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A French newspaper has made sensational claims that toxic levels of sedatives
were detected in "bodily fluid" from missing British toddler Madeleine McCann.
The France Soir article, picked up by UK newspaper The Daily Mail, claimed a
police report on how the four-year-old died was already with Portuguese
prosecutors.
The report is said to contain the analysis of the bodily fluids found in the
McCann's hire car that "proves that the little girl had ingested medicines,
without doubt sleeping pills, in large quantities".
British experts immediately expressed doubts about the explosive claims, saying
the evidence was only a partial match to Madeleine's DNA and not strong enough
to determine the presence of drugs.
But a source at the French newspaper told the Mail "We are not simply repeating
rumours carried in other papers".
"This is not a theory, but a fact contained in hard evidence in the hands of the
Portuguese authorities.
"It's all very well putting theories and opinions forward, but in the end this
case will be decided on evidence.
"As journalists, we have been trying to establish what evidence is available."
The report supports theories already published in the Portuguese press that Kate
McCann was involved in her daughter's death and her husband Gerry helped dispose
of the body.
The Mail said an independent forensic science organisation confirmed it would be
possible to test decomposing bodily fluids for a presence of drugs, but it would
be hard to determine the amount.
"These samples are likely to be far from ideal," Alan Baker from forensic
consultants Bericon said. "If it is just a smear or dried deposit, you could
detect the drug but not how much."
Meanwhile back in England, the McCanns were visited by their local child
protection team to prove they were fit to care for their two youngest children.
A spokesperson for the McCann's said the meeting "was absolutely fine". "It was
very much Gerry and Kate's instigation that they meet with social services so
early on after returning to Leicestershire." |
