Sunday, October 24, 2010

Police 'do not have enough evidence' to arrest Madeleine suspect 2007

Last updated at 16:02pm on 29.10.07


Robert Murat
Robert Murat has been released by Portuguese police today


• Computer and videos seized
• Girlfriend and colleague quizzed
• Girlfriend linked to petrol station blonde
The first man to be classed as a suspect in the investigation into the abduction of Madeleine McCann said tonight he had been made a "scapegoat".
Robert Murat also said that he would only survive the ordeal if Madeleine's abductor was caught to clear his name.
Portuguese police said that they did not have enough evidence to formally arrest or charge their suspect.
Mr Murat was questioned late last night while his house, just yards from where the four-year-old was snatched from her bed, was searched by forensic experts.
Speaking off camera to Sky News he said: "This has ruined my life and has made things very difficult for my family here and in Britain."
He went on: "The only way I will survive this is if they catch Madeleine's abductor."
And he insisted: "I have been made a scapegoat for something I did not do."
In new revelations by police it emerged that five properties had been searched and "materials" removed for further forensic analysis.
The chief inspector once again reiterated that he did not know whether Madeleine was alive or dead.
Murat, who had offered his services to Madeleine's family and the police as an unofficial "translator", spent days close to investigators.
Mrs Eveleigh said: "Robert is shattered by this. He feels his life has been ruined forever.
"He feels he entered in the search for Madeleine to try to help and now police have turned against him.
"He offered his help as a translator to police and Madeleine's parents through pure goodwill. Now this has all been turned against him and he is devastated.
"He cannot believe the situation he is now in."
Murat has been released by police but is due to be quizzed again by the Portuguese equivalent of the UK's CID, sources said.
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Luis Antonio and Michaela Walczuch
Luis Antonio and Michaela Walczuch: Also quizzed by police

Murat was questioned along with his girlfriend, who was named locally as Michaela Walczuch, a German, and another man, who was identified as her former husband Luis Antonio.
Mr Antonio confirmed that he had been interviewed by police together with his estranged wife, with whom he still lives.
He revealed that Ms Walczuch had been having a relationship with Mr Murat for the past 14 months, but insisted the three remained friends.
He said: "My wife and I still live together. We have stayed together for the sake of our eight-year-old child. I know Robert, he is a friend of mine.
"I have been questioned by police as has my ex-wife, but I have nothing to say about the case."
Ms Walczuch, an estate agent, had recently set up a website with Mr Murat to sell property over the internet.
A Portuguese police spokesman said Mr Murat had been released on bail at 1.30am but will be questioned again by detectives from the Policia Judicia, equivalent to CID.
The spokesman said: "He is what is called arguido - which means he is under on-going questioning and remains a suspect in the case. At this time he is the only suspect in the case.
"This sets him apart from the eight other people who have given witness statements to the police. He is being treated as a suspect, not as a witness."
Arrests can only be made when police consider someone a suspect or possible suspect and then they require a court order before they can be defined as such.
Suspects have a right to silence once they have been charged but until that point must answer police questions.
This afternoon Mr Murat was on his way to a court to make a witness statement in the presence of a judge.
Mr Murat's widowed mother, Jennifer, 71, protested his innocence and said he had been freed and was now staying with friends.
A friend of the Murat family earlier said Madeleine could be the "twin" sister of the daughter of Robert Murat.
Geoffrey Livock, 71, who lives near Mr Murat's estranged wife Dawn in Hockering, Norfolk, said the girls had the same hairstyle and very similar faces.
"At first glance if you saw them walking down the street you would think they were twins," he said.
"Their hair is about the same and their faces are similar. I didn't think anything about it when Madeleine went missing. It was only when all this came out that I realised they were so similar."
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madeleine mccann everton shirt

In Norfolk, two women leave the house owned by Robert Murat's estranged wife Dawn with police, both carrying children hidden under blankets

Police have taken away a computer, video tapes and blankets from Robert Murat's villa which they are searching.
The home is less than 100 yards from the Algarve holiday complex where four-year-old Madeleine was staying.
Descriptions of Ms Walczuch, a blonde, and her ex-husband match those of a couple caught on CCTV at a nearby petrol station shortly after Madeleine's disappearance.
Reports on Portuguese television stated that suspected paedophile images have been found at Mr Murat's home.
The girl was snatched from her bed in the resort town of Praia da Luz on 3 May while her parents dined nearby.
A Portuguese spokesman said Mr Murat had been released on bail at 1.30am but will be questioned again by detectives from the Policia Judicia, equivalent to CID.
The spokesman said: "He is what is called arguido - which means he is under on-going questioning and remains a suspect in the case.
"At this time he is the only suspect in the case. This sets him apart from the eight other people who have given witness statements to the police. He is being treated as a suspect, not as a witness."
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Gerry McCann and Jennifer Murat
Gerry McCann appears anxious as he is pictured today on his balcony, left. The mother of suspect Robert Murat holds a missing poster

Yesterday, Murat's estranged wife Dawn and another woman were photographed leaving their Norfolk home with children hidden under blankets.
Mr Murat's widowed mother, Jennifer, 71, protested her son's innocence.
"There is no way he is part of this. He is innocent. I insist that police issue a statement declaring his innocence," she said.
Today Madeleine's parents Gerry and Kate, both 38 and doctors from Rothley in Leicestershire, were seen pacing on the balcony of their flat.
Family friend Jill Renwick said: "It is very hard for them. They do not know what is going on and get most of their information from TV news bulletins and newspapers."
Later they emerged from the flat where they are staying with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie and walked the short distance to a nearby creche to drop them off.
On 3 May the couple left their three children in bed in their apartment and went for dinner at a nearby tapas restaurant.
The couple checked on them regularly and at around 9pm Mr McCann found nothing wrong when he returned to their room in the seaside resort at the Ocean Club. But when Mrs McCann went to check on them again at 10pm she found the shutter slid up, the bedroom window open and Madeleine gone.
Yesterday Mr McCann said that until the family saw "concrete evidence to the contrary", they continued to be convinced that the daughter is "safe and being looked after".
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aerial view murat's place madeleine's villa
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Mr Murat was taken for questioning following a call from British police who were contacted on Sunday by journalist Lori Campbell.
Last night one local resident said she believed Mr Murat had flown to England early last week and only returned yesterday.
The woman, who would not be named, said Mr Murat had been picked up from Faro airport early yesterday after flying home from England to see his ex-wife and daughter in Norfolk.
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Madeleine petrol station
The petrol station where witnesses saw three people who could be linked to the disappearance of Madeleine

Mr Murat is a well-known local figure and has lived in the Algarve since the age of 13. His mother ran a local bar in the Sixties and more recently worked as an estate agent.
Childhood friend Katherine Roberts said: "I'm just hoping this turns out to be nothing. He is a kind man who had got very involved in this case."