Concerning the issue of the process said; .
In the sequence of facts, he was with the patrol of the GNR that went
to the Ocean Club Gardens establishment (situated in PdL) on
night of May 03, 2007, with the goal of investigating the
circumstances that surrounded the disappearance of a minor, of
British nationality, that was installed there temporarily, together
with the rest of her more direct family ' knowing these to be, the
respective parents, and two siblings, twins, minors, whose name do
not need to be clarified;
.
Clarifies that the occurrence in question was transmitted to the
above referenced patrol via radio, at time when they were located in
Odiaxere;
.
The patrol of which he took part, and now as a witness, went
immediately to the principal reception of the aforementioned
establishment, where there was encountered the father of the missing
child;
.
Following, this patrol went to the residence where the family of said
minor was staying in the 'Ocean Garden' together with the father;
.
At reaching the location, the two elements that made up the patrol ,
the current witness and his colleague, Jose Roque, proceeded into the
interior of the apartment, with the goal of investigating the
contours which eventually surrounded the disappearance of that minor;
.
In this sentiment, the deponent states that they searched al the
dependencies of the residence and all the pieces of furniture, in
order to confirm the disappearance -- effectively confirming that
that she was not in the interior;
.
The question made, the deponent states that the access to interior of
the residence was accessed through a principal door- that is, a wood
door which is placed facing north;
.
Inside, the deponent encountered the mother and two siblings of the
missing minor;
.
The deponent stats that he is unable to specify if that entrance door
was found open or closed when he reached the apartment during which
he was taking in the facts with the witness is now clarifying;
.
In the sequence of confirming the facts of the effective
disappearance of that minor, he states that this has been
communicated prior, for the reason of helping the Polícia Judiciara;
. States that other details that may be relevant to the investigation concerns that they were directed to a citizen, of British nationality, who made up the group of tourists together with the family, name of Jane Tanner, and who detected the presence of a suspicious movement of an individual in the immediate area above identified, in the discourse of which was seen transporting a child of an early age;
. And nothing more said, having read the statement, finds it in conformity and signs it;
. The document is duly signed by me '
. The document is duly signed by me '
b) 2007.05.16
On
the 3rd May he arrived at the resort in PdL at about 23.00,
accompanied by officer Roque.They went to the OC reception. At that
moment Madeleine’s father arrived at the reception and informed
them of the events. After having found out what happened, he went to
the exact place Madeleine had disappeared from, accompanied by Roque,
the girl’s father and a woman who was acting as interpreter, whose
name he does not remember and another individual, a friend of the
girl’s father, whose name he does not recall.
When
asked, he says he never saw Robert Murat during any of the time he
was on the scene.
No
more is said. Reads, ratifies, signs.
c) 2007.10.17
He comes to the process
as a witness, as an officer from the Lagos GNR, he has worked for the
Guarda for 13 years.
He confirms the integrity
of his previous statements.
Regarding the facts on
3rd May, when he was on patrol with his colleague Roque in the
Odiaxere zone, they received a radio communication from the central,
telling them to go to PdL, specifically to the OC resort reception
where the father of a little girl who had gone missing was. When they
were on their way to this place and in the Valverde area, they
received a new communication, informing them that this was a very
young child and that her father had called again. They continued on
their way, now with urgency, heading for the main reception of the
resort.
When they arrived they
saw the girl's father, a friend whom the witness describes as tall
and blond, an OC employee and a translator who was also an OC
employee, named Silvia Baptista.
After hearing about the
circumstances of the disappearance (from the father with the help of
translation) he does not remember whether the word abduction was
mentioned, and he went in his police car, to the apartment,
accompanied by the father, the friend and the translator. When he
arrived at the apartment he saw that the wooden door, now referred to
as the main door, was closed and he thinks someone who he cannot
identify opened it. When he entered, there were other individual
apart from the mother, he does not know how many but there was at
least another couple present.
Then, with his colleague,
he searched the apartment. He opened all the cupboards of the
bedrooms, living room and kitchen and he checked under the beds and
in the fridge. He did not see the washing machine. He did not see
anything strange during the search and there was no sign of a break
in. As regards the bed clothes of the child's bed, he found it to
have a normal disposition (sic).
