Janet Kennedy Rogatory Statement

Cartas Rogatorias Vol III

Pages 6 - 10

Leicestershire Police Squad
Witness Statement
CJ Act 1967, s.9; MC Act 1980, ss.5ª(3) e 5B; Regular Criminal Process 2005, Decision: 27.1


Janet KENNEDY
Occupation: Retired Teacher


This statement (consisting of five pages and signed by me) is the truth and in accordance with my understanding. I offer this evidence with the knowledge that, if proven to the contrary, I may be subject to litigation if having voluntarily witnessed something which is false or does not correspond to the truth.

Date: 14th April, 2008


I am married to Brian KENNEDY. We have two children together, now adults. One of them has a child of his/her own. Brian has a sister whose name is Susan Healy who is the mother of Kate Healy/McCann; Kate is married to Gerald McCann and has three children, Madeleine, Sean and Amelie. Kate was the bridesmaid when I married Brian and has maintained a close relationship with our family since adolescence, because she is an only child and was part of a very close group with our children.

Both Brian and I are retired teachers and have worked in numerous schools in Leicester and Birmingham, respectively. After the birth of my children, I stayed at home with them without working for a few years. I remember that we moved to Rothley in Leicester in 1982. I remember perfectly the day because we had a terrible rain storm/floods.

I resumed teaching until 1998, the year I retired. I then became a moral and religious education counsellor in Catholic schools for six years. I have also done voluntary work, but am very close to family and have a very strong bond with the entire family.

I am particularly close to Kate and Gerry, and remember that when they moved to Leicester, before Madeleine’s birth, our house was always open to them—they were frequent visitors, often overnight—I believe that this is something I inherited from my mother.

I would say we have a good relationship with them; we have given them much help and generally, our family functions well closely. We are always present when someone needs us.

Gerry first started coming to Leicester in order to participate in cardiology conferences held at Glenfield Hospital. It was usual for us to fetch him at the airport and take him to the conference and later return him to the airport. It is for this reason the family serves and we were always present when Kate or Gerry needed us. After selling our home in Glasgow, Kate rented a room in The Limes in Rothley and Gerry stayed at the hospital—I think that he made circuits between Glenfield Leicester Royal Infirmary and the Boston Hospitals. They married in 1998. They arranged to buy a home in Queniborough. I remember that Kate was anxious to have children and I also remember the day she informed us she was pregnant with Madeleine.

I had a close friend, Sister Margaret, who stayed with us for a few days and whom Kate invited along with us to take tea. I told her not to worry as we had guests, but she was very persistent. She was seated at the table and gave us the good news. She was positively radiant and happy. I remember Sister Margaret telling me what a privilege it was to have been involved in a tender family moment such as this one.

After Kate and Gerry’s move to Leicestershire, we naturally began to see each other with greater frequency. Kate had a normal pregnancy and continued to work but always took care of herself and swam a lot during her pregnancy.

When Madeleine was born, the entire family was present to help support Kate who did not return to work as she felt her place was at home. Following the birth of the twins, she only returned to work part-time when they were one year old. I remember that in the beginning, Madeleine did not sleep well at night, and needed much attention.

When Madeleine was small, Gerry arranged work in Amsterdam and shortly after living there with Kate, she discovered that she was pregnant with twins. There were some problems with this pregnancy and she needed lots of bed rest. Once again the family helped. They travelled back and forth to offer help. However, even though this was the case, Kate never neglected her care of Madeleine even tough it was very complicated.

Kate had a few scares during her pregnancy with the twins and I remember that it was necessary for a doctor to certify her ability to travel by airplane home with me, on the 1st December.

Gerry and Madeleine travelled in the family car and via ‘ferry’. Madeleine was very close to Gerry; she was always at his side.

Madeleine, Sean and Amelie were all born via I.V.F. and all of us in the family believe that these children were a blessing from God. The three children are all very special and very loved. Kate’s trials with I.V.F. did not all go well and it was very traumatic and uncomfortable.

Kate possesses a natural maternal instinct, also due to having worked in obstetrics in new Zealand and in Glasgow. Kate worries about people, she is kind and courteous. Gerry is a typical male and is very organised, but I feel it is Kate who dominates. Gerry adores Kate. At times, Gerry appears to be totally absorbed in his work showing some difficulty concentrating outside of this realm. Kate brings him back to reality. At times, he can appear rude or curt. I would say that they have a fresh relationship, and they are very much in love with one another and admire each other immensely. Gerry is very paternal, not only with his children but this is a natural trait that has nothing to do with his experience as a doctor.

When Madeleine was small she would cry a lot. She was a very active baby who did not sleep well. She liked to be carried. She liked people to move around with her and to sing to her. Kate and Gerry found that she craved a lot of attention and were grateful for the help from other members of the family.

They did not show resentment towards Madeleine and I would say that as parents they functioned very well.

Madeleine would normally go to bed around 19:30 – 20:00 and Sean and Amelie around 18:30 – 19:00. As already mentioned, together Kate and Gerry were very precise about sleep time.

The children would occasionally awake during the night, particularly when they wanted to eat or be changed. Kate and Gerry would get up and take care of them – it was for this reason they wanted to check on them when they were out.

Because Madeleine did occasionally have bad nights, Kate arranged a bonus system. She would get up in the middle of the night, would go to her parent’s room to ensure they were there and would return to her own bed. This situation had gotten better before they went to Portugal.

The bonus system appears to have functioned well with Madeleine. She also had one for swimming if I remember well. The kitchen was replete with bonuses.

