Madeleine McCann

[Darnhill Claret]

Hope all the McCann family haters are now reconsidering their earlier unfounded assumptions against Madelaine’s parents being directly responsible for disappearance/murder.

[fidelcastro]

Hope all the McCann family haters are now reconsidering their earlier unfounded assumptions against Madelaine’s parents being directly responsible for disappearance/murder.

I doubt it.

Some folk love a good conspiracy theory.

[Steve1956]

I still think its their fault.....horrible people who left three children alone. Totally unforgivable,the person that took MM could quite easily have taken all three children,how anyone gives these so called parents even the time of day is beyond me....disgusting people who dont deserve to have kids

[Darnhill Claret]

But you don’t know if they are horrible people or not.What they did was a terrible mistake similar to what other parents have done and will continue to do. They consider it a calculated risk that they are in control of. They weren’t in control. Millions of parents do similar. Just surprised that similar hasn’t happened at a ‘Butlin’s type’ holiday with their ‘chalet patrols’.

[Steve1956]

But you don’t know if they are horrible people or not.What they did was a terrible mistake similar to what other parents have done and will continue to do. They consider it a calculated risk that they are in control of. They weren’t in control. Millions of parents do similar. Just surprised that similar hasn’t happened at a ‘Butlin’s type’ holiday with their ‘chalet patrols’.

Quick question Darnhill would you do that with your children?....i suspect not!

[GodIsADeeJay81]

Have they found her yet?

We can go over this again if you really want too, people have picked their side and it's been discussed on here several times.

The simple fact is they left their kids alone in an apartment in a foreign country whilst they were round the corner with their mates having a meal.

Millions of us wouldn't do the same.

[Darnhill Claret]

Parents often take their eyes off their children in one way or another. On the beach, at the fairground. A parent might be out with children and need to go to the toilet, leaving them alone for a few seconds. For any child murders, where were the parents? Why were those children in vulnerable situations?

[Darnhill Claret]

Millions wouldn’t, but millions have and millions will do so in the future.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

Parents often take their eyes off their children in one way or another. On the beach, at the fairground. A parent might be out with children and need to go to the toilet, leaving them alone for a few seconds. For any child murders, where were the parents? Why were those children in vulnerable situations?

A few seconds is vastly different to be out with your mates having tea and leaving 3 kids home alone, no matter what you try to twist and say differently.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

Millions wouldn’t, but millions have and millions will do so in the future.

Then that's their choice and they'll have to live with the consequences if they behave in a similar way to the McCanns.

[Darnhill Claret]

I’m not referring to those who criticised the child minding arrangements, I’m aiming this at those who said that the parents were complicit in the ‘abduction/death’ (conspiracy theory).

[GodIsADeeJay81]

Until she's found we will never know.

It was only the other day there was a media story about someone who was adamant they'd seen a girl with the same eye discolouration a couple of years ago somewhere else.

There's been so many claims about her going around.

[Darnhill Claret]

Don’t think I’ve twisted anything.

[dsr]

I still think its their fault.....horrible people who left three children alone. Totally unforgivable,the person that took MM could quite easily have taken all three children,how anyone gives these so called parents even the time of day is beyond me....disgusting people who dont deserve to have kids

Loads of people to add to your hate list. Holly and Jessica's parents, the parents of the children killed by the Moors murderers, in fact all parents of all children who are murdered. Just try and save a bit of hate in your heart to hate the murderers, perhaps?

Oh, and check your parents. If they let go of your hand at an age where you were vulnerable, then add them to your list.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

For what it's worth, I don't think they killed her, accidently or otherwise, nor hid the body etc.

They're just bad parents who made a really shocking decision to place their own needs above that of their children's.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

Loads of people to add to your hate list. Holly and Jessica's parents, the parents of the children killed by the Moors murderers, in fact all parents of all children who are murdered. Just try and save a bit of hate in your heart to hate the murderers, perhaps?

Oh, and check your parents. If they let go of your hand at an age where you were vulnerable, then add them to your list.

10 Yr old girls walking to the shop together is a tad different to a 3yr old and her siblings being left alone in an apartment whilst asleep so their parents could go out with mates.

[Darnhill Claret]

Breuckner is finally a valid suspect, although I suspect it will be a while until all the loose ends are tied up if ever. I hope they will be able to charge him and put him on trial. I hope that either Madeleine or her body is found and that those who accused her parents will be more gracious towards them in their suffering rather than feel the need to judge them.

[dsr]

10 Yr old girls walking to the shop together is a tad different to a 3yr old and her siblings being left alone in an apartment whilst asleep so their parents could go out with mates.

