WHY DIDNT THE MET INTERVIEW MCCANNS AGAIN/WHO IS THE WOMAN IN PURPLE

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5048349/The-TWO-vital-Maddie-questions.html

The TWO vital Maddie questions: Why didn't the Met quiz the McCanns again and who was the woman in purple?
A ‘woman in purple’ is keeping Operation Grange alive - the search for Maddie
She was seen by British expat Jenny Murat before the youngster went missing
In the past few months, the Grange team has been criss-crossing Europe trying to locate the woman

By Neil Tweedie for the Daily Mail


Published: 22:05, 3 November 2017 | Updated: 22:30, 3 November 2017

About 8pm on the evening of May 3, 2007, Jenny Murat, a British expatriate living in the coastal village of Praia da Luz on Portugal’s Algarve, notices a woman staring intently at an apartment block next to the Ocean Club, a small holiday complex popular with British families.

‘I saw the woman standing on the corner of the street,’ Mrs Murat later recalled. ‘She caught my eye because she was dressed in purple-plum clothes. It struck me as strange.

‘It’s so usual for anyone, particularly a woman, to be standing alone on the street in our resort, just watching a building.’


Sometime during the next two hours, three-year-old Madeleine McCann disappears from an apartment in that same block as her parents dine with friends nearby.

‘The next morning, we heard that a little girl had gone missing, and I later told police about the woman I’d seen right outside,’ Mrs Murat continued. ‘I didn’t recognise her and don’t have a clue who she is, but she seems a bit suspicious.’

It is this ‘woman in purple’, the Mail understands, who is keeping alive Operation Grange, the marathon reinvestigation of the Madeleine McCann case by Scotland Yard, now in its sixth year.

The suspect is believed to be Bulgarian and was living in Praia da Luz with her partner, a man of German or Eastern European descent (now believed to be dead) at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance. It is thought that police interest is linked to discoveries about her late partner’s history.

In the past few months, the Grange team — now down to four detectives from a peak of 31 — has been criss-crossing Europe trying to locate the woman.

Their budget had been due to run out in September, but officers are understood to have used the ‘woman in purple’ line of investigation to persuade the Home Office — which is financing the inquiry from central government funds — to grant a six-month extension.

The £154,000 agreed will allow inquiries to continue until March, taking the total spent on Operation Grange near to £12 million.

Given that Mrs Murat (whose son Robert was arrested as a suspect two weeks after Madeleine’s disappearance, but cleared of any involvement) raised the alarm about the woman on the morning after the alleged abduction, it must be asked why it has taken ten years for attention to focus on this suspect? Equally pertinent, perhaps, is the question: why is the British taxpayer being asked to finance Operation Grange further when all other leads have come to dispiriting dead-ends?

During the past six years, a string of theories and suspects have come and gone. Variously, the spotlight has fallen on a group of British contract cleaners working in the resort, a smelly, pot-bellied man, a burglary gang posing as charity collectors, child-traffickers, gypsies and so on.

Of course, it must be acknowledged that the suffering of Madeleine’s parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, over their daughter’s disappearance is as unimaginable as it is unending.


Every parent will sympathise with their conviction that, until proven otherwise, Madeleine may yet be found alive and well.

But the brutal and tragic truth is that it is more than probable the woman in purple is unlikely to be the key to solving this mystery.

Operation Grange has been one of the longest, most high-profile and costly police investigations in history. Launched in May 2011, officers have sifted (and translated) 40,000 documents produced by Portuguese police who conducted the initial investigation, and by the eight teams of private detectives who have worked on the case.


Some 600 ‘persons of interest’ have been examined and ‘sightings’ of Madeleine — in Brazil, India, Morocco and Paraguay, on a German plane and in a New Zealand supermarket — assessed.

The demand from many quarters — from the McCanns, from the public, from politicians — for the investigation to continue is, of course, entirely understandable.

But there comes a time in every police inquiry into a disappearance when the question of how long it should continue has to be asked.


