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Maddie's dad named a suspect
08/09/2007 07:15 - (SA)
Praia Da Luz - Portuguese police
named the parents of missing British four-year-old Madeleine
McCann as suspects in their investigation on Friday, their
lawyer said after they were questioned for hours by police.
A spokesperson for Kate and Gerry McCann, who had gained
widespread sympathy in Europe for their plight, said they were
innocent and that, in naming them as suspects, police were not
focusing on finding Madeleine.
"Today, Kate and Gerry McCann have both been declared
'arguidos'," their lawyer, Carlos Pinto de Abreu, told reporters
using the Portuguese word for suspect.
"No charges were brought against them," he said, adding that
there were no conditions established by the police on them as
suspects. "The investigation continues."
Gerry McCann left the police station around midnight, having
arrived for questioning just after his wife left in the
afternoon. Kate was also questioned for about 11 hours on
Thursday.
"They are very frustrated, most of all that all of these
events are distracting from the original investigation into
Madeleine's disappearance," said David Hughes, a spokesperson for
the McCanns. Gerry a suspect
Police could not be reached to comment on the naming of
Gerry as a suspect but said earlier they had identified a new
suspect in their investigation, which friends said was Kate.
"Kate knows it's possible that she could get arrested,"
Justine McGuinness, a spokesperson for the McCanns, said before
the police announcement.
McGuinness said Kate had told her that police found blood in
a car hired by the couple but there was no confirmation that it
was Madeleine's blood. The car had been hired 25 days after the
toddler disappeared.
Police received results this week of forensic tests on
evidence from various sites including the holiday apartment from
which Madeleine vanished on May 3.
A British man emerged as the first formal suspect soon after
Madeleine's disappearance from the Praia da Luz resort in the
Algarve region.
Series of leads
Police had pursued a series of leads, including that
Madeleine might have been taken by a paedophile.
Under Portuguese law, declaring the McCanns as suspects
indicates police believe they may have been involved in the
crime but does not necessarily mean that they will be detained.
They would have more legal protection than as witnesses,
including the right not to answer questions.
her fourth birthday.
Gerry rejected any suggestion of his wife's involvement on
his blog (www.findmadeleine.com).
"The suggestion that Kate is involved in Madeleine's
disappearance is ludicrous," he wrote. "Anyone who knows
anything about the 3rd May knows that Kate is completely
innocent. We will fight this all the way and we will not stop
looking for Madeleine."
Madeleine vanished from a hotel room in the Praia da Luz
resort while her parents dined with friends a short distance
away.
- Reuters
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