The case of Madeleine McCann, the little girl who disappeared in Portugal in 2007, continues to be a huge mystery. Now, a new Cannel 5 Drama, Under Suspicion: Kate McCann reveals new horrifying details of how the Portuguese police handled the case – and the cruel 49 questions they asked Madeleine’s mother, Kate, during an 11-hour questioning.
British toddler Madeleine McCann vanished without a trace while on holiday with her family in Portugal in 2007. The case shocked the world at the time – and has continued to do so ever since, as the kidnapper has not yet been caught.
The three-year-old disappeared from her bed inside the McCanns’ holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007, while her parents were having dinner nearby.
In the devastating aftermath, Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann from Rothley, Leicestershire, found themselves at the center of intense global attention.
However, what began as an outpouring of sympathy for the devastated parents took a very dark turn as the case unfolded in the first months. Kate and Gerry became the focus of attention, suspicion, and scrutiny.
Forensic evidence, rumored to have been leaked by the Portuguese police, appeared to point toward the McCanns being the perpetrators.
Madeleine McCann’s mother went through gruesome 49-question interigation
The police had worked tirelessly and closely with Kate and Gerry to locate Madeleine McCann. However, it appeared that they were desperate to solve the case, and the cooperation with the parents turned into something else. Suddenly, they were the accused.
Per The Sun, an officer had even invited Kate, Gerry, and their twins, Amelie and Sean, over to his house for dinner. The next day, Kate was named a formal suspect, “Arguida,” in Portuguese.
Following this, Kate McCann underwent an eleven-hour police interrogation during which she was asked 49 questions, a difficult experience for the family.
During the interrogation, the mother of three was questioned by police and pressed about what happened on the night of May 3. According to a new Channel 5 Drama, named Under Suspicion: Kate McCann, officers asked why the children had not been left in the Ocean Club nursery overnight while their parents and friends dined at the Tapas Bar across the road.
When Kate asked why she was being interrogated, she was given a blunt but shocking answer: “Because we don’t believe you.”
The mother replied, “Are you saying that I had something to do with Madeleine’s disappearance?” to which the detective replied, “Did you?”
Police offered her a plea deal
At the time, Gerry McCann’s sister revealed that Kate had been offered a deal by the police. If she said she had accidentally killed her three-year-old daughter, she would get a reduced sentence. Kate denied it.
“They tried to get her to confess to having accidentally killed Madeleine by offering her a deal through her lawyer — ‘If you say you killed Madeleine by accident and then hid her and disposed of the body, then we can guarantee you a two-year jail sentence or even less,”‘ Gerry McCann’s sister, Philomena, told ITV News at the time.
In an interview with The Independent, Laura Bayston, who plays Kate in the Channel 5 drama Under Suspicion: Kate McCann, said filming the questioning scene was “horrific.” Per her lawyer’s advice, Madeleine McCann answered “no comment” to 48 of the questions she was asked.
“It was all emotional, but when Kate is presented with her offer by the police, which is to admit guilt, that was truly horrific and an absolute punch in the guts to film,” she said, as per The Independent. “It was hard to rein in the emotions for that one – a mix of utter despair to white rage and back again.”
