# Madeleine McCann's Mom Accused
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [September 7, 2007, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349 "2007-09-07T13:22:50Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349/1 "2007-09-07T13:22:50Z")
Tell you what. You folks tell me when all [this](http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/09/07/madeleine.mccann/index.html) blows over. I have just changed my home page from CNN and will be in the corner rocking and weeping for the next few days.
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### Author:  [@Burrido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burrido)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349/2 "2007-09-07T13:37:59Z")
I was wondering when they were going to get around to it. Seems like thats the usual process in cases like these.
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### Author:  [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349/3 "2007-09-07T13:38:58Z")
[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi]
Tell you what. You folks tell me when all [this](http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/09/07/madeleine.mccann/index.html) blows over. I have just changed my home page from CNN and will be in the corner rocking and weeping for the next few days.
[/QUOTE]
No need to go quite so far. In Portugal the nature of questions that can be asked are linked to a formal status of the person being questioned. Right now they need to ask hard questions that require her status to be changed from ‘Witness’ to ‘Suspect’ just like that British ex-pat they made ‘Suspect’ for awhile.
I don’t believe for one second the family was involved. My fear, for both the ex-pat and now, the family, is that the Police will feel under such pressure that they will fit someone up.
Happens too often for comfort in the UK - particularly when the IRA were bombing the mainland.
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### Author:  [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349/4 "2007-09-07T13:58:40Z")
[QUOTE=tagos]
No need to go quite so far. In Portugal the nature of questions that can be asked are linked to a formal status of the person being questioned. Right now they need to ask hard questions that require her status to be changed from ‘Witness’ to ‘Suspect’ just like that British ex-pat they made ‘Suspect’ for awhile.
I don’t believe for one second the family was involved. My fear, for both the ex-pat and now, the family, is that the Police will feel under such pressure that they will fit someone up.
Happens too often for comfort in the UK - particularly when the IRA were bombing the mainland.
[/QUOTE]
I missed the bit about blood in the car. That wasn’t reported in the UK moring papers. That does look bad (if true).
How big is that corner Paul?
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### Author:  [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349/5 "2007-09-07T13:59:12Z")
What caught my eye about that story was the statement that the girl’s blood was found in a car the parents had rented _25 days after_ her disappearance. There are some disturbing implications to that – if it’s true. If.
As to the story’s prominence at this point – hey, there’s no new sex scandal, seven U.S. troops’ deaths in Iraq is same old, same old by now, and [runs down sidebar of headlines] – yep, nothing so compelling as the _pretty white girl/child lost_ story du jour.
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### Author:  [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349/6 "2007-09-07T14:26:30Z")
[QUOTE=EddyTeddyFreddy]
What caught my eye about that story was the statement that the girl’s blood was found in a car the parents had rented _25 days after_ her disappearance. There are some disturbing implications to that – if it’s true. If.
As to the story’s prominence at this point – hey, there’s no new sex scandal, seven U.S. troops’ deaths in Iraq is same old, same old by now, and [runs down sidebar of headlines] – yep, nothing so compelling as the _pretty white girl/child lost_ story du jour.
[/QUOTE]
So many miscarriages of justice in the UK seem to revolve around dodgy forensic ‘evidence.’ If microscopic traces of blood were in the apartment then it’s not unreasonable to imagine the parent’s shoes or clothing could have become contaminated and transferred the blood. Or it was just plain planted there by police in the international spotlight.
I’m still taking this with a large shaking of bacon salt.
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### Author:  [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349/7 "2007-09-07T15:26:04Z")
So the police are saying traces of blood were found in a car the parents rented 25 days after the child disappeared. I suppose they are implying that the parents hid the body for 25 days or so and then disposed of it.
WTF? With the media glare on those parents during that time, I doubt very seriously that they could have managed to do that. With all the searching that went on, how could they have even hidden the body in a way that they could recover it?
I think the police are desperate and are grasping at straws. Invisible straws.
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### Author:  [@Burton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burton)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349/8 "2007-09-07T16:34:23Z")
I bet her parents did it. Why though is a mystery. They’re both doctors and no doubt were very careful and thought they could get away with it.
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### Author:  [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349/9 "2007-09-07T16:35:07Z")
The Daily Telegraph reports that as of now, Kate McCann is not an arguido.
Everyone needs to stop saying she is one.
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### Author:  [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349/10 "2007-09-07T16:36:52Z")
What a load of rubbish. Leave those poor McCanns alone.
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### Author:  [@Words\_on\_the\_Interweb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Words_on_the_Interweb)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349/11 "2007-09-07T16:46:32Z")
[QUOTE=tagos]
If microscopic traces of blood were in the apartment then it’s not unreasonable to imagine the parent’s shoes or clothing could have become contaminated and transferred the blood. Or it was just plain planted there by police in the international spotlight.
