 |
|
Robert Murat: His
mother says he was at her villa all evening on May 3 |
 |
|
Michaela Walczuch said she spent the evening that
Madeleine was abducted in a prayer meeting |
The girlfriend of suspect Robert Murat claims to have an alibi
for the night
Madeleine McCann
vanished, it was revealed yesterday.
Friends of 34-year-old Michaela Walczuch said she spent the
evening of May 3 at a Jehovah's Witness prayer meeting in
Lagos, five miles from
Praia da Luz where the McCanns were on holiday.
They said police had checked the alibi and were satisfied.
German-born Miss Walczuch, a mother of one, has dismissed claims
that she could have been seen with Madeleine that night as
"ridiculous and bizarre" and has threatened to take legal
action.
She has failed to reveal, however, where she was on May 5 and
June 15, when two separate witnesses claim to have seen her with
Madeleine.
Mr Murat's lawyer, Francisco Pagarete, claimed yesterday this was
because her diary had been seized by the police some months ago
and has not been returned.
He also revealed that Miss Walczuch's Skoda car was having a
gearbox problem repaired on May 5, the day a lorry driver claims
to have seen her in the town of Silves, 25 miles away.
Mr Pagarete says this means Miss Walczuch was almost certainly in
Lagos.
But the witness has told detectives the woman he later identified
as Miss Walczuch was driving a hire car, described as
"distinctive".
Miss Walczuch is barred from speaking about the investigation
because of Portugal's strict secrecy laws, and has always
refused to publicly reveal where she was on the evening of May
3.
But she is known to be a Jehovah's Witness, and a member of the
religious group in Lagos said she attended meetings there until
three months ago.
Joquim Silva said Miss Walczuch was still a regular member of the
100-strong congregation in May, although he could not remember
if she was at the prayer meeting on the night Madeleine
disappeared.
The group holds regular meetings on Sundays and Thursdays,
between 8.30pm and 10.30pm. Madeleine is thought to have
disappeared at some time between 8.30pm and 10pm on May 3, which
was a Thursday.
A friend of Miss Walczuch said: "She told police this when she
was questioned (on May 14) and they have confirmed her story.
"She is absolutely not involved in Madeleine's disappearance and
has proved it to police."
Miss Walczuch and her estranged husband Luis Antonio, 37 - with
whom she still shares a flat - were interrogated by police on
the day Mr Murat was made an official suspect.
Their homes were searched and some items seized, including the
diary. All three deny any involvement in Madeleine's
disappearance.
 |
|
Spotted: Isabel Gonzalez claims she saw Michaela
Walczuch in this street in Morocco |
Friends of Mr
Antonio, a pool cleaner and gardener, have also denied reports
that he ever worked at the Ocean Club apartment complex where
the McCanns were staying.
 |
|
Still missing: Madeleine McCann |
Mr Murat, 34,
a British expat, has been an official suspect for more than six
months but has never been charged.
Private
detectives working for the McCanns are investigating both
alleged sightings of Miss Walczuch.
The second,
on June 15, came in the remote town of Zaio, in northern
Morocco.
Spaniard
Isabel Gonzalez says she is "sure" she saw Miss Walczuch and a
European man moments after she saw a blonde girl she believes
was Madeleine. |
