Madeleine McCann suspect

I’m not ashamed. It’s an opinion. I am entitled to that.

For years parents holidayed in those Butlins holiday camps,
Left their children alone in chalets in the evening and went to
concerts etc, Butlins staff patrolled the paths around the chalets, was that sensible parenting ?

You’re right Anniebach. I was a child who was left in a Butlins chalet while my parents went out for the evening . I remember waking up and being frozen with fear . My little sister was sound asleep and I woke her up (I would’ve been about 7-8 ) we sat at the window behind a net curtain just waiting and waiting for what seemed forever for our parents to come back. I don’t recall, but knowing my parents I probably got into trouble for getting up .

Why are people so judgemental? None of us is perfect. We all should look first at the 'plank' in our own eye before trying to remove the 'speck' in someone else's

totally agree

No, it was not sensible parenting.

I don’t think anyone on here is pretending to be perfect but they are just stating the fact that on holiday they never left small children unattended in the flat or hotel room.

Does anyone remember how amazed the Portuguese police were that the twins slept through all the commotion in the flat when they were there along with the McCanns plus their friends ?

Kate apparently was screaming, there was a lot of other noise yet still those two little ones slept. I seem to remember that’s when the idea of all the children having been sedated arose hence the parents being made arguidos.

many years ago I discovered a little girl about 8-9 outside a house 10pm at night very distressed I took her back to the open front door and used the house phone to let her speak to someone in the phone book who drove to the house immediatly just as the parents arrived home, turned out the father had gone to pick the mother up from her night shift job not dreaming that the little girl would wake up and find no one at home.! Good job it was me that came along!

You just need to read certain forums and it will tell you that it is fairly common to dose youngsters with Calpol at bedtime and it gives you an hour or two of peace and quiet.
A sedated child would not shout or cry.
I take exception to the suggestion that we all made mistakes, speak for yourself, some of us really were responsible.

On the question if the parents being responsible for poor Maddie's disappearance. I remember seeing a documentary a few years ago in which experts in body language, studied the interviews that Gerry and Kate gave to the media and concluded that they were telling the truth. It is a point to remember that they paid the ultimate price for leaving Maddie and her siblings alone that night and they have to live with the results for the rest of their lives. I hope and pray that they will find out what happened to their little girl and finally get closure.

Me too. Must be a living hell for them.

songstress - that's not really true though is it? There was absolutely masses of publicity and reporting about Ben Needham. It all kicked off again recently too, I seem to recall.

It is a point to remember that they paid the ultimate price for leaving Maddie and her siblings alone that night

I think it was Maddie who paid the ultimate price.

How wonderful it must be to be perfect. I'm not.

My heartfelt sympathy has always been with the parents who have suffered every day for the last 13 years and will no doubt continue to do so for the rest of their lives.

I hope they can at least find closure at last.

What took them so long to connect the man with the crime? The poor parents have been through so much but have always hoped she was alive and being treated well. Now it seems as if they will learn the truth and will be haunted by the way she was taken from them.

I'm wondering, Gingster, if the suspect has made a confession.

It's very odd that he's a new suspect but was in the area with a history of criminal activity and only now they're taking him seriously.

Hope the poor parents can finally get some answers. It must be hell for them.

Me too Forestflame the guilt must be dreadful, I don't know how they have coped. Looking back there are things that happened in our or our children's lives that with hindsight could have ended in tragedy - sitting in cars with babies on our knees; our mums's leaving us outside in our prams to get some fresh air; or leaving the pram unattended outside a shop; children sitting outside pubs on their own with a packet of crisps and a bottle of pop (not me I hasten to add, but saw it happen); being allowed to 'play out' all day and roam wherever we liked. I just hope they get to find out finally, what happened; sadly I too think she has died.

From what I heard on tv last night the suspect mentioned what he’d done to someone in a bar, at the same time as showing that person pictures of another crime he’d committed. Sounds like something that happened in a film I saw a while back which, at the time I thought was implausible. Police are desperate for someone to come forward and give evidence as they can’t find any forensic evidence. I just can’t imagine anyone being so evil that knowing they weren’t going to get away with what they’ve done they won’t, at least give the parents closure: the moors murders spring to mind.

As a parent, I could not and still can't understand how they could leave their kids even for half an hour without a monitor or baby sitter,I'm not a perfect parent but never did that....3 children under the age of 4 alone?!!

I doubt there can be an arrest and trial, no body, no evidence,
he was in the area, he allegedly told someone he had committed the crime.

Plenty of cases where there is no body but yet a conviction. Anniebach It is harder but you can convict on circumstantial evidence.

Dee1012 they were not far away and were checking every so often. They were probably listening for crying infants - not expecting an intruder.
There but for the grace of god.....

I'm fairly sure Mr & Mrs McCann regret their decision every waking moment of their lives Dee1012. There but for the grace of God...........

I haven’t found anything anywhere confirming he’s been charged. I know it would be headline news and in every bulletin if someone had been charged. It does make me winder where people get their information from. Also, sadly, I doubt he would confess as he’ll be spending the rest of his life in prison if he does.

Sorry but I would have never left my children or my grandchildren on their own anywhere .

I had a phone call one evening, years ago when my eldest DD was about 11 or 12,from her schoolfriend who lived round the corner. She had woken up with earache and was in tears. Her sister, a couple of years younger, was still asleep and her mum was at the pub with her boyfriend. I went round, calmed her down and sat with her till mum and boyfriend returned. It showed that you can't leave bigger kids on their own, let alone tiniest. It's just not safe.

Her mum was all thanks and gratitude but she seemed to hate me after that night. No more friendly chats.

However, though the McCanns did a stupid thing, they have paid for it a million times over. I hope they get closure. More than anything, I hope it was quick for Maddie and that she didn't suffer too much.