic going by, on a parking lot which people are driving in and out of, under other apartment windows, across from other apartments and next to other apartments. Partially obscured from some angles, the predator knows the window is not obscured at other angles. He may not know exactly who can see him and who can't. For example, there is a break in the trees where the drive comes into the parking lot and through which the window can be seen. Just knowing that there is an apartment building looming over one's crime area for people to look down on you (either breaking in or out or leaving the area with a child) would be unnerving. Any predator would be smarter going in the back door which is far easier to slip in and out of and not be seen.

The lights on the buildings and in the streets turn the building into a veritable fish-bowl (some claim massive lighting improvement since that day but I have heard that it has not changed much). What idiot would think breaking in the window at Apartment 5A or carrying a child out of that window or even the door next to it would be a terribly bright idea? One thing kidnappers know is there are enough human fish in the sea that one doesn’t have to abduct someone under such risky conditions.

There are those who note the style of lamps in town have changed (from globe-shaped to the more boxy style now seen) and there are a couple of added lights to the McCann building. True, but this does not mean that the location was dark and dismal and a predator would be able to skulk around unseen. From my third floor apartment, I can clearly see the windows in the building on the other side of the road from the McCanns and it has no added lights at all. It is not clear that the change of street lamp has significantly increased lighting (some say it has and some say it hasn't - I haven't found statistics on this) but, suffice it to say, if it was good enough light for Jane Tanner to see a man carrying a little child off at a distance and be able to describe his clothes and hers, then it is possible for many others to see this man as well. He would know this and choosing so public a location to abduct a child would be unusual. Finally, it was a full moon night, so the lighting may have been even better than normal (though not necessarily that early, but a predator may not be thinking of that because the night before moonrise was earlier and we don´t even know if he might have not gotten an opportunity - if he did - until two hours later.

The next picture shows the front side of the apartment building with close-up of the window of Apartment 5A. I am standing in the doorway. Can you see how bright it is at night? (Again that light may be deceptive as it was added , but you can see how exposed the window is on a path people are coming out of their apartments on and at the end of that wall is the entrance from the parking lot, not to mention a full moon shining down on white buildings and light-coloured walks). What would Mr. Predator do if he crawled out of the window with a child to find a car pulling in to park right there in the lot? He would be trapped. He still has to walk down that little path, turn right out the opening into the parking lot, come back down along the wall, then cross the parking lot, go out of the parking lot, turn right and walk down to the corner and cross the street - where Jane Tanner supposedly saw him.

It is also worth noting that there is a lack of proper photos and videos from that night or even the next, so we don't know the exact conditions. Furthermore, we cannot trust what photos and videos show us because they can be brightened or darkened according to what the presented of these evidences want the audience to think. Supporters of the abduction theory may want Jane Tanner´s sighting area to be brightened and the window darkened. Non-supporters of the abduction theory may want Jane Tanner's sighting area to be pitch black and the window sitting in a spotlight. So, we likely will have difficulty in knowing the reality. However, and again, the predator does what is wisest and I still have to say that the front of 5A is not the choice a predator should make when the back door, the supposedly open sliding back door, exists and cuts down on ones visibility leaving the residence and escaping from the area.

This picture shows the corner where Jane Tanner sees a man cross the street coming from the apartment, child in his outstretched hands. If you were an abductor, would you be comfortable choosing to walk out in the open, across the well-light street with three people on it? Would you at least think walking the other direction hugging the wall might be a bit smarter, maybe cut down your chances of being seen? (The abductor MAY have seen just seen the backs of Gerry and Jez as he peeped around the corner and stepped out just as Jane came out of the Tapas door and up the street getting caught in her sight line.) But walking the other direction is much safer and smarter unless one has no choice).

Robert Murat, the only other Arguido (suspect) in the case, lived on a couple blocks down the way in the direction Jane Tanner claimed the man carrying a child was walking. But, Robert Murat was a known individual in town and many people in Praia da Luz own places here or rent for a long period of time and return year after year. Would someone who knows people might recognize him walk down well-lit streets - his face totally exposed – straight to his own house? He would have to have an IQ far below 70 to think this would be clever.