I had a conversation with Kate regarding care of the children in particular, leaving the children to cry until exhaustion and Kate and I both agreed that this was not correct and that the attention should be placed on calking them down. As parents, Kate and Gerry did not let their children cry.

Kate is good with motherhood; she is calm and has the capacity of maintaining equilibrium between the children and cares for all their necessities.

I never saw Kate or Gerry punish the children physically, and as referred to previously in this statement, they make use of other strategies which the children seemed to take well to. I never saw Kate or Gerry administer any type of medication to help the children sleep. Both Amelie and Madeleine have taken “Calpol” (paracetamol) to control fever, but nothing more.

I have no knowledge of Kate or Gerry taking any medication, nor do I believe that they have ever been in the position of not knowing what to do with the children.

Madeleine is a normal child who likes challenges. She is smart, active, required a lot of attention, participates, loves to play, and who had a wonderful imagination. She is a fantastic little girl.

I never noted that Madeleine was unhappy at home. Life has its ups and downs. She had falls and incidents, as does any child. When the twins were born, it took her a while to adapt, but she surpassed this moment. She loves the twins and teaches them and shares with them. Madeleine is very wise for her age.

On the day before the Portugal trip, I went to their house to keep the children occupied whilst Kate and Gerry packed their bags. We went to the garden and Madeleine recited the book “We’re going on a bear hunt”. She recited this fantastically and without any evidence of unhappiness.

I feel a great injustice in relation to Kate and Gerry—to the way people judged them. They checked on their children constantly; the children always came first so that their routine was not disturbed. Kate and Gerry believed that it was safe. Relative to the allegation that Madeleine made regarding Sean’s crying, I do not have any idea what possessed Madeleine to make such an affirmation and also would state that Madeleine had a very fertile imagination.

This situation is profoundly sad. They made a decision that the children were safe and this is something they will have to live with for the rest of their lives. The power of hindsight is wonderful. “The people that have been most punished for having done nothing wrong are Kate and Gerry”.

Their life was optimal, the development of Madeleine was good, she began walking and talking very early. She was smart, attentive and full of imagination. The twins were born in 2005 and I remember that Kate was great with both of them and Madeleine. Kate possessed a diary for the twins and their feedings. Madeleine dealt well with the arrival of the twins although she was only 22 months old at the time. There was occasionally a pinch or a poke but nothing more than pure jealously. As they began to grow up, they loved their older sister, and spent a lot of time with her. Madeleine taught them many things.

I remember one occasion when I was taking care of them and Madeleine took out her doctor play toys and used the thermometer to hit Sean on the head. I spoke with her about taking care of her siblings and not hurting them, at which time she hit Sean once again -- Madeleine was like this, very energetic.

Gerry and Kate are good rationalisers, they do not hit. They have their proper strategy which involves taking the child out of the situation and putting them in time-out, close the door, and let the child think about what they have done. This always seemed to gain results.

Last year, Kate and Gerry bought the children a toy for the garden. Madeleine was so confident in her strength, as she was in the protection of the twins. I was always close to the children and now I am even more. I told them that I would visit them at least once a week and we would normally go to the park—we are like the substitute grandparents. Since the disappearance of Madeleine we developed an even closer bond with the twins and help the family pick them up from the crèche when it is necessary.

We never travelled together as a family. We did have a trip planned for October of last year but sadly, after the disappearance, it was not realised. We have spent important family time at Christmas and Easter. We have also spent some time in Kate and Gerry’s house during the children’s birthdays. At one celebration, we got to know David and Fiona Payne who are intimate friends of theirs. L*** Payne is the same age as Madeleine, and Kate and Fiona became friends as the children grew. What is evident is that both mothers are similarly dedicated and loving. David appears to be an emotionally calm man with a good heart. Kate always said that he was too kind and at work needed to be a bit more forceful.

The statement that follows was elaborated in response to questions asked by the PJ:

Madeleine frequented the crèche three times per week and the twins two times per week.

Kate returned to work two days per week and would be home on Fridays and Mondays.

Kate believed that it was important to stay at home to raise her children. They possessed freedom of movement and were able to go to the park, travel, and enjoy life. She enjoyed maintaining a routine with respect to the children’s feedings, namely, the type of food and the hour it was administered.

When night arrived, the routine was tea, bath, tooth-brushing—that all liked to do this so that after they could be inspected – story for bedtime, pray –what they could – and bed.

Precisely related to this routine at home is why Kate rejected the idea of using the Ocean Club facilities and lay the children to sleep on one of the mattresses in a common area. It was for this reason that she and Gerry decided to leave the children sleeping in their apartment and checking on them regularly.

This statement was made by me and is the truth in accordance with my understanding.

Cartas Rogatorias Vol III

Page 11

Leicestershire Police Force
Witness Statement

Janet Kennedy

Occupation: Remedial Teacher
Statement consists of 1 page and is true and in accordance with my understanding.
Date 16th May 2008

This statement was elaborated at my request, following a series of interrogations carried out at Leicestershire police HQ on 14th April 2008. The interrogations were part of the investigation into the disappearance of my grand-niece Madeleine McCann. I would like to clarify a statement made during the two interrogations, which due to being translated from English to Portuguese, I think could have been mis-interpreted. Instead of using the term “is the one who dominates” with regard to the relationship between Kate and Gerry, I would like to state that they respect each other’s decisions and all decisions are taken together. It was Kate’s own proposal to stay at home and look after the children instead of returning to work as a doctor.