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Home / World

Maddie McCann mystery: The 48 police questions Kate McCann didn't answer

NZ Herald
21 Mar, 2019 03:28 AM5 mins to read

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Madeleine McCann police 'thought parents accidentally killed her with Calpol' / Netflix

A new documentary looking into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has thrown the spotlight back on to her parents Kate and Gerry, despite them being cleared of any wrongdoing.

Madeleine disappeared on the evening of May 3, 2007, nine days before her fourth birthday. According to her parents she was taken from their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, a resort in the Algarve region of Portugal. What followed was what one newspaper called "the most heavily reported missing-person case in modern history".

In one episode, the Netflix documentary delves into the 48 questions Kate McCann refused to answer, including 'Why did you say Madeleine had been abducted?'

Officials quizzed Kate about her relationships between her children, work life and any ill-feelings before coming on holiday.

Netflix claims the show included "never-before-heard testimonies from those at the heart of the story."

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Police on the Madeleine McCann case initially believed her parents accidentally killed her with a Paracetamol overdose, according to a Netflix documentary. Photo / Netflix
Police on the Madeleine McCann case initially believed her parents accidentally killed her with a Paracetamol overdose, according to a Netflix documentary. Photo / Netflix

48 QUESTIONS KATE MCCANN DIDN'T ANSWER ABOUT DISAPPEARANCE OF DAUGHTER MADELEINE MCCANN

1. On May 3, 2007, around 22:00, when you entered the apartment, what did you see? What did you do? Where did you look? What did you touch?

2. Did you search inside the master bedroom wardrobe? – what were your exact words?

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3. (Shown two photographs of her bedroom wardrobe) Can you describe its contents?

4. Why was the curtain by the sofa near the side window tampered with? Did someone go behind the sofa?

5. How long did your search of the apartment take after you detected Madeleine's disappearance?

6. Why did you say Madeleine had been abducted?

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7. Assuming Madeleine was abducted, why did you leave the twins to go to the 'Tapas' and raise the alarm? The supposed abductor could still be in the apartment.

8. Why didn't you ask the twins then what happened to their sister or why didn't you ask them later on?

9. When you raised the alarm at the 'Tapas' what exactly did you say – what were your exact words?

10. What happened after you raised the alarm there?

She had been sleeping in this bed when her parents discovered she was gone. Photo / Police handout
She had been sleeping in this bed when her parents discovered she was gone. Photo / Police handout

11. Why did you go and warn your friends instead of shouting from the verandah?

12. Who contacted the authorities?

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13. Who took part in the searches?

14. Did anyone outside the group learn of her disappearance in those following minutes?

15. Did any neighbour offer you help?

16. What does 'we let her down' mean?

17. Did Jane Tanner tell you that night she'd seen a man with a child?

18. How were the authorities contacted and which police force was alerted?

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19.During the searches, with the police there, where did you search for Maddie, how and in what way?

20. Why did the twins not wake up during that search or when they were taken upstairs?

21. Who did you phone after the occurrence?

22. Did you call Sky News?

23. Did you know the danger of calling the media, because it could influence the abductor?

24. Did you ask for a priest?

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25. By what means did you divulge Madeleine's features, by photographs or by any other means?

26. Is it true that during the searches you remained seated on Maddie's bed without moving?

27. What was your behaviour that night?

28. Did you manage to sleep?

29. Before travelling to Portugal, did you make any comment about a foreboding or a bad feeling?

Madekeine McCann when missing in May 2007 from a holiday apartment in Portugal. Photo / Getty
Madekeine McCann when missing in May 2007 from a holiday apartment in Portugal. Photo / Getty

30. What was Madeleine's behaviour like?

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31. Did Maddie suffer from any illness or take any medication?

32. What was Madeleine's relationship like with her brother and sister?

33. What was Madeleine's relationship like with her brother and sister, friends and school mates?

34. As for your professional life, in how many and which hospitals have you worked?

35. What is your medical speciality?

36. Have you ever done shift work in any emergency services or other services?

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37. Did you work every day?

38. At a certain point you stopped working. Why?

39. Are the twins difficult to get to sleep? Are they restless and does that cause you uneasiness?

40. Is it true sometimes you despaired at your children's behaviour and it left you feeling very uneasy?

41. Is it true that in England you even considered handing over Madeleine's custody to a relative?

42. In England, did you medicate your children? What type of medication?

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43. In the case files, you were shown canine forensic testing films. After watching them, did you say you couldn't explain any more than you already had?

44. When the sniffer dog also marked human blood behind the sofa, did you say you couldn't explain any more than you already had?

45. When the sniffer dog marked the scent of corpse coming from the vehicle you hired a month after the disappearance, did you say you couldn't explain any more than you already had?

46. When human blood was marked in the boot of the vehicle, did you say you couldn't explain any more than you already had?

47. When confronted with the results of Maddie's DNA, carried out in a British lab, collected from behind the sofa and the boot of the vehicle, did you say you couldn't explain any more than you already had?

48. Did you have any responsibility or intervention in your daughter's disappearance?

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