In an era of austerity — with the Met threatening to stop investigating thousands of ‘low-level’ crimes, such as burglaries and assaults, to help it absorb £400 million in cuts before 2020 — the commitment to one increasingly old, and cold, case is becoming harder to defend.

Some police critics of Operation Grange point to what they see as its ‘original sin’ — the failure of the Met’s team to re-interview Gerry and Kate McCann and the so-called Tapas Seven, the friends with whom they were dining in a restaurant at the Ocean Club on the night of Madeleine’s disappearance.

This, it is argued, should have been a basic first step in a reinvestigation while implying no guilt on the part of those involved.

According to Mark Rowley, Assistant Commissioner of the Met, there was simply no need to re-interview the group because local police had already done so. Yet the initial inquiry by police on the Algarve is known to have been deeply flawed.

Might not a British interviewer of the McCanns and their friends have picked up on something not spotted by the Portuguese?

Speaking shortly before the tenth anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance, Mr Rowley explained: ‘We had a look at all the material and we are happy that was all dealt with, and there is no reason whatsoever to reopen that or start rumours that that was a line of investigation.’

According to a friend of the McCanns, ‘it would have been hugely insulting to Kate and Gerry if their original statements had been questioned. There was no need to say anything more because everything had been said’.

What this meant in practice was that abduction, either by design or as the result of a break-in gone wrong, was the only consideration for the Grange team.

The reinvestigation began after the McCanns found a powerful ally in the shape of Rebekah Brooks, then chief executive of News International (publisher of The Times, Sunday Times and The Sun), who was anxious to secure the newspaper publishing rights for Kate McCann’s book on the family’s terrible ordeal.

Ms Brooks was subsequently accused during the Leveson Inquiry into Press standards of bullying the Prime Minister David Cameron and Theresa May, then Home Secretary, into initiating Grange.

She denied the accusation, but admitted applying pressure for a case review on the McCanns’ behalf.

Politics has been a consideration in the conduct of Operation Grange ever since; certainly, it was the subject of discussions between David Cameron and his Portuguese opposite numbers.

One could argue that delaying the end of the inquiry postpones the moment when Mrs May, an increasingly embattled prime minister, must explain why so many millions and countless hours of police time —resources committed on her watch as Home Secretary and PM — have ended up in a fruitless dead-end.

Disquiet about Operation Grange is nothing new. In 2015, John Tully, then chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, argued that, in a time of cuts at home, Scotland Yard should not be used to conduct inquiries into matters abroad.

‘It is surprising to see an inquiry like the McCann investigation ring-fenced,’ he said. ‘I have heard a few rumblings of discontent about it.’

Colin Sutton, a retired senior detective at Scotland Yard, has told how he was warned off taking the leadership of Operation Grange.

A senior officer, who Sutton knew well, told him: ‘You wouldn’t be happy leading an investigation where you were told what you could look at and what you could not.’ Meaning, presumably, that the McCanns were off-limits to further questioning.

Mr Sutton recalls: ‘It was made clear that this was an unofficial call and that it was made in my interest — so that I might not end up taking on a task which would ultimately frustrate me.


I do though think that a point worthy of reinforcing is that a proper, conclusive and reasoned elimination or implication of Kate and Gerry McCann would have been in everyone’s interest, most of all theirs. That would have been my first objective had I been leading Operation Grange...To eliminate or implicate those closest to the child in this type of case is not only the documented best practice, but is common sense.

‘Had Grange done this, then everything would be a lot clearer. I have no idea why this was not done, but I am satisfied [by] what has been said by the Met and what [information] is available that it was not [done].’

Following the departure in late 2014 of Andy Redwood, the officer originally in charge of the inquiry, Operation Grange has been the responsibility of Detective Chief Inspector Nicola Wall.

Taking on an investigation in its death throes must be something of a poisoned chalice, and DCI Wall may not be sorry to see the end of Grange in March 2018.