He found it notable that
when they were still at the main reception, the father kneeled down,
laying his head on the ground and crying, at the same time as making
an expression which the witness did not understand.
After the search of the
interior, his colleague went to check the area around the apartments
and the Tapas Bar, while the witness remained next the apartment,
just outside it. At that moment a female individual, he does not know
whether she was a member of the group of friends, who was in the
neighbouring apartment, said that she saw an individual carrying a
child, running, and that because of the pyjamas she was wearing it
could have been Madeleine. It was in these circumstances that
abduction began to be talked about. He made a report about this
situation and sent it to the police.
This sighting did not
seem to him to be very credible, because when he asked her about the
physical characteristics of the individual, she said it was very
dark, however she saw the pyjamas clearly.
When asked, he said that
at that time he also saw a lot of local people, who were searching
for the missing girl.
Whilst he was outside he
talked to the witness mentioned previously and to some residents who
had not seen anything. He exchanged some words with the mother, who
was crying and only asked for more police officers.
When questioned about the
bedroom windows, he only remembers that blinds of the window of the
girl's bedroom were not totally closed. He does not remember about
the existence of curtains or whether the window itself was closed.
He says that in the
apartment there were two beds and two cots placed in Madeleine's
room, he does not remember their position. The children never woke
up, he is sure, not knowing what position they were in, however he
found this situation to be very strange, as a lot of noise was made.
As regards the parents,
he says they were nervous and anxious, emotional. He adds that upon
observing the scene it did not appear to him to be an abduction, but
rather a normal disappearance where the child had left by her own
means.
As regards the living
room sofa, next to a curtain, he cannot be sure whether the sofa was
against the wall.
He also refers to a
situation at about 02 or 03.00, that the parents asked for a priest
and his colleague had tried to contact one on his mobile, but did not
manage to find one.
He also emphasises the
situation that someone, who he cannot identify, having contacted Sky
News and the Embassy that night. He does not know if were the
parents.
He also notes that he saw
various photographs on normal A4 paper of the girl, which had been
printed at the reception, as well as other photos on photographic
paper, poster type 10x15, that could not have been printed at the
reception. This seemed unusual to him and he later confirmed that it
was not possible for them to have been printed at the reception.
He has nothing else to
add.
Reads, ratifies, signs.
Concerning
the issue of the process said;
.
In the sequence of facts, he was with the patrol of the GNR that went
to the Ocean Club Gardens establishment (situated in Para da Luz) on
night of May 03, 2007, with the goal of investigating the
circumstances that surrounded the disappearance of a minor, of
British nationality, that was installed there temporarily, together
with the rest of her more direct family - knowing these to be, the
respective parents, and two siblings, twins, minors, whose name do
not need to be clarified;
.
Clarifies that the occurrence in question was transmitted to the
above referenced patrol via radio, at time when they were located in
Odiaxere;
.
The patrol of which he took part, and now as a witness, went
immediately to the principal reception of the aforementioned
establishment, where there was encountered the father of the missing
child;
.
Following, this patrol went to the residence where the family of said
minor was staying in the 'Ocean Garden' together with the father;
.
At reaching the location, the two elements that made up the patrol ,
the current witness and his colleague, Nelson Costas, proceeded into
the interior of the apartment, with the goal of investigating the
contours which eventually surrounded the disappearance of that minor;
.
In this sentiment, the deponent states that they searched al the
dependencies of the residence and all the pieces of furniture, in
order to confirm the disappearance -- effectively confirming that
that she was not in the interior;
.
The questioned made, the deponent states that the access to interior
of the residence was accessed through a principal door- this is, a
wood door which is placed facing north;
.
Inside, the deponent encountered the mother and two siblings of the
missing minor;
.
The deponent states that he is unable to specify if that entrance
door was found open or closed when he reached the apartment during
which he was taking in the facts with the witness is now clarifying;
.
In the sequence of confirming the facts of the effective
disappearance of that minor, he states that this has been
communicated prior, for the reason of helping the Policia Judiciara;
.
Urged to reveal other details that may be considered relevant to the
investigation, the deponent reveals that he has no other knowledge of
any elements that may help contribute to that end;
.
And nothing more said, having read the statement, finds it in
conformity and signs it;
b) 2007.05.16
He
comes to the process for a second time, having made a previous
statement giving details about the police intervention at the site of
the events.
