It is as well to stress that:
That there are no reliable timelines for that evening. Except for one:
M. M. M. d. S. declares that on the night 03-05-07, she left the apartment at around 21H58—she remembers the exact time because she asked her friend the time and she responded after checking this on the telephone in the lounge;
[..] After leaving Block 6, they turned right and after left, passing in front of the block occupied by the McCanns. States that she looked at the exit of the apartment and that from the flat above the McCanns, she saw light, and also in front of the apartment, but she could not define, concretely, where she saw the light when she passed the McCann apartment. [..]Next to the tree, she did not detect any movement of people or vehicles, and nothing struck her as abnormal in that zone that would have raised her suspicions. unquote
And:
And:
That a reconstruction which would have established the sequence of events never took place.
That witness statements for the alarm raised that evening start from 9.20 onwards and that it is therefore pointless to try and fit the timelines given by the parents and their friends to the witness statements.
IOL PortugalDiario, 03/04 August 2008
PortugalDiário: The PJ's report dismisses the Smiths' testimony, due to the hour at which they say they saw the person with the child…
Gonçalo Amaral: 'It cannot be that way, because nobody knows for sure at what time the things happened. The reconstruction was not made, therefore it is impossible to know for certain. The employees do not state that Gerry McCann was in the restaurant. They only say that people were sitting down and getting up from the table. Their testimony [Smith] is very credible. The way that the person walked, the clumsy manner in which the child was held. It is nothing that sounds invented. Is it evidence? Certainly not. It is information that has to be worked further.'
Gonçalo Amaral: 'It cannot be that way, because nobody knows for sure at what time the things happened. The reconstruction was not made, therefore it is impossible to know for certain. The employees do not state that Gerry McCann was in the restaurant. They only say that people were sitting down and getting up from the table. Their testimony [Smith] is very credible. The way that the person walked, the clumsy manner in which the child was held. It is nothing that sounds invented. Is it evidence? Certainly not. It is information that has to be worked further.'
unquote
The Smith sighting:
1. The Smith family meet a man carrying a child. The time is somewhere between 21.45 and 22.00 on the third of May 2007. Three members of the family give full statements to the PJ on the 26th of May 2007.
2. As early as the 6th of June 2007 the Drogheda Independent publishes the news that the Smith family many have been the last people to see Madeleine McCann.
3. On the 9th June Dr. Gerald McCann asks Irish people to come forward with their holiday photographs and upload them on a special website. These photographs were never passed on to the Policia Judiciaria or to the Leicester liaison officers.
4. On the 9th September 2007 Martin Smith sees footage from the BBC news at 10.00 pm and the way the child is carried reminds him very strongly of the man they saw on the 3rd of May.
5. By July 2008 Martin Smith has been contacted by the Daily Mail and other papers, who publish inaccurate information. By that time he has also been contacted by Brian Kennedy but states that he did not provide efits. Considering the abysmal quality of the images commissioned of the Tanner sighting and the Cooper sighting, it is highly unlikely that professional efits such as as the two discussed here would have been the result.
6. By July 2008, 25Horas reports that rogatory letters for Martin Smith have ben sent to the wrong address. Namely to the Leicester Police where they should have been sent to the Irish Home Office. It is interesting to note that these letters would have had to go through the British Home Office before being sent on to Leicester.
7. By August 2008 the Archiving Dispatch of the PJ ignores the statements of two Tapas workers and states twice that Gerald McCann was at the table at the time when the Smith family saw the man with the child.
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From: ‘The Truth of the Lie’ by Gonçalo Amaral - chapter 21
The Smith family see this recording on the news at 22.00 and are hit hard: they know this person, this way of carrying a child and of walking. It is Gerry McCann, they believe with a high degree of certainty, that they saw on 3rd May at about 22.00, carrying a 4 year old girl who appeared to be deeply asleep. In late September, Portuguese police receive this information from Smith.
[..] A reconstitution of that night, with the Smiths, is seriously considered. but the Smiths don’t return to Portugal. The Portuguese police changed their minds after GA leaves the team - they decide to use the international request mechanism (letter rogatory). This leads to absurd delays. In the meantime, rumours abound that strangers to the investigation have found out about this witness and his family and supposedly, have tried to talk to Smiths, though their intentions in doing so are unknown.
unquote
24Horas: Irishman was already discarded
Gonçalo Amaral placed a strong bet on this witness
Carlos Tomas
July 07, 2008
When he was discharged, the former investigator of the Maddie Case was preparing to hear an Irishman, who was considered to be a very relevant witness. But the present investigators don't give him credibility
The statements from the Irish citizen who is considered to be a key witness in the Maddie case by Gonçalo Amaral, the man who lead the entire investigation, were not considered to be relevant by the investigators from the Polícia Judiciária who presently hold the process.
