Michaela Walczuch Statements

With many thanks to Albym

MICHAELA WALCZUCH

Processo, Volume V, pages 1180-1185 (6 pages)

WITNESS STATEMENT

Date: 2007/05/14 Time: 18:00 Place: DIC Portimão
Lead Officer: Rui Dias, Chief Inspector
Officer: Vitor Pereira, Inspector

Name: Michaela Walczuch

There is no relationship as envisaged in Art. 134, paragraph l of the CPP.
Moves to give evidence.

To the matter in the file she said:

--- That she was born in the Federal Republic of Germany and came to reside in Portugal aged 12 years, along with her siblings and maternal grandmother because their parents had become very ill and were dying. She was then living with her grandmother and a maternal aunt.
--- She completed the 12th Year of school and married LUIS FILIPE DUARTE ANTONIO when 19 years, at the end of nearly a year of dating. We were living in a house paid for by the father of LUÍS, the residence identified above. From this marriage was born her only daughter, now aged 8 years. All three live under the same roof, but do not live as spouses for about 4 years for personal and sentimental reasons.
--- She says that LUÍS, first working for others and later as an entrepreneur working for himself, devoted himself to the maintenance of the cleanliness of swimming pools in condominiums, private individuals or companies.
--- The deponent worked with him in that business and later in commercial establishments, namely in a perfumery and in a real estate agency ("António Marcela"), both in Lagos. Later she returned to work with her husband in the pool business until mid-2002. In March 2003 she began exploiting a mini-market of German products. She managed to open the business, only her, through a loan granted by the father of LUIS in the value of 45,000 (forty-five) thousand euros and another obtained from the BNC/Banco Popular in the amount of 15,000 (fifteen thousand) euros, paying for this monthly, at this time, 377 euros. Regarding the loan from his father, to date she has paid only 300 (three hundred) euros. Shortly after opening the business "she separated sentimentally" from Luis, upon meeting (witness) another person without, however, as mentioned above, either one having left the home.
--- As the business of the mini-market only produced a loss, at the end of January 2005 decided to close it. From then on she was a collaborator/commission earner in the real estate company REMAX (in Lagos). Here she came to meet in mid-March ROBERT MURAT, who had also been accepted as a collaborator in REMAX. As far as she knows this was his first job when he settled in Portugal having come from his homeland, England. She also came to have a sentimental relationship with ROBERT, but always [with] each one living in their own home. LUIS did not and still today does not know of that sentimental relationship that she maintained with ROBERT, waiting for better days in financial terms to be able to divorce LUÍS. She states that she maintains a good personal relationship with LUÍS so as not to create relational difficulties in the up-bringing of their daughter, Cxxxxxxxx, 8 years old.
--- For more than a year and a half since October/November 2005, she has not worked for REMAX. Moreover, it has been a long time since she has been able even to pay her Social Security. For this reason the last two weeks of November 2006 and another 3 weeks at last Christmas and New Year she was in England in the area of Devon, together with Robert, his mother and siblings, to help deep-clean the house of JENNY. She returned to England in January, this time in the VW Transporter owned by JENNY but driven by Robert. Only two of them went. They remained for 3 weeks doing the same type of work and she came back alone by plane. That work was a way for the witness to compensate for advances or help she was receiving from ROBERT. She does not know exactly how much she received for these services in England. ROBERT came in mid-March with the VW, together with his nephew, 13 years of age and who was off school. After about a week and a half ROBERT returned to England, by plane, where the nephew had already gone a few days before, [RM] returning by plane to Portugal on May 01. When in England she met the daughter of Robert, 4 years old, and saw the girl's mother, whom Robert is divorcing.
--- The question asked she states that it was about a year ago that along with ROBERT she/they wanted to develop a project of real estate marketing, production of business cards and perhaps in the future to create a website for property leasing, but it has not been easy to start the project because of lack of funds. These ideas are from the both of them, the witness and ROBERT.
--- She explains that since the end of 2005 and beginning of 2006 ROBERT left REMAX, it being that since then he has only undertaken the remodelling at his mother's home in England, not knowing if he has other income. As far as she knows, the mother pays him some amount, not knowing how much and how often.