[/QUOTE]
And where would police have gotten a sample of Madeleine’s blood to plant, 25 days after she’s been missing?
Old traces of blood in the home would’ve been dried already. Any transfer to the vehicle would’ve been more like paint chips; it wouldn’t be difficult to tell the difference between blood dried onto a surface, and blood particles transferred from elsewhere. My question on that would be how much blood, and was it dry transfer or is there evidence of smearing, pooling, or blood drops. We really just don’t know enough to make any kind of judgment call on the blood evidence.
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### Author:  [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349/12 "2007-09-07T16:46:58Z")
[QUOTE=SnakesCatLady]
So the police are saying traces of blood were found in a car the parents rented 25 days after the child disappeared. I suppose they are implying that the parents hid the body for 25 days or so and then disposed of it.
[/QUOTE]
…and didn’t they mysteriously rent a post-hole digger too? (Don’t know whether to 😉 or :rolleyes: at that.)
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### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349/13 "2007-09-07T16:49:39Z")
[QUOTE=Words on the Interweb]
And where would police have gotten a sample of Madeleine’s blood to plant, 25 days after she’s been missing?
[/QUOTE]
Where did they get a sample to compare it to, and determine it was hers?
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### Author:  [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349/14 "2007-09-07T16:49:56Z")
Jesus christ, haven’t people stopped caring about this yet?
Kids disappear _all the fucking time_. Tragic? Yes. Big, epic news? No.
She’s been missing for five months. That means she’s almost certainly dead. She’s not going to be “brought home”, at least not alive. The best one can hope for is finding whatever sick fuck did it, and putting them on trial. The chances of that happening - this long afterwards - are equally minimal. You know what would probably increase the chances of a successful investigation? If the British press would calm the fuck down about the little blond girl!
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### Author:  [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349/15 "2007-09-07T16:55:53Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa]
What a load of rubbish. Leave those poor McCanns alone.
[/QUOTE]
I’ll save my sympathy for the little girl most likely met some horrible end while her parents were having a nice dinner.
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### Author:  [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349/16 "2007-09-07T17:02:17Z")
[QUOTE=Burrido]
I was wondering when they were going to get around to it. Seems like thats the usual process in cases like these.
[/QUOTE]
Unfortunately, accusing the parents of foul play does seem like SOP when the trail of evidence runs out. Look at what happened with Jon Benet Ramsey. Also fitting this pattern is a local kid named D’wan Simms who disappeared from a suburban Detroit mall several years ago. The cops couldn’t get any leads, and eventually they accused the kid’s mother of being responsible for whatever happened to him.
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### Author:  [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349/17 "2007-09-07T17:06:00Z")
Would there still be blood in a body 25 days after death? Liquid blood?
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### Author:  [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349/18 "2007-09-07T17:13:46Z")
To the extent I’ve been following this story, which is not very much at all, I suspect the parents, for two reasons:
1. children are, in general, far more likely to be done in by their parents or family than by a stranger;
2. I read a report where, immediately after her disappearance, her mother came racing down yelling “they’ve taken her.” Not “she’s gone” or “I can’t find her.” Très suspicious, IMHO.
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### Author:  [@Words\_on\_the\_Interweb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Words_on_the_Interweb)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349/19 "2007-09-07T17:20:50Z")
[QUOTE=Robot Arm]
Where did they get a sample to compare it to, and determine it was hers?
[/QUOTE]
DNA doesn’t only come from blood. Also, my understanding of blood evidence is that it would be very similar to her siblings’, but not identical - they would, I believe, be able to determine the blood is a sibling and is Madeleine’s by exclusion.
> [@Uncommon Sense](#):
>
> Would there still be blood in a body 25 days after death? Liquid blood?
There would certainly be fluid still, especially if the body were wrapped in plastic. Unpreserved blood would be rotten by that point though, unless she were in a sealed container, in which case there wouldn’t be blood transfer anyway. I’d guess they can tell the difference, but I’m not a forensics expert.
If there were bloodstains from fresh blood, the implication would be Madeleine was still alive when the car was rented (or shortly before). If we’re really going to theorycraft it though, heck, maybe the body was frozen someplace and thawed enough when moved to leave “fresh” blood traces.
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### Author:  [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccanns-mom-accused/418349/20 "2007-09-07T17:54:05Z")
I’ve never doubted for a _second_ that the parents are behind this, and the real mystery is _why_ they did it and _what_ happened. Occam’s Razor simply demands that explanation.
These things _always_ end up pointing to the parents.
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