Meanwhile, the McCanns keep a close eye on developments from their home in Rothley, Leicestershire, and continue to express thanks to the Met.

‘Kate and Gerry are grateful for the resources put into finding Madeleine and encouraged that they continue to be so,’ says the friend.

In Praia da Luz, however, locals are weary of the case, and the extension of Grange has been greeted with little enthusiasm.

According to Paul Luckman, of English-language newspaper The Portugal News: ‘There was this slightly arrogant British assumption that: “We’ll come in and show you how to conduct an investigation”. Well, we’ve seen the result.

‘And the money. What about all the other missing children? There must be a limit to spending on a single case. The one consistent sentiment among [the] Portuguese, who are very family-focused, is to ask why Madeleine and her siblings were ever left alone in the first place. Parents here would take their children with them to the restaurant.’

In a symbol of solidarity with the McCanns, De Lisle College in Loughborough — the secondary school Madeleine, who would now be 14, would have attended — continues to reserve a place for her. This year, she would have started her GCSE course.


Unless the woman in purple is tracked down in the next few months, the moment of closure for Operation Grange is approaching.

Despite a monumental effort, the case of Madeleine McCann, one of the most haunting mysteries of modern times, is likely to remain just that.

Dear Lord, give me strength. Just WHY should it be insulting to the "suffering" McCanns if their statements about abduction are questioned? Do they need to be reminded Madeleine was their daughter and the investigation is supposed to be about what happened to her, their own daughter. Innocent parents would be begging to be included in the investigation yet detectives crisscross Europe looking for the "purple woman".

Further to my comment above - anyone who has ever watched a true crime show knows that when police are questioning someone who eventually is charged with a crime, the first thing the person does is concoct an implausible story and continues to deny, deny, deny they had anything to do with the crime. Just what the McCanns have been doing for over ten years. Innocent people would be begging to be included in the investigation not insulted because they were being re-interviewed.

Third comment (this is really bugging me) - Further to the comments above, what kind of an "interview" did Kate ever do with the Portuguese police; the only one I can think of is the one when she refused to answer the 48 questions - some "interview" that was!!!!!!

Insulting to the McCanns to question their original interviews. is that because they were changed so much subsequently, with the front door back door broken shutters, and no comment. the only insulting thing in this case is the McCs and their friend, spokesperson trying to insult the intelligence of many.imo

‘I do though think that a point worthy of reinforcing is that a proper, conclusive and reasoned elimination or implication of Kate and Gerry McCann would have been in everyone’s interest, most of all theirs."

I can't believe that a Daily Mail reporter has included this in the article. Has any paper ever questioned this before?

Woody wrote:‘I do though think that a point worthy of reinforcing is that a proper, conclusive and reasoned elimination or implication of Kate and Gerry McCann would have been in everyone’s interest, most of all theirs."

I can't believe that a Daily Mail reporter has included this in the article. Has any paper ever questioned this before?

Very good point!! I see that "7 News Australia" (on line) has questioned "Two Avenues Madeleine McCann Investigators Didn't Explore", which includes re-interviewing the McCanns and also asks why the "purple lady" wasn't followed up sooner.

I believe "7 News Australia" is the TV channel 7 News, that did a couple of investigative reports a while back.

"Andy said BURGLARS Nic,.... not BULGARIANS!"

I see investigators are looking for the lady in purple, whose deceased husband was a convicted paedophile. This "strong lead" leads them to look for burglars in Bulgaria. It looks like they still want to pin Madeleine's "disappearance" on some dead paedophile burglar.

interested wrote:I see investigators are looking for the lady in purple, whose deceased husband was a convicted paedophile.  This "strong lead" leads them to look for burglars in Bulgaria.   It looks like they still want to pin Madeleine's "disappearance" on some dead paedophile burglar.