--- She states that it occurs from a verbal agreement with LUÍS that the divorce will come to pass with the sale of the residence where the “couple” and daughter still reside, it being that half would fall to her - even though the apartment has been given/paid for in full by the FATHER of LUÍS the covenant was made after the wedding, which says, half would fall to the witness on liquidation/settlement of accounts relating to the remaining debt of 44,700 (forty-four thousand and seven hundred) Euros of the loan granted by the father-in-law. The witness would seek later to rebuild her life with her daughter and later with ROBERT, she being sure that at this time LUÍS knows nothing of these intentions of the witness and also of Robert, with whom she has spoken many times about this situation.
--- Relating to the events at hand, and because she has been asked about it, she wishes to clarify:
--- As far as she recalls it, on the 1st of May, Tuesday, the witness was at home awaiting the arrival of Robert who came from England where he had been for about 5-6 weeks.
--- It was his mother JENNY who collected him from the airport. By lunch time they were in her (the witness’s) residence merely to see and speak to each other. Much later, she does not remember specifically, LUÍS was there but he left. By 15.30 it was only her or with ROBERT (she does not recall) she picked up Cxxxxxxxx from school in Ameijeira-Lagos. At 16:00, she now recalls, she went with her daughter (only the two of them) to the a biblical lecture in Lagos (Jehovah's Witnesses). She does not remember if she was with ROBERT that day/night, but with all certainty she spoke with him on the phone, on number 91918xxxx. As far as she knows, here in Portugal ROBERT only uses this telephone number.
--- The next day, the 2nd, Wednesday, they met in her residence at 11:00 in the morning, not recalling if LUIS was still there or had left. Only the two of them went to the city centre to the office of Attorney Dr. Francisco Pagarete ([to whom] she was presented by Robert) to know of the progress of the divorce papers. Then the two went to the store ("Putos and Graúdos" in the centre of Lagos) of the wife of Mr. Jorge Silva. The man was initially approached by the deponent (later also by ROBERT) at the beginning of this year in order to enlist a partner or to do an appraisal of the MARKETING project referred to above, it being that that man had shown interest. The three of them and his son (JASON Sxxxx) went to a CAFÉ (Taquelim or Southwest Bar, in the Marina) to discuss the project, this was still lunch time. JASON (19-20 years) was present because he understands a lot about information technology [computers]. The family emigrated from the U.S.A. Is not sure but perhaps still at the end of that morning they had gone to the PALMARES GOLF, a complex located in the Meia-Praia in Lagos, always with the father and son. This is because in the first place it was very noisy. From there the witness and ROBERT, at about 14:30, went for lunch at the "BEM BOM" located in Atalaia, Lagos. Afterwards the two went to get Cxxxxxxxx from school. Then the three of them returned to meet the Silvas at the MARINA to continue the discussion on the project, from 16:00 to 19:00. After that, the mother and daughter, went home for dinner. She does not remember if Robert went to the house, if entered nor if he dined there with them. Also she does not remember if LUIS dined with the two but if he did it will have been later and alone.
--- She admits that during that night she had spoken on the telephone with ROBERT, not remembering when, how many times, about what nor by whose initiative.
--- Thursday, the 3rd, between 08:30 and O8:45 she will have spoken on the phone with Robert, but not recalling who initiated the phone call. However it could only have occurred between the number 91988xxxx or 96014xxxx of the witness and 91918xxxx of ROBERT. They got together then, with ROBERT coming to the house of the witness, to meet with CATIA Cxxxxxxx, who is part of the enterprise/farm estate MONTINHO DE OURO, located in Praia da Luz, for disclosure and provision of related MARKETING services. At 09:00 they then spoke with the father-in-law of Catia and then with her herself. Nothing was defined. At 09:30/40 the two, ROBERT and the witness, went to the BATISTA Supermarket’s café (Praia da Luz) in order to meet there with SERGEY Malinka, a citizen from Eastern Europe. It was Robert who booked the meeting with SERGEY. This individual was introduced to the witness at the end of the Summer of 2006, he being also known to JENNY. The interest in that person results from the fact that he constructs SITES on the INTERNET. At the end of that Summer he was charged with building a page for the MARKETING project named ROMIGEN. Previously there had only been one or two times when she met him. ROBERT was the one who subsequently established more contacts with him and now found himself dissatisfied with the work carried out.
--- At that meeting of the three in BATISTA they spoke only about that, the SITE. At 11:00 they took their leave and spoke of arranging a new meeting to resolve the issue of the SITE.
--- She states that SERGEY is about twenty years of age, approximately 1.80/85 m tall, thin, blonde hair and a small goatee on that date. She had been told that he is a partner with someone else in a building that is called CASA IBÉRIA.