If anyone took a child from the apartment, it would be smarter to walk the opposite way of the man Jane Tanner claims to have seen. Here you can see the wall I just mentioned that he could walk very close to and be out of sight of anyone looking down from the tall apartment building across the street. Even more intelligent would be for an abductor to leave the back of the apartment by the sliding glass doors and hurry down the enclosed path which leads up to the parking area at the front of the apartment and go out at the end of the street and onward to the darker end of the road. It is exactly this path that leads to the Smith sighting.

Praia da Luz is a very cosy, brightly lit, off-the-main road very small and charming resort town. No sex ring is going to choose this location to target children. A child sex predator might lurk about here but he would be wiser abducting a child from the outskirts of the town or in pretty much any other nearby village. There are some darker side streets further to the edge of the town that a predator or someone carrying a child would be a bit less visible . Apartment 5A would rank pretty much at the bottom of any abductor’s list of places to grab a kid. The only reason someone would remove a child from 5A would be of necessity. Then he would never take the route Jane Tanner claimed she saw the man carrying a child.

More on the most likely route one would take to carry Madeleine from Apartment 5A in my next blog.


Criminal Profiler Pat Brown

in The Daily Profiler


Maddie McCann case: Canadian Psychics say she died in Praia da Luz


Though I'm very sceptic about psychics, I thought this blog readers might found this talk show, broadcast by SIC, last Saturday night at prime time, an interesting show. Translation of the Portuguese bits to follow.



Até à Verdade (To the Truth) with Rita Ferro Rodrigues, comment and analysis by Francisco Moita Flores, Psychics Brian Robertson & Simon James. Broadcast by SIC, February 11, 2012

Share ratings for this particular show: Had an average audience of 7.3% and 29.1% of share, that is the equivalent of close to 700,000 viewers, it was the sixth most watched on that day and the lead show for that time slot.

Caso Maddie: Visita de Pat Brown ao Algarve

9 February 2012 | Posted by  49 comments


A conhecida 'Criminal Profiler' americana Pat Brown estará esta semana de visita ao Algarve, numa tentativa de ajudar a encontrar Madeleine McCann, desaparecida na Praia da Luz a 3 de Maio de 2007.

Pat Brown interessou-se por este caso, tendo inclusivamente escrito um livro que reflecte o seu raciocínio e conclusões sobre o misterioso desaparecimento, intitulado "Profile of the Disappearance of Madeleine McCann". A obra, baseada em factos constantes do processo do Ministério Público português e da investigação levada a cabo pela Polícia Judiciária, viria a ser objecto de uma tentativa de censura por parte do casal McCann, que através dos seus advogados pressionou com sucesso a Amazon - site onde o e-book se encontrava à venda - a retirar o livro da sua oferta. A receita da venda do livro destinava-se a financiar uma viagem de Pat Brown à Praia da Luz e a outros locais de relevo no 'caso Maddie', viagem essa que decorre neste momento.

Em sua defesa, Pat Brown incumbiu a advogada Anne Bremner de redigir uma carta, instando o casal a desistir da interferência dolosa que exerceu no seu direito a conduzir um negócio, e a respeitar o seu direito à liberdade de expressão. Essa missiva, bem como a nota de imprensa que a acompanha, pode ser lida aqui.

Durante a sua visita ao nosso país, Pat Brown terá o maior prazer em conceder entrevistas aos órgãos de comunicação social portugueses.

Contacto:
Pat Brown
The Pat Brown Criminal Profiling Agency
she2000@comcast.net
00 1 301 675 6289
www.patbrownprofiling.com
www.sheprofilers.com


Trial over alleged defamation of Gonçalo Amaral has been postponed to March, 29





The trial of lawyer Marcos Aragão Correia and of the university teacher António Pedro Dores, over defamation of former PJ inspector Gonçalo Amaral, within the case of Leonor Cipriano, which was to take place on Thursday, in Faro, has been postponed to the 29th of March.

Isabel Duarte, Marcos Aragão Correia’s lawyer, has told Lusa Agency that by a dispatch from Faro Judicial Court, the trial was postponed to the 29th of March, at 9.30 a.m.

Despite not having had Access to said dispatch yet, the lawyer said that she had been informed, by telephone, that the postponement was due to a pending appeal, which was filed by the other arguido in the process, António Pedro Dores, the president of the Association Against Exclusion through Development, whose defence attorney is José Preto.

For the trial in Faro, Marcos Aragão Correia has called António Marinho Pinto, presently the head of the Lawyers’ Order, and Ana Maria Calado, the former director of Odemira Prison, as defence witnesses.