True, but they weren't safe.

I know I was 6 the first time I remember being left alone in a hotel room on the ground floor. I doubt it was locked either. People did that, then, even though the child abduction and murder rate was higher than it is now. There was no doubt a time when "normal" turned into "evil and you got what you deserve" in this Twitter-led universe, but I find it hard to be quite so dogmatic about the year, the day, the second when the change happened.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

True, but they weren't safe.

I know I was 6 the first time I remember being left alone in a hotel room on the ground floor. I doubt it was locked either. People did that, then, even though the child abduction and murder rate was higher than it is now. There was no doubt a time when "normal" turned into "evil and you got what you deserve" in this Twitter-led universe, but I find it hard to be quite so dogmatic about the year, the day, the second when the change happened.

If they weren't safe then at what age do you stop walking your kids to the local shop?

They were murdered by someone they knew, it was a very different case to what happened in Portugal, you know that but for some reason you think it's a valid comparison when really it isn't.
As far as I'm aware the circumstances around Madeline's abduction have never happened before or since, but I could be wrong.

[Darnhill Claret]

I regularly see kids on bikes outside their homes, close to traffic, often seemingly unsupervised by an adult, maybe a slightly older sibling. But adult supervision is a subject on it’s own. I just hope that the McCann’s are treated better in future. Despite their catastrophic error I applaud their stamina in their search for the answers they have been seeking. A couple of publications might be a few pennies poorer in the not too distant future. At least the mystery seems close to being solved now.

[dsr]

If they weren't safe then at what age do you stop walking your kids to the local shop?

They were murdered by someone they knew, it was a very different case to what happened in Portugal, you know that but for some reason you think it's a valid comparison when really it isn't.
As far as I'm aware the circumstances around Madeline's abduction have never happened before or since, but I could be wrong.

That's rather the point. The McCanns didn't take sufficient precautions against something that had never happened before. There isn't a definitive line where someone one side of the line is evil and someone the other side of the line is good. It's a graduation, and just because the McCanns were the unlucky family among the many who are the "wrong" side of the line drawn by the self-righteous, does not make them evil.

I suppose what it boils down to is that my parents did the same as the McCanns, so if I am to agree that the McCanns were evil people who deserved to lose their child, then I would have to accept that my parents were too. I am not prepared to accept that.

[karatekid]

The local Portuguese police didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory. In my opinion they were so intent on blaming the parents they took their eye off the ball and allowed the kidnapper to evade them. The head of the local police has even written a book saying there was no abduction and the parents killed her and disposed of the body.

[claptrappers_union]

I remember being left alone with my little brother in the apartment while my mum and dad were having late night drinks by the pool in Greece. They took turns checking on us every hour or so. I must’ve been around 6 or 7.

At the time, id say it was normal behaviour, there’s an illusion of safety - hence why I think why the family was targeted.

I’ve talked about it to my parents since this horrible case and there’s no way they’d do it now. I have 7 year olds myself and I don’t think I’d leave them in an holiday apartment alone. I think it was just a different time.

Although the McCanns will blame themselves, is not helpful with the online hate they get by all these Parents or Years who say they are the ones responsible.

[Jakubclaret]

The local Portuguese police didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory. In my opinion they were so intent on blaming the parents they took their eye off the ball and allowed the kidnapper to evade them. The head of the local police has even written a book saying there was no abduction and the parents killed her and disposed of the body.

That's more believable than the abduction, evidence doesn't support either circumstance to be fair, I believe the child accidentally swallowed something & choked or was poisoned resulting in a possible death there's no evidence to support that theory as well, neglect resulted in the child's death & then concealed.

[Steve1956]

Loads of people to add to your hate list. Holly and Jessica's parents, the parents of the children killed by the Moors murderers, in fact all parents of all children who are murdered. Just try and save a bit of hate in your heart to hate the murderers, perhaps?

Oh, and check your parents. If they let go of your hand at an age where you were vulnerable, then add them to your list.

What strange comparisons,cant remember any of those you mentioned going out on the lash leaving three kids under 3 years old alone,there is a solution if you cant be arsed looking after your children properly....dont have any!

[Bfcboyo]

Quick question Darnhill would you do that with your children?....i suspect not!

Personally I'm the opposite and it can be tiresome and draining at times, especially the little girl , the protective instinct is like I'm pre programmed to watch over John Connor scanning and weighing up every possible danger and threat 60 times a minute.