--- Between 12:00 and 12.15 pm ROBERT phoned a Mr. JORGE Sxxxx, the witness believing that he used his mobile phone 91918xxxx, admitting however that Robert may have used any one of the mobile phones of the witness. She does not remember what she did or where she went by between the 11:00 and 12:00. They then went with Jorge Sxxxx and his son JASON to the Restaurant António on the beach of Porto Mós - Lagos, where they had lunch.
--- Around 15:30 she went with ROBERT to get Cxxxxxxxx from school. Then, as far as she recalls, they went to her house, and that Robert left between 18:30 and 19:00 as the witness had to deal with her daughter quickly for them to be at 20:30 in a biblical meeting/lecture in Ameijeira-Lagos. That ended at 22:30, she staying there to fraternise with other people until they reached home at 22:45/23:00. She used the dark blue VW PASSAT car (more than 10 years old) of LUÍS, who was at home. When they left at 20:20 LUIS was not yet at home. She does not remember if she returned to speak to Robert that night, nor if they exchanged messages. She did not leave home, going to to bed.
--- The next day, the 4th, Friday, she received early, by 09:00, a phone call from Robert who told her that he had seen the news of the "English channel" informing that the night before a girl had disappeared from Praia da Luz. He indicated sadness, dislike, this being also in the place of his father (sic), advancing immediately that he would go to the place to help in the searches. The witness then gave attention, at home, to the news on Portuguese TV and thus obtained more information on the disappearance.
--- The question made, she states that she cannot remember if and when she returned to talk to Robert, being that she was not with him that day. She admits, however, that more to the end of the day she spoke with on the mobile phone but does not remember at what time, how long and/or who took the initiative. The witness recalls in the afternoon having gone out her daughter to the city centre for shopping. She reaffirms that she does not recall if that day she was with Robert, but if it happened it was at the end of the day. But she thinks that she was not with him because he/she was to give him/her his passport (his) and he/she did not give it to him/her (sic) on that day, but did so perhaps on 5th or 6th.
---- Pressed, she states that she only knew of the disappearance of the British child, called Madeleine McCann, through a telephone call received from the Robert at 09:00 in the morning of Day 04, Friday, and that she does not recall if she spoke with him on the previous night, when the disappearance occurred, but assures that she was not with him nor knew what he did after having left by 18:30/19:30 that day 03, Thursday.
--- She states also that she uses the messenger to talk or exchange messages with ROBERT and sometimes also makes and receives phone calls from and to fixed telephones.
--- That since day 03 she never again was with nor talked to SERGEY. Asked, she does not know if ROBERT did but is convinced that he did not because he would have told her given the common interest in the MARKETING project. With regard to Mr. Jorge Sxxxx the four of them continued to meet in order to examine thoroughly that project.
--- That ROBERT told her that soon on day 04 and 05 of May he began to "help to find" MADELEINE in LUZ. It will have been already on Sunday or Monday that he began to work as an interpreter for the Judicial Police. Rarely has she been with him since then but they have spoken on the phone. With regard to the case they only address the material that comes in the media.
--- Asked she relates that she noticed no difference in his behaviour, either from the day(s) 3-4 May, or in the last 3 days. She continues to note that he is "upset, concerned by this whole situation of translating, picking up details that nobody else knows, that he hears, in addition to the situation about which he is already sad" (sic). Asked on the same question, she answered that on Saturday, when they dined together, and yesterday, Sunday, on the telephone, ROBERT showed "naturalness and normality even when on both those occasions he said to her that he perceived or suspected that a car came behind him, glued to him", without attributing suspicion to the police. She clarifies that she cannot manage to recall if he told her that the possible followers were Police. She advances, with difficulty, that ultimately Robert had tried to clarify the matter with the police itself. This fact was transmitted in a phone call that she received from him at 00:00 today.
--- Asked she states that in the Ocean Club - Praia da Luz she knew, before 03 May, Mrs MARINA Cxxxxxxx, who supervises the cleaning ladies. She has known her for some 12 years when she began to attend Bible classes.
--- The question asked, she states that she does not know who may be involved in the abduction of MADELEINE nor has evidence or information that could lead to the discovery of that (those) perpetrator(s).