During the two depositions, both informal, the Irishman who is only known as "Smith" said that he saw the father of Madeleine McCann, Gerry, leaving the apartment in Praia da Luz, Lagos, Algarve, carrying a child on the day that the little girl disappeared. This, during the period of time between 6 and 10 p.m., precisely when Maddie disappeared.
"He was one of the witnesses that should be questioned within the rogatory letter that was sent to England. But, due to the fact that he is an Irish citizen, the authorities in Leicester, England, failed to contact him. The diligence was not deemed relevant, given the fact that he was informally heard at the beginning of the process and his depositions were highly contradictory", a senior officer who is connected to the investigations revealed to 24horas.
The same source specified: "First he said that he saw Maddie's father leaving the apartment carrying a child. But during a second hearing he said he was not certain that it was Gerry who carried the child. He even said he could not assert whether said person was actually carrying a human being. This type of witness is not admissible in court and they do not deserve credibility".
It is now up to prosecutor Magalhães e Meneses, who is analysing the process, to decide whether it is necessary to carry out further diligences, namely whether the hearing of the Irish citizen is necessary or not to reach a decision about the case, which apparently is to be archived concerning the suspicions of concealment of a cadaver and possible homicide that are pending on the McCanns.
unquote
There are no inconsistencies in the statements of any of the Smith family at any time. But it certainly seems that they contained an ‘inconvenient truth’ , inconvenient enough to leak misinformation to the tabloid 24Horas.
So it is rather interesting that just those rogatory letters did not find their way to the Irish authorities, via the Leicester police. The above article dates from July 2008, well before the files were published, but presumably after or during the time that the Archiving Dispatch was being written. And in Part B of this document (Processos Vol XVII - Part B of the Archiving Dispatch ) the Smith sighting is dismissed on the grounds that; ..'it was established that at the time that was being mentioned, (by the Smith family) Gerald McCann was sitting at the table in the Tapas restaurant' and again : '... Gerald's presence at the restaurant was confirmed by his friends and has not been denied by restaurant employees.'
This is very strange indeed, for there were two employees of the Tapas Bar who stated that Gerry McCann was absent from the table during that time. Their statements are in the files. One of these statements was certainly taken very seriously by the Policia Judiciaria: that of Joaquim Jose Moreira Batista who gave this testimony on the 6th of May:
- of the group o 8/9 British citizens who dined at the restaurant last night, as usual, of which the parents of the missing were part he noticed that two individuals left the table, of the male gender.
-the first to leave was about 40/45 years old, tall, skinny[..] and the period of his absence was about 15 minutes, being that they had to re-heat his food, which had cooled.
the second to leave (about 40/45 years old [..] did so for about 30 minutes and that shortly after he returned, all left the table, except for an elderly person who told him that a child had disappeared, the daughter of a member of the group, due to which he thought that the secnd person to leave could have been the father of the child. unquote
This is very strange indeed, for there were two employees of the Tapas Bar who stated that Gerry McCann was absent from the table during that time. Their statements are in the files. One of these statements was certainly taken very seriously by the Policia Judiciaria: that of Joaquim Jose Moreira Batista who gave this testimony on the 6th of May:
- of the group o 8/9 British citizens who dined at the restaurant last night, as usual, of which the parents of the missing were part he noticed that two individuals left the table, of the male gender.
-the first to leave was about 40/45 years old, tall, skinny[..] and the period of his absence was about 15 minutes, being that they had to re-heat his food, which had cooled.
the second to leave (about 40/45 years old [..] did so for about 30 minutes and that shortly after he returned, all left the table, except for an elderly person who told him that a child had disappeared, the daughter of a member of the group, due to which he thought that the secnd person to leave could have been the father of the child. unquote
This is probably the same man who went into hiding with the permission of the police at the time as reported by: Daily Express: Tuesday 18 December 2007:
‘The key witness in the missing Madeleine McCann case was in hiding last night after fleeing Portugal. ‘
Police have sworn the waiter to secrecy over his vital testimony and know where he is. But friends say he is terrified his identity is about to be revealed and that he will come under pressure from rival factions in the case. He is scared of British and Portuguese government influence in the probe. Friends claim he is also wary of the team of private eyes hired by Kate and Gerry McCann to help find their daughter. [..]