Come with me if you want to live.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

I regularly see kids on bikes outside their homes, close to traffic, often seemingly unsupervised by an adult, maybe a slightly older sibling. But adult supervision is a subject on it’s own. I just hope that the McCann’s are treated better in future. Despite their catastrophic error I applaud their stamina in their search for the answers they have been seeking. A couple of publications might be a few pennies poorer in the not too distant future. At least the mystery seems close to being solved now.

Search driven by guilt for leaving their children home alone.
It also keeps deflecting away from what they did because they've never really had to face up to that.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

That's rather the point. The McCanns didn't take sufficient precautions against something that had never happened before. There isn't a definitive line where someone one side of the line is evil and someone the other side of the line is good. It's a graduation, and just because the McCanns were the unlucky family among the many who are the "wrong" side of the line drawn by the self-righteous, does not make them evil.

I suppose what it boils down to is that my parents did the same as the McCanns, so if I am to agree that the McCanns were evil people who deserved to lose their child, then I would have to accept that my parents were too. I am not prepared to accept that.

They weren't evil people, I've already said they were bad parents.

[claretonthecoast1882]

I imagine the queue of people lining up to apologise to the McCanns for deciding going for a few drinks and food with their mates and leaving their young children alone at the same time will be a short one.


The poor little girl is the victim here due in part to her parents negligence.

[dibraidio]

I was talking with the mrs the other day about something similar. Her second cousin's 3 year old daughter was staying with her grandparents and drowned in their pool. The grandmother left the little girl playing on the living room floor in front of the telly. She was only gone two minutes.

It's so easy to start blaming in these situations, why hadn't they installed a barrier or a pool alarm? Why didn't they check that the doors were all locked before leaving the little one? You can imagine the tension between the mother and her partners parents.

..and then of course you get the comments like "That could never have happened to me, I'd never have left my kids without supervision", it's a natural response we have to believe that others have made a mistake because we don't want to think that it could just as easily have happened to us.

I know this is different because it is an act of pure evil and not an accident and assuming that this suspect is proved to be her killer then you can only imagine the number of times that the McCanns must have wished that they hadn't gone out that night. Believing that you were at fault for the death of your own offspring is a terrible price to pay for being a less than perfect parent.

[Spike]

At least the Wolves team are no longer prime suspects

[BurnleyFC]

A terrible error of judgment by her parents that they’ll have to live with for the rest of their lives but in no way do they deserve to be vilified as they are by certain people.

[arise_sir_charge]

It also keeps deflecting away from what they did because they've never really had to face up to that.

Other than every single day in the 13 plus years since.

[FactualFrank]

Not that I thought it was her parents, but when I read the opening thread, I assumed she'd been found in the German suspect's garden and so had to do a Google.

[Dyched]

I imagine the queue of people lining up to apologise to the McCanns for deciding going for a few drinks and food with their mates and leaving their young children alone at the same time will be a short one.


The poor little girl is the victim here due in part to her parents negligence.

1000’s of parents did things like this. I honestly believe this case was the turning point parents stopped doing it.

People we’re back then a bit blaze/naive when going abroad. Oh the sun is shinning, it’s hot, ohhh palm trees, lovely, what a beautiful place, peaceful, crime obviously couldn’t happen here. There’s also the false sense of security in hotels/apartment complexes. They and Madeleine payed the huge price for it.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

Other than every single day in the 13 plus years since.

It's child neglect, they've never had to face any charges for that.

[Steve1956]

It's child neglect, they've never had to face any charges for that.

Exactly! I never believed they killed the kid,but they surely aided & abetted the crime by neglect,lesser well off parents in that situation would have had the two other children taken away from them,on another note has anyone ever seen Kate McCann shed a tear over her neglect that saw them lose a child...no me neither

[CaptainKirk]

Took me about 10 seconds to find pictures of her in tears, if that is what it takes to get you off.
They made a mistake and they and their child have paid a very heavy price for that mistake and will do so forever.
Not everyone is as perfect as some of the people on here claim to be.

[arise_sir_charge]

I watched the Netflix special and saw plenty of tears.

That’s actually irrelevant though. Essentially you are saying that in your opinion somebody hasn’t cried enough in public. How do you judge what would be acceptable?

I’ll have the point regarding child neglect but don’t think that pushing for such a conviction amidst all the other stuff surrounding this case would be best use of police time/resources and of the public purse.

Whether you like them or not, nobody will regret what happened more than the McCann’s.

[Greenmile]

Do you reckon there might be anyone on here who would have a different view of the McCanns if they were working-class folk with smartphones and a flat-screen TV?

I can think of one or two.

