The murder of Madeleine McCann: searches near Hanover

The German police have been searching an allotment between Hanover-Ahlem and Seelze-Letter since the early hours of the morning. According to the public prosecutor's office in Braunschweig, the action is linked to Madeleine McCann, who disappeared 13 years ago. The site was cleared, and an excavator is also in use. 

The police have been searching the area directly on the Linden branch channel since this morning (July 28, 2020) with a large-scale operation . According to HAZ information, the area between Klöcknerstraße, Kanal and B441 was completely cleared, and a mini excavator is also in use. The investigators are silent about exactly what is suspected there.

 

A spokeswoman for the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office only confirmed that it was a joint action with the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). According to HAZ the searches are related to Madeleine McCann murder. 

 

Source: HAZ

The murder of Madeleine McCann: no news

No news. If the person who called from mobile phone number +351 916510683 to mobile phone number +351 912730680, on may 3, 2007, at 19:32, does not appear, the murder of Madeleine could go unpunished.

 

Maybe Bernhard P. or Michael T. could provide more data given their closeness to Christian B. at that time. The evidence of the death of Madeleine comes from material recovered by German police at Neuwegersleben since February, 2016. See this Bild news.

   

 

The VW Westfalia where Christian B. and Michael T. lived and which was bought by Bernhard P., who was considered "best friend" of Christian in 2007

The abduction of Madeleine McCann: What do I think about the last developments?

Many readers asked me what do I think about the last two months developments on Madeleine McCann crime. This post will not be only based on objective facts, but also on subjective interpretations of the official statements and the news.

 

Since 2013 it was my thought that Madeleine McCann was abducted by a burglar, and killed soon afterwards. I think that the German authorities now have proof that Madeleine is sadly dead, and that that proof could be imagery (pictures or videos) found in Christian B. belongings. But also that that alleged imagery would not be enough to link Christian B. directly with the crime.

So, the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) and the German prosecutor, H. Christian Wolters, need to link Christian B. with the crime scene. A first step is the call received by Portuguese mobile phone number +351 912 730 680, from 19:32 to 20:02, on May 3, 2007. The call demonstrates that the user who received the call was in the zone of Praia da Luz at the time, and that it was possible for this person to walk to Apartment 5A, the primary crime scene, reaching it between 21:10 and 22:00. But BKA and Wolters need to prove that the person who was using the mobile phone and received the call was Christian B.

In a recent email Wolters was very kind to tell me that "we are currently restricting ourselves to the assumption that the mobile phone number that we assign to our suspect was between 7:32 p.m. and 8:02 p.m. in the phone cell that also covers the McCann family's apartment on May 3, 2007" and that it is "currently unclear whether and when we will file charges against the suspect for the murder of Madeleine McCann". 

Clearly they need to find a solid link between Christian B. and the crime. A great step would be finding the person who made the above mentioned call from the mobile phone +351 916 510 683. But there are other possibilities, for example finding pictures, videos, or witnesses who could demonstrate that link, or maybe DNA evidence collected in Apartment 5A the day after the abduction could match Christian B's similar DNA profiles.
 
I think the German BKA and Wolters are in the right path, they solved the crime, but need more evidence to file charges against their suspect.

The abduction of Madeleine McCann: what will the German prosecutor and the BKA do from now?

I will try to guess the following steps that the German prosecutor of the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office, Hans Christian Wolters,  and the Bundeskriminalamt, will do from now, regarding the case of Madeleine McCann and his main suspect, Christian B.



 

 

1. They will try to find matches between the forensic material collected in apartment 5A, the scene of the crime, the day after the abduction, and Christian B's nuclear and mitochondrial DNA profiles and fingerprints. The material collected in apartmente 5A consisted basically in hair and fingerprints.

2.  They will try to find the user of Portuguese mobile phone number 916 510 683 who called Portuguese mobile phone number 912 730 680. The call was on May 3, 2007, from 19:32 to 20:02.

 

3.  They will try to confirm that the user of Portuguese mobile phone number 912 730 680 was Christian B. The mobile was somewhere in Luz, no more than 2 or 3 km from apartment 5A, and the abduction took place on May 3, 2007, between 21:10 and 22:00.

 

4. They will try to find evidence (for example DNA, clothes, or a body) that Madeleine was in one of the places where Christian B lived. Mainly in Foral, but also in Monte Judeu.

 

5. They will try to find witnesses, people who may know what happened that night, and that should be encouraged to talk now that the main suspect will be in prison for a while. The people may be persons who were close to Christian B by the time, like Nicole from Foral, or his "British girlfriend" (María?), or other people who may circunstantially know what happened.

 

I do not know more of the "concrete evidence" Wolters and the BKA have against Christian B. Even the Scotland Yard Operation Grange team and the Portuguese Policía Judiciária do not know. So my list is almost surely not complete.

The Daily Star have just published that "[d]etectives are now checking with banks in Portugal to see if the pay-as-you-go [mobile phone] number [916 510 683] was topped up at an ATM, according to reports." See item 2. above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The abduction of Madeleine McCann: this is the antenna activated by the alleged mobile phone of Christian B.

