Police believed Madeleine died in family’s flat
Kate and Gerry McCann faced former detective Goncalo Amaral across a courtroom as he tried to overturn a ban on his book that claims their daughter is dead.
One senior detective told the hearing in Lisbon police made the McCanns “arguidos”, or suspects, in the case after concluding Madeleine died accidentally and her parents covered up the death by inventing a kidnapping.
Chief Inspector Tavares de Almeida said he believed Madeleine died in her family’s apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz on the day she went missing. He told the court the main evidence for this was the findings of British police sniffer dogs sent to Portugal to examine the flat.
The McCanns’ lawyer, Isabel Duarte, challenged this claim, arguing the sniffer dog results did not constitute proof and were not allowed as evidence in the case.
Mr and Mrs McCann, both 41, from Rothley, Leicestershire, flew to Portugal on Monday ahead of the trial at Lisbon’s main civil court, which is listed for three days.
Mr Amaral is calling a series of senior Portuguese officials involved in the investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance as witnesses to support his allegations.
His lawyers argue the material in his book is contained in the official Portuguese police files for the case, many of which were made public in August 2008.
Jose Cunha de Magalhaes e Meneses, the local public prosecutor in the Madeleine investigation, gave evidence via video link. Asked whether he believed the little girl was dead, he said it was “50-50”.
Mr Amaral’s lawyers are also seeking evidence from a British policeman, Metropolitan Police Detective Sergeant Jose De Freitas, who was seconded to Leicestershire Police to help with the British end of the investigation.
Scotland Yard confirmed it was considering correspondence from the Portuguese authorities. Mr and Mrs McCann are not expected to give evidence.
Madeleine was nearly four when she went missing from her family’s apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007 while her parents dined with friends nearby.
Mr Amaral at first led the Madeleine inquiry for Portugal’s CID, the Policia Judiciaria (PJ).
But he was taken off the case in October 2007 after criticising the British police in a newspaper interview.
In his book Maddie: The Truth Of The Lie, published in July 2008, Mr Amaral claimed that Madeleine died in her family’s holiday flat on the night she vanished and questioned the McCanns’ account that she was abducted. A Portuguese judge granted the McCanns an injunction in September last year banning further sale or publication of the book.
The McCanns are also seeking €1.2 million in compensation for defamation in separate legal proceedings against Mr Amaral in Portugal.
