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'Steps plunge Slur' |
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From CLODAGH
HARTLEY
in Praia de
Luz
THE McCanns
faced fresh slurs yesterday as it was claimed Portuguese cops
think Maddie died after a fall downstairs at their holiday flat.
A senior
police source said they were "100 per cent certain" she tumbled
down ten steps to the first floor apartment, banging her head.
He added:
"The only thing to investigate is how the body disappeared."
According to
the leaked theory - said to be based on British forensic tests -
Kate and Gerry hid the body with the aid of friends to cover up
the fact Maddie was sedated. But McCann spokesman Clarence
Mitchell, said: "It is ludicrous. Leaks appear on a daily basis.
It's hurtful."
A family
friend added: "Where is the proof? How can you tell what anyone
died of without a body?"
It is the
latest in a string of wild claims - including the suggestion
yesterday that a sacked maid took revenge by abducting Maddie
from the Praia da Luz holiday complex. |
Torment...Kate and
Gerry leave church
BRAVE Kate and Gerry McCann hold each other yesterday after being comforted by
their priest 150 days after their daughter Madeleine disappeared.
During a poignant 45-minute service, Father Keith Tomlinson asked: "I think I'm
right in saying it's been 150 days, 150 nights, since that terrible day?"
Maddie's great aunt Janet Kennedy nodded and told him: "Yes, that's right
Father."
He then told the Catholic congregation: "We pray for Madeleine and her family."
Pain ... Kate yesterday
Friends led devout Kate and Gerry, both 39, into the church in Rothley, Leics.
The couple took their twins Sean and Amelie, two, along with them. Brave Kate,
who has had her hair cut short, clutched Sean in her arms, tenderly brushing her
head against his. Gerry held little Amelie.
A Rosary prayer was dedicated to Maddie and the family at the end of the
service. One parishioner said: "It was a moving moment."
Defiance
Surgeon Gerry then put his arm around Kate, who was gripping Maddie's Cuddle Cat
toy, as they walked home.
The couple are official suspects in the disappearance of Maddie from a holiday
apartment in Portugal
on May 3.
But GP Kate has told friends she is willing to risk 12 months' jail by speaking
out in defiance of Portuguese secrecy laws. They are barred from discussing the
case.
Missing for 150 days ... Maddie
But Kate is determined to keep attention focused on finding Maddie, four. She
told one pal: "I will do what I must."
Sir Richard Branson spoke in support of the McCanns after donating £100,000 to
their legal costs. The Virgin tycoon called the Portuguese cops' theories
"garbage".
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