[Spijed]

Do you reckon there might be anyone on here who would have a different view of the McCanns if they were working-class folk with smartphones and a flat-screen TV?

I can think of one or two.

I'd imagine many on here would treat a family on benefits, leaving a 3 year old child alone so they could go to the pub somewhat differently.

Hypocrisy at its finest.

[claretonthecoast1882]

I'd imagine many on here would treat a family on benefits, leaving a 3 year old child alone so they could go to the pub somewhat differently.

Hypocrisy at its finest.

In what way ? I know you can't help yourself with whataboutery but are you actually claiming there are many on here who would defend someone going the pub and leaving their kids behind ?


https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/tees ... e-17542967

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/s ... 4-21134525

https://www.eveshamjournal.co.uk/news/1 ... -children/

[Greenmile]

In what way ? I know you can't help yourself with whataboutery but are you actually claiming there are many on here who would defend someone going the pub and leaving their kids behind ?


https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/tees ... e-17542967

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/s ... 4-21134525

https://www.eveshamjournal.co.uk/news/1 ... -children/

Isn't that essentially what the McCanns did?

There seems to be a few on here defending them.

[Steve1956]

Isn't that essentially what the McCanns did?

There seems to be a few on here defending them.

To many on here defending the indefensible

[claretonthecoast1882]

Isn't that essentially what the McCanns did?

There seems to be a few on here defending them.

That is why I am asking spijed, I took him to be defending them by saying others on here would defend someone on benefits doing the same (granted I took this position due to his normal comments) hopefully he did mean it that you have read it and if so then it is me int he wrong and apologies to him

[Danieljwaterhouse]

I regularly see kids on bikes outside their homes, close to traffic, often seemingly unsupervised by an adult, maybe a slightly older sibling. But adult supervision is a subject on it’s own. I just hope that the McCann’s are treated better in future. Despite their catastrophic error I applaud their stamina in their search for the answers they have been seeking. A couple of publications might be a few pennies poorer in the not too distant future. At least the mystery seems close to being solved now.

I think before we even begin to discuss the conduct of the McCanns post abduction we fully acknowledge the horrendous parenting and decision making that led to this situation. That there were younger children in the room, that by the grace of God they weren’t subjected to the same possible fate of Madeline, and that it is parenting 101 to keep your child safe and mitigate any possible harm that might befall them AT ALL TIMES.

Equating a child on a bike unsupervised to leaving sleeping babies and a toddler in a room unsupervised whilst you went for dinner is silly. The two are so far removed they can’t be compared.

Yes there’s danger cycling near traffic, but you’d have hoped the parents have invested time Into mitigating the danger by practicing riding, explaining the dangers, ensuring safety equipment is worn, and testing their skills to ensure they’re of an adequate standard to be as safe as they could be.

Madeline wasn’t given even the opportunity to be safeguarded, she was a sleeping child.

And if this had happened in this country or In a british territory both parents would be facing (and yet may be) facing prosecution under the safeguarding and child protection laws.

Now let’s get into their conduct post incident, it’s downright diabolical. No further comment needed, they may well have been badly advised, they may well have made permanent decisions on temporary emotions, but their behaviour and the behaviour of those around them has shown them to be firmly self entitled fools who have sought to profit from a tragedy of their own making.

They failed to exercise there duty as parents to ALL of their children.

[Spijed]

In what way ? I know you can't help yourself with whataboutery but are you actually claiming there are many on here who would defend someone going the pub and leaving their kids behind ?


https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/tees ... e-17542967

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/s ... 4-21134525

https://www.eveshamjournal.co.uk/news/1 ... -children/

Plenty are defending the McCann's though aren't they, saying many parents have done the same thing and it was a genuine mistake?

[claretonthecoast1882]

Plenty are defending the McCann's though aren't they, saying many parents have done the same thing and it was a genuine mistake?

Cheers for clarifying and apologies for getting the wrong end of the stick

[evensteadiereddie]

Plenty are defending the McCann's though aren't they, saying many parents have done the same thing and it was a genuine mistake?

Of course it was a genuine mistake. No excuse.
A hugely idiotic and tragic mistake and one they'll have to come to terms with every day of their lives.
They took a reckless risk and, I don't know what the odds of a child being abducted in such circumstances are, lost.

I hate the fact that some posters on here seem to be taking real pleasure from what the McCann's are going through.
The family are "self-entitled" and are even making a "profit" from the whole tragedy apparently. Ffs,grow up.

[Untinted Glasses]

I doubt it.

Some folk love a good conspiracy theory.

All a conspiracy theory is, is a different opinion to your own.