Kate McCann’s parents today hit out at the “scurrilous rubbish” being printed about their daughter – and said she feels she is being persecuted because of her appearance.
She adds: “All this stuff is going on inside my poor daughter who’s not done anything wrong. She and Gerry went to a restaurant which was just metres away from their apartment and part of the holiday complex – it was a terrible mistake but they did it out of naivety.”
Although Susan and Brian Healy still cling to the hope that their four-year-old granddaughter will be found alive, they dread their worst nightmares coming true amid reports that police in
In a wide-ranging, often emotional and tear-filled interview, the couple, who live in Allerton, also reveal that a meeting of family and friends is taking place in Formby today to discuss the next stage of the campaign to keep the search for Madeleine in the public eye. It’s now 166 days since Madeleine was last seen alive and Susan and Brian admit that the enormous strain is telling on all the family.
Susan cannot say how, or if, any of the family will cope if there remains no news – or the worst possible news arrives. But she stresses: “Anyone would crack eventually. It’s like having a perfect family and seeing it torn to shreds.”
There have been concerns about Kate’s appearance and apparent weight loss, and her mum says: “She’s always had that kind of build and has never carried any weight. But she does look very traumatised. It must be unbearable for her to think about the possibility of never seeing Madeleine again, or that it’s going to be another six months before she sees her again.”
Regarding reports that police are focusing on a reservoir around 15 miles from Praia da Luz, Susan says: “It is scary and if it really is going on, I’ll be holding my breath. We’ve no idea when Kate and Gerry may have their suspect status lifted, but we hope it will be soon. Until it is, they are not allowed to defend themselves in public – and that is dreadful."
Susan says she has had difficulty sleeping, while Brian reveals: “Anger keeps me going, so I’m doing pretty well because there has been a lot to be angry about.”
But despite all the agony and anguish, Susan says: “We need people to realise that nothing has changed since day one. Madeleine is still missing and the police haven’t found anything to indicate she isn’t alive, so we have got to go on looking. Kate and Gerry are as innocent as you or I, or anyone reading this. The perpetrator or perpetrators are still out there. We still pray that someone will open a door and say ‘Here she is – it’s all been a terrible mistake’. In my heart of hearts I still feel we will get Madeleine back, although I naturally get scared when I hear about the police carrying out searches.”
Brian adds: “I’ve heard nothing yet to convince me that Madeleine isn’t alive and I am clinging onto the hope that we will get her back.”
But he and Susan are realistic enough to accept that some people are not only convinced that their granddaughter is dead, but that Madeleine’s own parents were responsible.
Susan says: “Strangers are still coming up to us and saying ‘We don’t believe a word of what we’re reading, you know’ – that happens again and again and it’s important for us to hear that. I also know that if you throw enough muck at people, some of it can stick. But you’ve got to credit people with having the intelligence to work out that there has been a lot of scurrilous rubbish written.”
Each new claim or accusation aired in the tabloids – the majority emanating from
