Missing British girl's parents to be named suspects

AP

Kate McCann arrives for questioning by Portugese police.

File / AP

Madeleine McCann has been missing since May 3.

PRAIA DA LUZ, Portugal (AP) -- For four months, the world watched in horror and grim anticipation as police pursued the presumed abductor of wide-eyed British 4-year-old Madeleine McCann. Then, authorities dramatically turned the tables, naming the girl's mother as a suspect and calling both parents in for questioning.

Suddenly, a couple who had been the beneficiary of so much sympathy and so many prayers -- meeting with Pope Benedict XVI and getting support from celebrities like J.K. Rowling and David Beckham -- found themselves in the crosshairs.

Most of the suspicion has focused on Madeleine's mother, Kate, long praised for her strength amid an unimaginable ordeal. The girl's aunt said police suggested Madeleine might have been killed accidentally and offered the mother a plea deal if she confessed.

Kate McCann was questioned for more than four hours Friday in a second straight day of interrogation into the disappearance of Madeleine in southern Portugal.

Her husband, Gerry McCann, followed her into the police station in the southern Portuguese town of Portimao for a separate round of questioning. Friends and relatives said the mother told them she had been named a formal suspect and was offered a deal if she confessed, and that her husband was told he would likely also be named a suspect.

"They tried to get her to confess to having accidentally killed Madeleine by offering her a deal through her lawyer -- 'If you say you killed Madeleine by accident and then hid her and disposed of the body, then we can guarantee you a two-year jail sentence or even less,"' Gerry McCann's sister, Philomena, told ITV news.

A police spokesman, Olegario Sousa, confirmed to The Associated Press that police had named a new suspect, but would not say it was Mrs. McCann. He cited privacy laws in declining to comment further.

The couple professed their innocence Friday.

The day's developments marked a dramatic turn in a case that has riveted the world for months, ever since Mrs. McCann ran screaming from a hotel room saying her daughter had disappeared. The McCanns, both doctors from central England, said they were dining at the time in a hotel restaurant, but returned frequently to check on Madeleine and her twin 2-year-old siblings.

Since then, the McCanns have toured Europe with photos of Madeleine and the child's stuffed animals and clothing, even meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. Celebrities including J.K. Rowling and David Beckham made public appeals that helped the family raise more than $2 million.

The money, controlled by an independent auditor, is meant for charities that aid in missing children cases.

Until Friday, suspicion had focused on a British man who lived near the hotel from which Madeleine disappeared and who was the only formal suspect. But police said new forensic tests done on evidence gathered months after the girl vanished found traces of blood in the couple's car, according to Justine McGuinness, a spokeswoman for the family.

The new evidence -- including the traces of blood missed in earlier forensic tests -- was uncovered by sniffer dogs brought from Britain.

McGuinness said the police allegations against Mrs. McCann didn't add up, since the rental car had not been acquired until 25 days after Madeleine's May 3 disappearance. Gerry McCann called the allegations against his wife "ludicrous."

"We will fight this all the way, and we will not stop looking for Madeleine," he wrote on the couple's Web site on Friday.

Even as public opinion reeled from the new allegations, there was fresh criticism of police for taking so long to build their case.

John Corner, a McCann family friend, told the British Broadcasting Corp. that the listing of Mrs. McCann as a suspect gave him "an uncomfortable feeling that the police are not looking outward" for Madeleine's abductor.

But Sonya Sceats, an international law analyst at London's Chatham House think tank, said police were allowing the evidence to lead their investigation.

"It's all turned on the DNA evidence. It only became available very recently, and they are moving in response to that," Sceats said by phone.

Under Portuguese law, formal suspects gain certain legal protections, but police also have more latitude to question them. Police also have to show suspects any evidence against them.

Clarence Mitchell, a family friend and former spokesman for the McCanns, said Friday after speaking with Mrs. McCann that she found the police questioning -- which included an 11-hour session Thursday -- "grueling."

"It's very intense, but she's remaining strong and determined to prove that they had nothing to do with their daughter's disappearance and they are innocent victims of the crime," he told the AP.

Asked about a plead deal, Mitchell said: "It is my understanding that during the police interview with Kate McCann, senior police officers told her lawyer that that if she were to confess to killing Madeleine accidentally it would help her case when she came before the judges for sentencing and that they would probably consider a relatively short sentence of three to four years -- in other words, a plea bargain."

The McCanns' cause, and the couple's apparent strength in the face of adversity, has touched many people, who have followed their lives as they cared for their two other children and went to church in Praia da Luz, the seaside town where Madeleine disappeared, and where the McCanns have stayed ever since. Photographs of the bright-eyed, fair-haired girl have been posted throughout the world.

The publicity has led to numerous reported sightings of the girl, from as far away as northern Europe and Morocco, amid speculation she might have been taken by an international pedophile ring.

Just after Mrs. McCann entered the police station Thursday, another family representative read a statement from her appealing to what she called Madeleine's abductors to "do the right thing."