Former Judiciary Police (PJ) inspector Gonçalo Amaral – who investigated the disappearance of Joana, the daughter of arguida Leonor Ciprinao – has criminally sued Marcos Aragão Correia and António Pedro Dores, because they publicly alluded to the alleged torture that Leonor Cipriano was a target of during the Joana case’s questioning stage.

Marcos Aragão Correia, lawyer to Leonor Cipriano, alleges that the Portuguese courts have already decided that it has been proved that His client was tortured, yet the Public Ministry (MP) continues to uphold the accusation in the defamation lawsuit that Gonçalo Amaral has filed.

He further recalls that, within the alleged case of torture of Leonor Cipriano, Gonçalo Amaral was condemned over the crime of false statement, to a one-and-a-half-year prison sentence, which was suspended over the same period of time.

The defendant of Marcos Aragão Correia in the defamation lawsuit is lawyer Isabel Duarte, who is equally the lawyer for Madeleine McCann’s parents, who has pending lawsuits against Gonçalo Amaral.

The trial in Lisbon over the defamation lawsuit that has been filed by the parents of Madeleine McCann, the little girl that disappeared in the Algarve, in May 2007, which was equally scheduled for Thursday, has also been postponed, without a new date, according to lawyer Isabel Duarte’s indication to Lusa.

That process concerns Gonçalo Amaral’s book, “Maddie: A verdade da mentira”.


in: SIC Notícias, 08.02.2012


Press Release: Cease-and-Desist Letter issued to Gerry and Kate McCann, parents of Missing Madeleine McCann

6 February 2012 | Posted by  45 comments

Press Release

Gerry and Kate McCann, parents of the missing Madeleine McCann, find themselves for the first time at the other end of a potential legal action. Top defense attorney, Anne Bremner, counsel to the Friends of Amanda Knox and the families of Rebecca Zahau and Susan Cox Powell, has issued a cease-and-desist letter (content posted below) on behalf of American criminal profiler Pat Brown whose book, Profile of the Disappearance of Madeleine McCann, was removed from sale by Amazon following a claim by the McCanns that the book was defamatory.

In recent years, the McCanns have instructed their solicitors, Carter-Ruck, to send numerous cease-and-desist letters to people who have publicly questioned their possible involvement in their daughter’s disappearance nearly five years ago while on family holiday in Portugal.

Next week, on February 8th, retired solicitor Tony Bennett faces English prison as the McCanns’ fight to shut down his efforts to bring focus to aspects of the missing child case that point to the parents’ possible involvement. Also, the McCanns have sued the detective on their daughter’s case, Dr. Goncalo Amaral, for libel and have had his book, Truth of the Lie, pulled off the worldwide market. The trial is scheduled in Portugal for April. Now, Pat Brown has fought back for the cause of freedom of speech and justice, alleging that the McCanns have interfered with her right to conduct business and have damaged her professional reputation with their successful removal of her book from sale. On Monday, Pat will leave for Portugal to continue her quest for truth and justice in the case of Madeleine McCann.

The Find Madeleine Campaign operated by Gerry and Kate McCann has spent some 2.5 million pounds on the supposed search for their daughter, Madeline, who vanished in Praia da Luz, Portugal while on vacation with the family nearly five years ago and have come up empty handed. Since last May, a 37-man team headed up by Scotland Yard has spent 1.5 million pounds on salaries plus many more pounds following up supposed leads with no sign of success. Altogether, four million pounds has been forked out to locate a missing child with zero results. What, then, does American criminal profiler Pat Brown hope to accomplish with her two week trip to Portugal, beginning next week on February 6, with her small band of assistants and a few hundred euros of her own money?

She could find the truth. She could find Madeleine. She could find nothing but at least she won’t be costing the taxpayers millions or draining the pocketbooks of kindhearted donators chasing useless leads.

Pat Brown will be following up on the theory she purported in her Profile of the Disappearance of Madeleine McCann, her eBook which was pulled by Amazon at the request of the British solicitors Carter-Ruck on behalf of Gerry and Kate McCann. Amazon was told the book was defamatory in spite of the fact Ms. Brown clearly stated facts in the case, developed a theory based on those facts, and repeated numerous times that she makes no claim that the McCanns are guilty of any involvement in their daughter’s disappearance (other than leaving three children unattended night after night in the resort apartment). Since Gerry McCann clearly stated during the Leveson hearing, “I strongly believe in freedom of speech” and “I don't have a problem with somebody purporting a theory,” it is difficult to understand why the McCanns wanted the book to be repressed, except that it was selling well and that the theory she presented was being considered credible by a number of readers.