Convicted paedophile Raymond Hewlett was lined up for the frame when it dawned on the investigative team that he was a wheel chair bound cancer sufferer who, at the time of Madeleine's 'abduction' probably would not have been able to negotiate up the stairs to the apartment let alone bring Madeleine out. The Met and private investigators have embarrassed themselves at every stage of trying to disprove Sr Amaral's conclusion. So why bother to stop now? It's only public money and no one believes the findings of the 'investigating team' or Madeleine's parents and ambulance chasing mouthpiece anyway.

More rubbish from the Daily Star about a psychic who says a "wobbly fat woman" took Madeleine and she is still alive. (I seem to recall hearing about this psychic a couple of years ago, but I'm not sure if this is the one.) She has supposed to have met with the McCanns and Brian Kennedy, as if this leaves some sort of credit to her vision. If it wasn't so laughable I suppose I could say the psychic shouldn't be body shaming the woman or point out than in the ten years since Madeleine "disappeared" the woman could have lost weight and may not be so "wobbly" now. Just another garbage story to keep the 'suffering' McCanns in the news.

Second thought - maybe it was Auntie Phil.

interested wrote:Second thought - maybe it was Auntie Phil.

I REMEMBER HER NOW ,LIVES IN ULLAPOOL

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/881339/madeleine-mccann-police-hunt-waitress-woman-in-purple-scotland-yard-bulgaria


Madeleine McCann: Police hunt waitress believed to be mysterious 'woman in purple'

THE “woman in purple” being sought by Scotland Yard detectives in Bulgaria in connection with the Madeleine McCann case worked with her husband at the Ocean Club resort on the Algarve in Portugal.



By James Murray, EXCLUSIVE

PUBLISHED: 00:01, Sun, Nov 19, 2017

Waitress Luisa Todorov, 58, is believed to be the mystery woman seen by two witnesses standing outside apartment 5a of the Ocean Club from where Madeleine was taken 10 years ago.

She has become the focus of Yard inquiries for months as officers want to know if she saw anything suspicious on the night of Madeleine’s abduction from Praia da Luz when she was aged just three.

One witness saw her standing by a lamp post just outside the apartment at 8pm on May 3, 2007 and another saw her about half an hour later nearby.

Luisa’s husband Stefan Todorov, 50, was working at the Tapas bar, where the McCanns and their seven holiday friends were dining when Madeleine was abducted.

Detectives working on the £12million Operation Grange inquiry have spent months trying to track down the couple, who are being treated as significant potential witnesses.

Spanish criminologist Heriberto Janosch Gonzalez, who has investigated the case for 10 years, said: “I have been combing through all the police files trying to identify who the woman in purple could be.

“It has been widely reported that Yard officers are in Bulgaria.

“Examining all the known statements it seems highly likely the police are seeking the Todorovs as they are the only known people with a clear link to Bulgaria.
“I have been unable to trace them in Portugal and believe they could have moved away.

“It is widely known that many workers at the Ocean Club were made redundant so it is possible they went to Bulgaria seeking work.”

The couple gave statements to Portuguese police five days after the kidnapping as part of routine Portuguese inquiries.

Luisa’s statement said she worked day shifts at the Millennium restaurant, where the McCann family had gone on the first evening of their holiday with their friends.

Scotland Yard said they could not give a running commentary on investigations carried out by officers working on Operation Grange.

In August 2007 a British woman reported seeing a child who looked mile Madeleine at Varna airport in Bulgaria, but the information was very sketchy and did not check out.

SPOT THE TYPO

If she and her husband both worked at the Ocean Club, it would not be surprising to see them in the area. I can't remember the name of the "one witness" who saw the "lady in purple" outside the apartment, but no matter; the investigators are wasting time and money hunting for her. The answer to the mystery of what happened to Madeleine lies in Rothley not Bulgaria.

Just saw an article in the Sun (same topic) which identified the "British gran" Jenny Murat as being the person who mentioned the "woman in purple". (I had forgotten it was her.) The main thing for me is that the McCanns have never been ruled innocent by Portugal; it is only the British police who (so far) consider them so.

