General Chat

As far as I know, a person is still innocent until proven guilty in this country.

What you see on the TV or read in the press or on the internet, is not always the truth; it can be drastically distorted & things sometimes are not quite what they appear to be.

With that in mind, whatever our personal opinions are, I think it is not fair to hang them in public when the evidence has not even been shown & proved them guilty.

Well said Jay.

I think many of us have questions we would like answered.

When is a statement a fact and when it is it an opinion?

Today I have read an article about an interview with the McCanns, quoting them as saying there was a break in at their appartment. Yesterday I read an article containing a statement made by the manager of the complex - he said there had been no break in.

The same interview with the McCanns quoted them as saying that the diners had not consumed 14 bottles of wine at the tapas bar. However one of other diners gave an interview early on in the proceedings and stated they had drunk 8 bottle of red wine and 6 of white.

Surely these are facts and not opinions - whether or not the facts are correct is a different matter.

Everyone is entitled to express an opinion, as long as they make it clear that it is only an opinion, and also treat the views of others with respect.
We should be able to debate opinions politely, even if we do not agree with the stance - I fear the problem is the emotive nature of the subject under debate, which some people do not wish to see any reference to on the boards.

Jay

Sue - it's entirely possible that Kate McCann visited 6 deceased persons in the period shortly before her hols - each of those persons might very well have died only some hours before she examined them. It's also very likely that none of them were in a state of "decomposition". It's extremely unlikley that a GP would visit a funeral home to sign Part 2 crem forms if a body was in a state of decomposition. Her clothes therefore might not smell at all.

I repeat, none of us know what her duties were in the period before her hols. and none of us know what her laundry habits are.

It's supposition only to imply that the only death she had contact with was that of her daughter, and I find that very offensive.

The woman has not been charged with anything, neither has her husband and until such time as she or they are and are tried in court, then it's unhelpful to speculate on such matters.

Jac

I believe Kris's post should stay I agree with Maddie Moo on this.

I have questions about the supposed contact with 6 bodies prior to the holidays and the 'death scent'.

We deal with crime scenes and decomp and I cannot believe that Kate McCann would have had close contact with 6 bodies whose chemical compostion would have so radically altered as to not to have been so noticable that her personal clothing would not have been laundered immediately.

Sue

Jac hardly any statements on the Maddie thread have been factual thats my point.

I dont mean to cause any ill feeling but as you have said:

'ill-advised and incorrect and (in my opinion) should be retracted as it cannot be substantiated'

is your opinion which you are entitled too - the same as the person that said that was entitled to their opinion.

People have been speculating for days - myself included on the Mcanns and none of us can substansiate anything - whether we are pro Mcanns or against them.

Maybe I have the wrong end of the stick and I certainly dont want to antagonise anyone - but if its the facts you are after - then I dont see a thread in a chat room is going to give them.

Moo - It's their opinion I agree - but ill-advised and incorrect and (in my opinion) should be retracted as it cannot be substantiated.

Were the person who made the statement privvy to inside information (i.e the Practice Manager at the surgery where Kate McCann works) then to state that she had little dealings with the deceased would be a valid point. However, to baldly state that a GP who only works one day a week would have little dealings with the deceased is merely "rabble-rousing".

Feelings are high, of course they are - no one is denying that. But statements that are not factual are not helping the situation at all.


Jac

I understand tensions are running high - but asking people to withdraw statements is a bit much isn’t it?

Whatever happened to the right of free speech?

I am not taking any sides here, I believe you know more about death Jac than I do or most of the posters on here - but if someone feels that a doctor working one day week wouldn’t have much to do with death its their opinion.

Whether its right or wrong is immaterial.

None of us know what happened to Maddie. None of us know if the parents are guilty of anything over and above Neglect.

But everyone that posts has an opinion be it right or wrong and I understood it is something unique to being British - that you can air that opinion without fear.

I have read the posts.I too have my own opinions about the whole situation but i'll keep them almost all to myself but this one
thought keeps returning , cuddle cat ,no not about it
being washed but this why wasn't it taken as evidence ?
According to the small bits i have read it was
Madeline's favorite and she took it every where with
her and slept with it on the night in question.
On the night she went missing it was apparently put on a high surface unreachable by a 4 yr old . So why was it not taken by the police as evidence ? Why was they allowed to keep it ?
Then wash it ? .

Tina

Jet - it's quite likely the police would have checked this, and when (and if) it comes to court that they say she DIDN'T have any dealings with the deceased prior to her holiday, then I will retract what I have written.

In the mean time, it is a pure fabrication to state that if a GP only works one day a week they will have no contact with the dead, and I would like Kris to withdraw her statement. I find it quite offensive.

Jac


ps I have no idea why the McCann's did not use the babysitting service, nor I believe has ANYONE else, except the McCanns.

they should never have left the children alone in the first place!! When my girls were small & we went on holidays, if they fell asleep early in the evening, I would go to the room with them & read & if they woke up I would take them back downstairs with me. I would not contemplate leaving them alone in a room in the hotel let alone leaving them in a different part of the complex! I dont know what the McCanns were thinking.

all i want to know is why didn't they use the babysitting service????
jetxx

oh ok sorry jac, but anyway i am sure the police would have checked this ???
jet

I think the McCanns made a huge error leaving their children unattended but "there before the grace of god" and all that. Basically my belief is she was taken by someone and the Portuguese police bungled any hopes of finding her/any hopes of conclusive DNA from the apartment. I believe the parents are innocent and justice will prevail. Any
negative thoughts should be put aside and postive
thoughts put out.

Of course it would - she would have to examine the deceased, and in all probability more than one.

I did say if you didnt understand the procedure, look it up!

It's very easy to be flip about situations when you dont know what's involved, and I think Kris's statement was completely and utterly out of line.

Still appalled and saddened.


Jac

jac but just signing papers wouldn't neccessarily mean she has the smell of death on her would it or would it?

jetx

No I'm not in the medical profession - I'm a funeral director!

Jac (who probably also has the "smell of death" about her)

Agree , Jac. First time I have commented on McCanns. Has Kris got some inside info from somewhere I wonder and is he in medical profession as I am --are you .Jac?
Ros xx

Kris - I havent read all this thread, as I find it completely distasteful - however, I did your comment re: Kate McCann only spending one day a week as a GP and not having much contact with death and this I feel needs to be clarified:

As a GP Kate McCann might very well be called upon to sign second part cremation papers regularly possibly on a daily basis - this would mean that she would have intimate personal contact with deceased persons.

I wont explain here about cremation papers - look it up if you need to know - but I can say that I think statement such as the one you have made it totally unhelpful, unproductive and without foundation.

You cannot have any idea what duties Kate McCann had undertaken during her work period prior to her disasterous holiday and an ill-informed opinion such as yours leaves a wide hole in your arguement.

I am appalled.

Jac

Kris, the twins still are in the creche every day for some reason. If Kate is innocent, and she may well be, she needs to help the police and be honest. Saying the reason the dogs detected the 'death scent' on her jeans is because she dealt with 6 deaths in those jeans before she left for her holiday is bizarre. She works 1 day a week as a GP. 6 deaths? And why would she not wash her jeans before leaving for holiday? She was eager enough to wash cuddle cat because it had suntan lotion on it. If they're innocent I hope to God they dont get framed, and the real culprits must be caught, asap. But things do not add up!