During her trip to Portugal, Pat Brown will study the town of Praia da Luz and environs, reconstruct the crime, and examine possible locations as to where Madeleine might have been taken, dead or alive. If she discovers evidence to support a theory other than the one that was the focus of her book, she will pursue that information. She is looking forward to meeting with Dr. Gonçalo Amaral, the ex-detective on the McCann case. Meanwhile, it is her hope and that of her lawyer, Anne Bremner, that the McCanns rethink their actions regarding the Profile of the Disappearance of Madeleine McCann and instruct their solicitors to have Amazon return the book to the market (now available at Smashwords and Barnes & Noble online).

For interviews and media appearances, please contact:

Pat Brown
The Pat Brown Criminal Profiling Agency
she2000@comcast.net
301-633-1151
www.patbrownprofiling.com
www.sheprofilers.com

Anne M. Bremner Stafford Frey Cooper, PC
3100 Two Union Square
601 Union Street
Seattle, WA 98101-1374
abremner@staffordfrey.com
206.623.9900
www.annebremner.com

Cease-and-Desist Letter

Anne M. Bremner
Stafford Frey Cooper, PC
3100 Two Union Square
601 Union Street
Seattle, WA 98101-1374

February 1, 2012

Adam Tudor
Carter-Ruck
6 St Andrew Street
London EC4A 3AE
England

Dear Mr. Tudor,
In July 2011, American criminal profiler, author, and television commentator, Pat Brown, released on June 15, 2011 a self-published book of thirty-pages on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, and Amazon.de, for the price of US2.99. It was titled Profile of the Disappearance of Madeleine McCann, sold 850 copies over the next five weeks and garnered 49 nearly all five star reviews on Amazon.uk alone. Then, the book vanished from sale on all three sites. Upon questioning, Pat Brown was informed by Amazon that they had received communications from Carter-Ruck on behalf of their clients Gerald and Kate McCann that the book was defamatory.

Mon 7/25/2011 7:27 PM

Dear Pat,
We have received a notice of defamation from Carter-Ruck Solicitors that says the content of Profile of the Disappearance of Madeleine McCann (UPDATED) B0055WYVCQ, contains defamatory statements regarding their clients, Gerry and Kat (sic) McCann.

Because we have no method of determining whether the content supplied to us is defamatory, we have removed the title from sale and will not reinstate it unless we receive confirmation from both parties that this matter has been resolved.
Carter-Ruck can be reached at:

6 St Andrew Street
London EC4A 3AE
T 020 7353 5005
Best regards,
Robert F.
http://www.amazon.com

This was quite a surprise to Pat Brown as she had never received any communications from the McCanns nor their solicitors concerning any defamatory material in this book, nor had she ever received any communication concerning any defamatory material in her blogs on the case she has posted online at The Daily Profiler over the last four years. As Ms. Brown is an analyst of evidence, she is careful to not state anything as a fact that is not a fact and to clearly state what is a hypothesis or a theory as opposed to proof. She has publicly and repeated explained to anyone reading her analyses of crime that criminal profiling is a methodology which explores the possible and theoretical scenarios that might be considered as logical based on evidence connected with the crime - forensic, linguistic, or behavioral. Any findings resulting from investigative tools which are not acceptable in certain courts of law (such as cadaver dogs or polygraphs) are noted as suitable for speculation, but not as solid proof of anyone’s guilt or involvement in criminal activities. Criminal profiling itself is an investigative tool and not a finding of guilt as Pat Brown clearly notes in her book.

