Sykes Sun Jul 13, 2014 8:43 am
EXCLUSIVE: Maddie witness overheard sinister comment about disposing of a body
A BRITISH woman has told Scotland Yard detectives seeking Madeleine McCann that she overheard a conversation in which a man said: “Why did you bring her here? Now we will have to dispose of the body.”
By: James Murray
Published: Sun, July 13, 2014
The potential key witness has been interviewed several times in Britain and used to live almost opposite apartment 5a of the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz on the Algarve, from where Madeleine, three, was taken on May 3, 2007.
The Sunday Express understands the comment was heard several hundred yards from the Ocean Club in a residential area towards the seafront.
The woman gave an interview to Portuguese detectives 13 days after the disappearance but the report on the informal interview does not mention her overhearing a conversation about disposing of a body.
However, in April 2008 the woman made a further statement in which she recounted hearing the astonishing comment, saying she heard it days after the abduction. She also claimed that the owner of a pub in Luz was called by a woman shortly after the disappearance who said she had overheard the comment about getting rid of a body.
The Sunday Express understands the owner of the bar has been interviewed but cannot recall the conversation.
The woman has since returned to Britain with her child and is living in the Home Counties.
When contacted by the Sunday Express, the woman, who we are choosing not to name to safeguard the investigation, said: “I do not want to say anything.”
Last month Scotland Yard detectives shadowed three searches of wasteland near the Ocean Club but no obvious clues were found.
Some materials gathered in the search were sent for forensic examination but officers were not hopeful of a breakthrough in the investigation.
Anyone know where in the files this 2008 statement is? I can't find it.
Former Ocean Club driver is suspect in McCann case
THE FORMER driver of the Ocean Club was made an arguido or suspect by Portuguese police following a request by Scotland Yard detectives investigating Madeleine’s disappearance.
Published: Sun, July 13, 2014
Jose Carlos da Silva, 28, used to drive guests to their apartments once they had been ferried to the Ocean Club headquarters in Luz from airports, writes James Murray.
He formerly lived in an apartment block overlooking the Ocean Club but has since moved to a nearby run-down flat.
Now he works as a dishwasher in a restaurant and is said by neighbours to suffer poor health because of a lung condition.
The Sunday Express photographed him weeks before he was interviewed by Portuguese detectives in Faro on the Algarve where Scotland Yard officers listened intently to his every word.
We understand that on May 3 2007 there was mobile phone communication between him and a second arguido, Ricardo Rodrigues, at about the time that Madeleine left a creche somewhere near 5.30pm.
It is further alleged that at about 9.25pm he also sent a text to the younger man.
Police say this was around the time that two of the McCann holiday group left the tapas bar at the Ocean Club to check on the children sleeping in apartments nearby.
Further communication on their mobiles came at 9.38pm, around the time that another member of the holiday group went to check on the children.
A short time later there was another mobile call between the men, around the time Kate McCann went to the apartment and discovered that Madeleine, then three, was missing.
'He is a very quiet man who leads a simple life'
Mr Silva declined to speak to the Sunday Express.
Friends said he is a popular man who was well liked and known in the community and would never do anything wrong.
A woman friend said: “He lives alone and suffers with his health because he has problems with his lungs and he often goes to hospital for checks. He is always very polite and nice and pleasant. He is a very quiet man who leads a simple life.”
Little is known about Mr Rodrigues but he is part of a group of mostly young people in Luz who contribute to an internet site showing pictures of scenic spots in the area. Fresh faced and youthful he is said to resemble a photofit prepared by an elderly British couple of a man who came to their villa with an older man to collect money for a charity on May 3 2007.
The older man is said to resemble Paulo Ribeiro, 51, another arguido. He lives in Luz and is said to be a schizophrenic.
Sources say the police wanted further information from him about a call he allegedly had with Mr Rodrigues the day after Madeleine vanished.
Operation Grange officers are hoping that the detailed questioning will help them to build up a clearer picture of events before and after Madeleine’s disappearance.
A fourth man questioned is believed to be Russian national Sergey Malinka, who ran an internet firm in Luz at the time. He has always denied any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance and, like the others, was reluctant to speak to journalists.
