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The 49 Questions That Kate McCann Was Asked During 11-Hour Interrogation

The 49 Questions That Kate McCann Was Asked During 11-Hour Interrogation

She only answered one

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Young Madeleine McCann went missing on 3 May 2007 while on holiday with her family in Praia de Luz, and 12 days later Portuguese police arrested their first suspect: property consultant Robert Murat.

The British-Portuguese man was thrown into the spotlight after the Sunday Mirror told police he had been asking questions about the case.

Three of the McCanns' fellow holidaymakers - dubbed the 'Tapas Seven', in reference to the tapas restaurant where the McCanns regularly dined with their friends during the holiday - also said they had seen Murat outside an apartment on the night Maddie disappeared.

His suspect status was lifted in July 2008 after police couldn't find anything to link him to the case.

mccann
mccann

Credit: PA

But before that, attention had turned towards Kate and Gerry McCann, after journalists began finding inconsistencies with their statements and the comments made by the Tapas Seven.

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After DNA evidence was found in the apartment where Maddie went missing, her parents were named suspects on 7 September 2007. Against advice from their lawyer, Gerry did respond to questions - but Kate declined.

Here is a list of the questions asked by Portuguese investigators:

  1. On May 3, 2007, around 22.00, when you entered the apartment, what did you see? What did you do? Where did you look? What did you touch?
  2. Did you search inside the master bedroom wardrobe?
  3. After being shown two images of her bedroom wardrobe, can you describe its contents?
  4. Why was the curtain by the sofa near the side window tampered with? Did someone go behind the sofa?
  5. How long did your search of the apartment take after you detected Madeleine's disappearance?
  6. Why did you say Madeleine had been abducted?
  7. Assuming Madeleine was abducted, why did you leave the twins to go to the 'Tapas' and raise the alarm? The supposed abductor could still be in the apartment.
  8. Why didn't you ask the twins then what happened to their sister or why didn't you ask them later on?
  9. When you raised the alarm at the 'Tapas' what exactly did you say - what were your exact words?
  10. What happened after you raised the alarm there?
  11. Why did you go and warn your friends instead of shouting from the veranda?
  12. Who contacted the authorities?
  13. Who took place in the searches?
  14. Did anyone outside the group learn of her disappearance in those following minutes?
  15. Did any neighbour offer you help?
  16. What does 'we let her down' mean?
  17. Did Jane Tanner tell you that night she'd seen a man with a child?
  18. How were the authorities contacted and which police force was alerted?
  19. During the searches, with the police there, where did you search for Maddie, how and in what way?
  20. Why did the twins not wake up during that search or when they were taken upstairs?
  21. Who did you phone after the occurrence?
  22. Did you call Sky News?
  23. Did you know the danger of calling the media, because it could influence the abductor?
  24. Did you ask for a priest?
  25. By what means did you divulge Madeleine's features, by photographs or by any other means?
  26. Is it true that during the searches you remained seated on Maddie's bed without moving?
  27. What was your behaviour that night?
  28. Did you manage to sleep?
  29. Before travelling to Portugal, did you make any comment about a foreboding or a bad feeling?
  30. What was Madeleine's behaviour like?
  31. Did Maddie suffer from any illness or take any medication?
  32. What was Madeleine's relationship like with her brother and sister?
  33. What was Madeleine's relationship like with her brother and sister, friends and school mates?
  34. As for your professional life, in how many and which hospitals have you worked?
  35. What is your medical speciality?
  36. Have you ever done shift work in any emergency services or other services?
  37. Did you work every day?
  38. At a certain point you stopped working, why?
  39. Are the twins difficult to get to sleep? Are they restless and does that cause you uneasiness?
  40. Is it true sometimes you despaired at your children's behaviour and it left you feeling very uneasy?
  41. Is it true that in England you even considered handing over Madeleine's custody to a relative?
  42. In England, did you medicate your children? What type of medication?
  43. In the case files, you were shown canine forensic testing films. After watching them, did you say you couldn't explain any more than you already had?
  44. When the sniffer dog also marked human blood behind the sofa, did you say you couldn't explain any more than you already had?
  45. When the sniffer dog marked the scent of corpse coming from the vehicle you hired a month after the disappearance, did you say you couldn't explain any more than you already had?
  46. When human blood was marked in the boot of the vehicle, did you say you couldn't explain any more than you already had?
  47. When confronted with the results of Maddie's DNA, carried out in a British lab, collected from behind the sofa and the boot of the vehicle, did you say you couldn't explain any more than you already had?
  48. Did you have any responsibility or intervention in your daughter's disappearance?

kate and gerry
kate and gerry

Credit: PA

Kate was asked one more question: "Are you aware that in not answering the questions you are jeopardising the investigation, which seeks to discover what happened to your daughter?"

This proved to be the only question she would answer, saying: "Yes, if that's what the investigation thinks."

After the gruelling interview, it wasn't until 21 July the next year that the Portuguese Attorney General Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro closed the case, citing no evidence against the McCanns.

He said: "The case involving Madeleine McCann will be shelved following the decision by the two magistrates in charge that no evidence was found to implicate the arguidos. Hereby the condition of all three arguidos [suspects] ceases... and the bail measures imposed upon the same have expired.

"If they appeal against the decision it can be reopened... The inquiry may be reopened by decision of prosecuting council or by request of any of those involved if new, serious and relevant evidence emerges."

Wednesday 3 May 2017 will mark ten years since Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Kate McCann, Gerry McCann, Madeleine McCann

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