And nothing more said. - Signed by witness and two others.

With many thanks to Albym

Processo, Volume V, pages 1358-1360 (3 pages)

WITNESS STATEMENT

Date: 2007/05/16 Time: 17:00 Place: DIC Portimão
Officer: Rui Dias, Chief Inspector

Name: Michaela Walczuch (already identified in the file on page 1180)

To the matter of the file she said:

--- That she maintains practically everything in the declarations previously given (pages 1180), which she has read as part of this action (interview).
--- She intends, therefore, to rectify or to better clarify parts thereof, helping herself in that action from a diary where she wrote/noted some things that she intends to keep daily, she verified that those [things] in her deposition are incomplete or do not correspond with the truth.
--- Relating to 1 May, Tuesday, she has nothing to add or to rectify. She maintains that she does not recall if she was with him at night. She puts forward, however, that always when they were not together at night, they spoke or exchanged messages by phone. Also she does not recall what happened on that night.
--- The 2nd of May, Wednesday, she confirms what was declared previously except it having been on this day that she was with Robert to meet with Sergey at the Batista supermarket in Luz, where they also took breakfast. Only later is it that they went (both) to Lagos, going to the Advocate's office, the shop "Putos e Graúdos" and meet with Sr. Jorge Silva and son Jason in the Taquelim pastelaria (coffee shop)in the city centre. At 14h00 they went to see an apartment that the witness intended to buy in a building situated in Aqua Azul, next to the mortgage records office of Lagos (ph. 912****11 - Sr.Vitor). Nothing happened, nor is settled, defined. Later they went for lunch at the Bem Bom. The rest of the day passed as already related. She does not recall if she spoke or exchanged messages with Robert by phone but if not it is because she was with him or that when they parted they had already agreed the meeting for the next day when they went to the enterprise/farm estate Montinho De Ouro.
--- About Thursday, the 3rd, she maintains her declarations, except that the meeting with Sergey was on the day before. They both went to Autojoteca and to lunch afterwards at GALP M24 on the A22. Also relating to Robert she maintains that she does not recall when and where they parted but it was certainly before 20h00 and for the reasons already explained in the previous declarations. However, she did not return to be with him nor after having attended the bible class that finished at 22h30. Also she does not recall having spoken on the phone or exchanged messages with Robert until the following day. But she admits that it could have been done without thinking, not recalling the reasons for that.
--- Asked, she states that of his attire she recalls nothing of how he had been dressed on that day, being sure that, the question being asked, she recall that one one of that week he dressed - because it was always in the car - in a thick Kispo-Anorak "sweetie, because of the wind or the cold" (sic), colour greenish-grey. Trousers, as far as she recalls, were dark coloured, without being jeans. Shoes, only classics.
--- Day 4, Friday, they spoke that morning, at 09h00 (the daughter had already left for school with her father) bu phone, being almost certain that it was not by message and also almost certain that it was by fixed phone and that it was Robert who called her. He then made her aware of what he had learned from the news on an English channel that the previous night a child had disappeared in Luz and that he would go there to help with the searches. The witness states that she then questioned Robert and he only explained that an English girl of 3 years had disappeared from the bedroom where she would sleep.
Asked, she clarifies that only later, still on that day or the next day, nor recalling exactly when nor the circumstances (if by phone, if personally, if she was/they were alone) Robert told her that on the previous night he was at home when he heard, it could have been 21h45 (more or less that time), he heard a siren and commented to his mother that "it's like Sidmouth, at granny's house, where security is very good and it is common for them to hear Police sirens blaring." Robert never associated it with an ambulance, at least not to her.
--- He said then that he would go to help to look for the child - without saying if she was still missing - because he was also a father and would like to be useful to the others (sic).
--- Asked she said not to know the circumstances in which Robert became an interpreter, but that this he told her that he went to meet with the parents of the missing child to try to help in any way possible, the witness deducing that it was in translation as he was fluent in both languages, Portuguese and English.
--- She does not recall if she was with him personally on Friday, the 4th. Nevertheless, if not she had certainly spoken again by phone at the end of the day but she does not recall when, how many times nor who initiated [the call]. She knew however from him that he started to help the Police with translating, making questions in trying to know the circumstances in which the child had disappeared.
--- She clarifies that along with Marina Castela she also knows in the Ocean Club the husband Teófilo Castela, a fact she commented on with Robert - because they both also frequent the Jehovah's Witness congregation - it being that this he told her later that he met with that lady "in the midst of Police and he/she recognising her/him, began to converse" (sic) referencing [referring to] the witness.
--- Asked, she states that on the 13 May last she was with Robert washing the VW Transporter at GALP-Lagos because it was dirty.
--- Asked, she states that Robert was absent in England from mid-November to 2 January, and from 25 January to 1 May, with a break from 11 to 21-25 March in which he also came to Portugal with his 13 year old nephew.

And nothing more said. - Signed by witness and interviewer.