Due to the speculative, if analytical, nature of Deductive Criminal Profiling, the methodology used by Pat Brown, she was careful to repeat numerous times throughout her publication that she was not accusing the McCanns of being involved in any crime or in the disappearance of their daughter, Madeleine. She was clearly only “purporting a theory” and exercising “free speech,” both manners of communication Gerry McCann stated he strongly supported under oath at the Leveson Inquiry on November 23, 2011 in London:

“I would like to emphasize that I strongly believe in freedom of speech, but where you have people who are repeatedly carrying out inaccuracies and have been shown to do so, then they should be held to account. That is the issue. I don't have a problem with somebody purporting a theory, writing fiction, suggestions, but clearly we've got to a stage where substandard reporting and sources, unnamed, made-up, non-verifiable, are a daily occurrence.” Gerry McCann

Pat Brown also believes in free speech and the right to purport a theory, it would seem she and Gerry McCann are in agreement that any work that purports a theory as opposed to false statements of fact is acceptable under freedom of speech. Pat Brown’s Profile of the Disappearance of Madeleine McCann opens up discussion of what happened to the McCann’s daughter, further stimulating interest in the case, and keeping Madeleine in the minds of the public. As the McCanns claim this is what they want, Pat Brown’s book is in accordance with this desire. In fact, it is the McCanns themselves who have clearly encouraged massive interest and speculation on this case. Pat Brown is in no way, therefore, infringing on any wish to keep talk about the case to a minimum.

By speaking and writing out quite often and in such a high profile manner, the McCanns have succeeded in making Madeleine McCann the most well-known missing child in modern history (since the Lindbergh baby in 1932). They have stimulated debate worldwide as to what happened to Madeleine. They have publicly purported their own theories; that someone took Madeleine because they wanted to raise a child, that she is being held captive in a sex ring, and that a pedophile had taken her. They have publicly disclosed many details of the case and repeatedly told their version of what occurred before, during, and after the disappearance of the daughter. They have discussed their emotions, behaviors, and opinions. Pat Brown is carrying on that discussion.

Utmost of importance in the entire matter, is the handling and funding of child abduction cases, the prevailing attitudes toward these crimes, and the future of catching child predators. Because the victims are so young and innocent, missing children are among the most publicized cases in the world. In the last three decades with the increase of the Internet and the 24-hour news cycle, awareness of child sex predators and stranger child abduction has radically increased fears of parents that their child will be taken and murdered. In reality, stranger abduction continues to be exceedingly rare for children of Madeleine’s age. Regardless, the paranoia that is engendered when a small child goes missing is a great stress to the community, the police, and resources. Therefore, it is extremely important that each and every case be properly analyzed and understood so that wrong ideas aren’t promulgated and funding and efforts are wasted investigating such crimes improperly. Each child that goes missing is a terrible tragedy for the parents, siblings, relative, friends, and community. Pat has great empathy for any family of a missing child and, most of all, compassion for the innocent young person who has suffered abuse, terror, sexual assault, and, possibly, an early death at the hands of others.

We are requesting that you respect Pat Brown’s right to free speech and to purport a theory as Gerry McCann has stated is not a problem for him. We request that the claim of libel be retracted for the Profile of the Disappearance of Madeleine McCann and the book permitted to be returned for sale at Amazon.

Respectfully,
Anne M. Bremner


in Woman in Crime Inc, published on February 1, 2012

Related

Amazon banned Criminal Profiler Pat Brown's book on the Madeleine McCann case - July 25, 2011

Why was my Madeleine McCann Book Banned? - July 30, 2011

Supreme Court turns down McCanns' request - March 18, 2011

McCanns appeal to the Supreme Court to forbid Gonçalo Amaral’s book - November 10, 2010

Lisbon Appeals Court Decision on the McCann Couple Injunction - October 14, 2010 - ruling the McCann's book, DVD and documentary injunction was against the European Convention on Human Rights and the Portuguese Republic’s Constitution, namely in its articles 37 and 38.

McCanns’ lawyer presents criminal complaint against TVI - February 10, 2010

The Temporary Injunction: Granted on September 9, 2009 - published in this blog on February 4, 2010

McCann couple demands books to be fully destroyed - January 10, 2010

Kate and Gerry McCann Threaten to Sue Bloggers - January 7, 2010

Carter-Ruck Letter abusing the powers and limits of the Portuguese book injunction to shut down an US hosted site, GerryMcCannsblogs.co.uk - October 30, 2009 - original PDF here

McCanns want to “sweep” their critics off the Internet - September 24, 2009

McCann's Censorship: The Injunction's Prohibitions - September, 11 2009

Various Carter-Ruck letters attempting to suppress the rights of freedom of speech & opinion can be found at The Madeleine Foundation

Suppressed Madeleine Foundation book by Tony Bennett, 2008 - copy at wikileaks, released on October 19, 2009