He
has been a GNR officer since 1986, he currently works at the Lagos
GNR post.
On
3rd May he was on duty at the events, he arrived at the OC at about
23.00 accompanied by Officer Costa. They were the first to arrive on
the scene.
They
went to the reception of the OC resort.
At
that moment the girl's father arrived at the reception who informed
them of the situation.
After
hearing what had happened he went to the exact site the girl had
disappeared from accompanied by his colleague, Nelson Costa, the
girl's father, a woman acting as interpreter, whose surname was
Ramos, and another individual, a friend of the girl's father, whose
name he does not remember.
He
never spoke directly to the father or with any other persons of
foreign nationality, the questions were formulated to the interpreter
who acted an intermediary in the dialogue.
He
remembers that inside the apartment Madeleine had disappeared from
was the mother and another foreign woman, whom he assumed to be a
friend of the family.
When
asked, he says he never saw Murat on any of the occasions he was at
the site.
No
more is said. Reads, ratifies, signs.
c) 2007.10.17
He comes to the process as a witness. He is an officer with the Lagos GNR and has worked for the Guarda for 21 years.
He confirms the integrity of his previous statements.
As regards the facts on the night of 3rd May, when he was on patrol with his colleague Costa in Odiaxere, he received a radio communication from the central telling him to go to P da L, specifically to the reception of OC resort where the father of a girl who had disappeared was. When they were on their way to this place and had reached the zone of Valverde he received another communication saying that this was a very young girl and that her father had called again. They continued on their way, now with urgency, heading for the main reception of the resort.
When they arrived, they saw the girl's father, a friend whom he cannot describe, an OC employee and a translator who was also an OC employee, named Silvia Batista.
After hearing about the circumstances of the disappearance (from the father with the help of translation) at a determined moment he thinks it was the father who told the translator that it was an abduction, at least this is how it was translated. He then went to the apartment, accompanied by his colleague, the father and friend as well as the translator. When he arrived at the apartment he saw the mother there, who opened the wooden door, now referred to as the main door. When he entered, apart from the mother, there were three individuals, one female and two male, whom he cannot identify.
Then, while his colleague remained in the hall, and the others were in the living room, the witness went through the entire apartment. He opened all the cupboards in the bedrooms, living room and kitchen and checked under the beds and inside the washing machine. He did not see the fridge.
During the search he did not find anything strange apart from the bedclothes on Madeleine's bed, which were too tidy, it appeared that she had been picked up from or had left the bed with great care. There was a mark on the sheet that appeared to be made by a child's body.
After the search, he noticed a situation that seemed unusual to him, when at a determined moment, the girl's parents kneeled down on the floor of their bedroom and placed their heads on the bed, crying. He did not notice any comments or expression from them, just crying. He says that at the main reception the father also knelt down, placing his head on the floor and crying. He did not hear the father say anything.
He never heard the parents ask to see a priest.After the search he told his colleague to wait by the door while he went to the area around the apartments and the Tapas Restaurant. Whilst he was doing this he noticed the presence of many local people who were searching for the girl.Meanwhile the post commander arrived at the scene and he joined him in a vehicle and travelled around the whole resort.
At about 02.30 after having been replaced by two colleagues, he left the scene as the police had already arrived.When questioned about the windows in the bedroom, he only remembers that the window in the girl's bedroom was closed with the blind raised up the space of the width of a hand. He does not remember the existence of curtains. The father indicated, through the translator, alleging that when the disappearance was discovered, the windows and blinds were open.
He says there were two children in cots placed in Madeleine's room in a transversal position to the beds. The children never woke up, were in a ventral position, they did not even move during or after the search.
He found the parents to be nervous and anxious, he did not see any tears from either of them although they produced noises identical to crying. He did not feel that this was an abduction, although this was the line indicated by the father.
As regards the sofa next to the window, he thinks, but is not sure, that it was against the wall.
He also refers to a situation when he was searching outside, near the pool, that someone from the OC whom he cannot identify, passed him a mobile phone, as a British Consulate employee who spoke in Portuguese, wanted to talk to the authorities. Upon speaking to him, he told him that the investigation and subsequent actions were under the responsibility of the PJ.
He has nothing to add.
Reads, ratifies, signs.