‘The key witness in the missing Madeleine McCann case was in hiding last night after fleeing Portugal. ‘
Police have sworn the waiter to secrecy over his vital testimony and know where he is. But friends say he is terrified his identity is about to be revealed and that he will come under pressure from rival factions in the case. He is scared of British and Portuguese government influence in the probe. Friends claim he is also wary of the team of private eyes hired by Kate and Gerry McCann to help find their daughter. [..]
The tapas bar waiter described by police as their ‘trump card’has given what detectives believe is the most reliable account of what happened the night the four-year old vanished. They have questioned him three times, most recently last week. Officers ay his story can prove Madeleine’s parents are lying over her disappearance. [..]
‘He does not want to be involved in any of this. He was just a restaurant worker. His only problem was remembering food orders. He’s terrified’[..] unquote
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In his additional statement Martin Smith states clearly that his earlier statement was correct and indeed there is nothing in any of the statements of the Smith family where they state that they saw Gerry McCann leaving the apartment or that they weren’t even sure whether the person they met was carrying a human being. Those are outright lies, apparently ‘leaked’ to discredit the evidence. (In this context see Clarence Clarified and in particular the last slide of his presentation : Retained agency in Portugal to enhance engagement with opinion formers and PT commentariat.)
It is remarkable that the Final Report not just fails to mention the statements from the Tapas workers who noticed Gerry McCann absent from the table, but states specifically that there is NO evidence that Gerry McCann wasn’t at the table.
Here is the full additional statement by Martin Smith, 30th January 2008. The cover note was signed by Sergeant LH from the Detective Branch at Drogheda police station, County Lough.
Cover note:
Re- investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. [...] He has been contacted by numerous tabloid press looking for stories. He has been contacted by Mr. Brian Kennedy who is supporting the McCann family to take part in a photo fit exercise. He has given no stories or helped in any photo fits. [..] unquote
Additional statement by Martin Smith, 30 January 2008
I hereby declare that this statement is true to the best of my knowledge and belief and that I make it knowing that if it is tendered in evidence I will be liable to prosecution if I state in it anything which I know to be false or do not believe to be true.
I would like to state that the statement I made on the 26th of May 2007 in Portugal is correct. The description of the individual that I saw on 3rd May 2007 carrying a child is as follows. He was average build, 5 foot 10" in height, brown hair cut short, aged 40 years approximately. Wearing beige trousers and darkish top maybe a jacket or blazer. He had a full head of hair with a tight cut. This individual was alone. I saw Gerard McCann going down the plane stairs carrying one of his children on 9th September 2007 BBC news at 10 PM, I have been shown the video clip by Sergeant Hogan which I recognize. A clip I have seen before on the Internet. In relation to the video clips of Gerard McCann and the person I saw on 3rd May 2007 when I saw the BBC news at 10 PM on 9th September 2007 something struck me that it could have been the same person. It was the way Gerard McCann turned his head down which was similar to what the individual did on 3rd of May 2007 when we met him. It may have been the way he was carrying the child either. I would be 60-80% sure that it was Gerard McCann that I met that night carrying a child. I am basing that on his mannerism in the way he carried the child off the plane. After seeing the BBC news at 10 PM, footage on the 9th September 2007, I contacted Leicestershire police with this information. During that time I spoke to all my family members who were with me on the night of 3rd May 2007 about this and the only one who felt the same way as me was my wife. She had seen the video clip of Gerard McCann walking down the stairs of the plane earlier that day. We did not discuss this until some days later. This statement has been read over to me and is correct. unquote
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Clearly some time before the 30th January 2008 Martin Smith had been asked to take part in a photo-fit exercise 1) (outdated even by that time) but declined to do so and sometime after the 30th of January 2008, but during that year, members of the Smith family did construct the professional efits
Part two of this post will cover those issues.
1) Forensic Psychology - Open University.
Recall and recognition: Although e-fit was based on psychological knowledge of how we remember faces, it still relied on a witness picturing the face in their mind and then describing it to an officer. [..] The difference between recall and recognition is an issue that has been explored extensively in psychological research. In general, our brains seem to be far better at recognition.
The latest composite system to be used by the police if using e-fit and then e-fit-V. Efit-V is designed to try and utilise face recognition, rather than face recall.
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