If my memory is correct, it was Jeremy Wilkins who talked about the woman in purple. When he was asked if he knew Jane Tanner, he said he knew she belonged to the Tapas group but didn't know her name. He realised afterwards that he saw her hanging around the apartment, dressed in purple.

Wilkins made his rogatory statement on April 8 2008

“I left the apartment around 20.30. I calculate I met Gerry on the road between 20.45 and 21.15. I am aware of the importance of this hour and am also aware that the media announced our meeting time as 21.05. Even if this were correct, I have no idea where such information originated. It is not possible to give you a more exact time… I left my apartment pushing my son’s pram so that he could sleep... looked to the building block where the McCann apartment was situated and saw a woman dressed in purple clothing. I referred to this woman in relation to the questions asked by Jane Tanner… I do not remember having seen her when I spoke with Gerry, but I believe I saw her when I first ventured out. She was stopped on the street in front of one of the group’s apartments when I passed her down towards the exit to my apartment. I do not know if it was her apartment or not. I remember she was wearing the colour PURPLE.”

It matters little who they requestion, interrogate or do an autopsy on; they need to question the parents again!
Especially Kate, Madeleine's mother, who did her damndest to be Soooooo helpful by refusing to answe the questions put to her by those who did go out and search for Madeleine 10 years ago

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/it-wasnt-me-waitress-who-11573764

"It wasn't me": Waitress who expert claimed was 'woman in purple' in Madeleine McCann case speaks out

After a criminologist identified Luisa Todorov as the mystery women police are said to be searching for, she claims to have "no idea about" any such person

By
Martin Fricker,
22:04, 23 NOV 2017

The hunt continues for the “woman in purple” in the Madeleine McCann probe after a waitress whose name came up insisted: “It wasn’t me.”

A criminologist claimed to have identified Luisa Todorov as the mystery person police are said to be searching for.


ADVERTISEMENT

And we discovered she lives less than a mile from Praia da Luz in the Algarve, where Maddie disappeared.

Luisa, 58, was working at the resort where the McCanns were staying. But she insisted she is not the woman in purple and has not been approached by Scotland Yard detectives.

She told the Mirror: “I’ve no idea about any woman in purple. It wasn’t me. I spoke to the police a long time ago about the Madeleine case.

“I don’t really want to talk about it, nobody around here does, it brings back lots of bad memories.

“Nobody knows what happened to her. If the British police want to speak to me that’s fine, but I don’t know anything.”

Two separate witnesses saw the mystery woman in purple standing outside the apartment where three-year-old Maddie was snatched in May 2007.

Criminologist Heriberto Janosch Gonzalez recently named the woman as Luisa, who now uses her maiden name Camara on social media.

The restaurant worker, originally from Madeira, gave a statement to Portuguese police five days after Maddie’s disappearance, along with husband Stefan, 50.

He also worked at the Ocean Club resort, in the kitchens, and is believed to have returned to his native Bulgaria without being quizzed again.

Both strenuously deny any involvement in Maddie’s abduction and were only interviewed as potential witnesses. The youngster’s parents Kate and Gerry McCann , from Rothley, Leics, have never given up hope of finding their daughter, who would now be 14.

They were dining with friends in a restaurant near the apartment when she vanished from a ground-floor bedroom.

Despite a massive police investigation, there have been no confirmed sightings of Maddie in more than a decade.

Officers have made no arrests, despite investigating 60 people of interest and taking more than 1,300 witness statements. More than 500 lines of enquiry have been probed and areas of Praia da Luz dug up in the search for clues.

Scotland Yard’s Operation Grange was massively scaled back in 2015. There are now four detectives working on the case.

In September it emerged £154,000 in Home Office funding had been granted to continue the £12million probe for another six months.

So while the Grange team were criss-crossing Europe looking for her, the lady in purple, who says "It wasn't me", has been living less than a mile from Praia du Luz.

WONDER WHY THEY DIDN'T WORK OUT SHE WAASS IN PDL INSTEAD OF BULGARIA.