SENIOR detectives now believe missing toddler Madeleine McCann was killed accidentally in her holiday flat on the night she went missing.

The three detectives investigating the case made the startling revelation to prosecutors earlier this week and claim to have evidence supporting their theory.
However it is not known what that evidence is.

"They said they think Madeleine is dead and it happened in the flat," a source has revealed.

"But they don't think she was killed on purpose. It's the first time they have said this."

The new theory is said to now be the most favoured by the police, causing fresh anguish for her parents who are planning to soon move back to England.

"They are convinced Madeleine is dead and they are convinced she died in the apartment," the source said.

"The only factor they are not sure about for definite is whether she was murdered or died by accident.

"At the moment they are leaning towards her death being a tragic accident."

Another theory being examined is that a burglar was was ransacking the house when he awoke the toddler and somehow caused her death.

Weeks before the abduction a neighbour living upstairs scared a burglar away who had climbed through her window.

The officers have refused to elaborate on what accidental means, waiting until they receive the results of DNA evidence from blood specks found in the family's holiday apartment, expected shortly.

They will decide their next course once the results are returned.

The four-year-old's parents have branded the new theory as "ludicrous".

"This does a lot of damage to the investigation and to the family," mum Kate McCann said.

However dad Gerry McCann has admitted for the first time that the likelihood of getting his daughter back is "slim".

"It is possible Madeleine is dead but it is also possible she is alive," he said.

"We have done a lot of research and the percentage of minors who have ever reappeared is very small.

"Obviously a very long time has passed but we will do everything we can to make sure Madeleine does not become a statistic."