"It is not too late. Please let her go or call the police," she said.

The only formal suspect until now has been Robert Murat, who lives with his mother near the hotel from which the girl disappeared. He has always maintained his innocence. Sousa said Murat's status as a suspect had not changed.

------

Associated Press reporters Barry Hatton in Praia da Luz, and Jill Lawless and Raphael G. Satter in London contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

**PREVIOUS STORY**

Portugese police offer deal to mom of missing tot

PORTIMAO, Portugal — The mother of a British girl whose disappearance sparked an international search is considered a suspect in the case, friends and family said Friday. The girl's aunt said police suggested 4-year-old Madeleine McCann might have been killed accidentally and offered the mother a plea deal if she confessed.

Madeleine's mother, Kate McCann, was questioned for more than four hours Friday, her second day of questioning, and family friends said she was expected to be formally declared a suspect under Portuguese law. Earlier, family friend and former spokesman Clarence Mitchell told The Associated Press that police told Kate McCann and her husband, Gerry, that they would both be named as suspects.

Kate McCann left the police station just before 4 p.m. without being charged.

"They tried to get her to confess to having accidentally killed Madeleine by offering her a deal through her lawyer—'if you say you killed Madeleine by accident and then hid her and disposed of the body, then we can guarantee you a two-year jail sentence or even less,"' Gerry McCann's sister, Philomena, told ITV news. The couple strenuously professed their innocence Friday.

Police summoned the couple after receiving new forensic evidence.

"They believe they have evidence to show that in some way she is involved in the death of her daughter, which is completely ludicrous," McGuinness told British Broadcasting Corp. television.

McGuinness said the allegations related to traces of blood found in a car rented by the McCanns. She said the car was rented 25 days after Madeleine disappeared May 3.

It has been more than four months since Madeleine disappeared, and Portuguese police have been criticized in Britain for the apparently slow pace of their investigation. Three months after her disappearance, sniffer dogs were brought from Britain and uncovered new evidence—reportedly including traces of blood—that had been missed in earlier forensic tests.

John Corner, a family friend, told the British Broadcasting Corp. that the listing of Kate McCann as a suspect gave him "an uncomfortable feeling that the police are not looking outward" for Madeleine's abductor.

On the Web site www.findmadeleine.com, Gerry McCann said any suggestion "that Kate is involved in Madeleine's disappearance is ludicrous."

"We will fight this all the way, and we will not stop looking for Madeleine," he wrote.

Under Portuguese law, the legal move grants certain protections to suspects, but allows police more latitude in questioning. Police also have to show suspects whatever evidence they might have against them.

Kate and Gerry McCann, both doctors from central England, have spearheaded an intense media campaign since Madeleine disappeared May 3 from the holiday apartment in the Algarve where she was sleeping with her 2-year-old twin siblings. The parents say they were at dinner at the time at a nearby restaurant, but were checking on the children frequently.

The McCanns toured Europe with photos of Madeleine, even meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. Celebrities including J.K. Rowling and David Beckham made public appeals that helped the family raise more than $2 million.

Kate McCann was questioned for 11 hours on Thursday at a police station in Portimao, a town in Portugal's Algarve region, and faced a media scrum as she returned for more questioning Friday morning.

The couple have maintained their innocence throughout.

The McCanns "continue to deny absolutely they had anything to do" with their daughter's disappearance, Mitchell said.

He said Kate McCann had found the police questioning "grueling."

"It's very intense, but she's remaining strong and determined to prove that they had nothing to do with their daughter's disappearance and they are innocent victims of the crime," he told The Associated Press.

Family spokesman David Hughes said police had told Kate McCann they wanted to ask 22 questions, but had not said what they were.

Police spokesman Olegario Sousa said authorities have received some results from forensic tests of the apartment, but declined to elaborate on the findings.

The tests—on specks of blood, clothing and other objects in the apartment—were conducted at a British laboratory.

Mitchell said the McCanns had not been informed of the results of the tests.

The couple's cause, and their apparent strength in the face of adversity, has hit a nerve among millions, who have followed their lives as they cared for their other children and attended a local church in Praia da Luz, the seaside town where Madeleine disappeared, and where they stayed ever since. Photographs of the bright-eyed, fair-haired girl have been posted throughout Europe and elsewhere.

The publicity has helped lead to numerous reported sightings of the girl, from as far away as northern Europe and Morocco, amid speculation she might have been taken by an international pedophile ring.

Just after Kate McCann entered the police station Thursday, another family representative read out a statement from her appealing to what she called Madeleine's abductors to "do the right thing."

"It is not too late. Please let her go or call the police," she said.

The only formal suspect until now has been Robert Murat, who lives with his mother near the hotel from which the girl disappeared. He has always maintained his innocence.

Sousa said he was prohibited under Portuguese law from discussing the case, but Murat's status as a suspect had not changed.