The German prosecutor of the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office and the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) said that the mobile phone number + 351 912 730 680 activated an antenna of Praia da Luz, on May 3, 2007, from 19:32 to 20:02. The user of this mobile phone number was, allegedly, Christian B, the main suspect in Madeleine McCann abduction. The number of the mobile phone that made the call was + 351 916 510 683, and activated an antenna outside Praia da Luz.
 

This is part of the technical specifications of the antenna activated in Praia da Luz, it had 8 elements:
 

Element 268-01-24-1704: azimuth 40º.

Element 268-01-24-14424: azimuth 40º.

Element 268-01-24-1709: azimuth 280º.

Element 268-01-24-1707: azimuth 40º.

Element 268-01-24-32023: azimuth 280º.

Element 268-01-24-14426: azimuth 280º.

Element 268-01-24-32021: azimuth 40º.

Element 268-01-24-1706: azimuth 280º.

 

Located to the South of apartment 5A, this antenna covered much of Praia da Luz and surroundings. So, was the mobile phone + 351 912 730 680 close to the Ocean Club? Considering that the Ocean Club had a lot of apartments throughout Praia da Luz, probably yes. And close to Madeleine's apartment 5A?  We do not know how close, it could be meters, hundreds of meters, or more than a kilometer.

 

 

Part of the zone covered by the antenna. Circled in yellow, Madeleine McCann's block of apartments.

 

We could get more info if the record of the call indicates the element(s) activated. The location of the mobile phone would be in the East of Praia da Luz when the element activated had an azimuth of 40º, or in the West when the element activated had an azimuth of 280º. If besides the element(s) activated we have the "tilt" of the same, we could know if the mobile phone was in the South part, or in the North part, of Praia da Luz.

 

In any case, the position of the mobile phone at 20:02 would permit to its user to be in apartment 5A, simply walking, from 21:10 and 22:00.

 

 

The abduction of Madeleine McCann: photos of apartment 5A and the surroundings

Between 2012 and 2017 I traveled six times to the location of the abduction of Madeleine McCann. My pictures, taken in 2012 and 2013, of apartment 5A and the surrounding area, were published here, minimized. They show a different perspective than StreetView from Google Maps.

 

As an example, the camper van parking to the West of Praia da Luz. 



 

Another example, details of the apartment 5A front door.

 

The abduction of Madeleine McCann: Why can't Martin Smith, the star witness, recognize Chistian B?

That Martin Smith does not recognize Christian B does not imply that it was not him. Let me explain.

 

Martin Smith made the following statement in 2007 to the Portuguese Policía Judiciária: "[H]e was Caucasian, around 175 to 180m in height. He appeared to be about 35/40 years old. He had an average build, a bit on the thin side. His hair was short, in a basic male cut, brown in colour. He cannot state if it was dark or lighter in tone. He did not wear glasses and had no beard or moustache. He did not notice any other relevant details partly due to the fact that the lighting was not very good."

 

The description does not rule out Christian B, at first.

 

By the way, the theme of lighting is important. On one of my trips to Praia da Luz, I obtained these two photos a few meters from the place where Martin Smith saw the individual with a girl in his arms. One was taken at daylight, the another at night. The lighting was produced by Low Pressure Sodium (LPS) lights.

 

 

The Low Pressure Sodium (LPS) lights like those in Praia da Luz streets do no emit in the same frequencies as the Sun or the incandescent lights. The Sun and the incandescent lights emit in all the frequencies of the visible spectrum, being the color we perceive the reflected light frequencies by the reflecting body, ie the frequencies that are not absorbed.

 

What we call “white” in sunlight is the reflection of all frequencies that the “white” body receives. Conversely what we call “black” in sunlight is the absorption of all frequencies that the “black” body receives.
     
The LPS lights mainly emit in two wavelengths:  589.0 and 589.6 nanometers (the wavelength is the constant speed of light divided by the frequency). So what we call “white” in sunlight or under incendescent lights mainly reflects these two frequencies under LPS street lights (see LPS spectrum below).

 

 

So it is no surprise that Martin Smith was unable to see "any other relevant details partly due to the fact that the lighting was not very good".

 

On the other hand, also the statements by Peter and Aoife, from Martin Smith's familiy, do not permit to discard Christian B.

 

According to the testimony of Peter Smith the individual was Caucasian, from 1.75 to 1.80 meters tall, about 35 years old. He had dark skin due to Sun exposure. Normal complexion, in good physical condition. Short hair, brown color.

 

The statement made by Aoife Smith shows that the man would be Caucasian, fair skin, and appeared to be about 30 years old. Normal complexion, 1.70 to 1.75 meters tall. Thick hair, light brown, short to the back, and slightly longer on top.

 

But the most important statement by Martin Smith to my understanding, made in 2007 before the Portuguese Policía Judiciária, is the following. He states that it is not possible for him to recognise the individual in person or by photograph.

 

However, Martin helped to create an efit in 2008, which for me is totally invalid, given his 2007 statements.