NANCY GRACE

Madeleine McCann Investigators Accused of Botching Case

Aired May 23, 2007 - 20:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

Full Transcript...http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0705/23/ng.01.html


GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us tonight. A parent`s worst nightmare, children snatched, never seen again. Where are they? How do we find them? And how do we stop their predators?

First, a little girl stolen from a luxury resort while her parents had dinner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Millions have joined the search for 4-year-old Madeleine McCann, missing now for two weeks from a luxury vacation with her family, Findmadeleine.com, set up by the McCann family to aid the search for Maddy, receiving over 65 million hits. Rewards offered by businessmen, famous athletes and ordinary individuals total more than $5 million. Maddy vanishes from a bedroom after her parents leave her alone with her 2-year- old twin siblings to go to dinner. Investigators focus on the area near the resort where Maddy went missing. Police Tuesday identified 33-year-old Robert Murat as a formal suspect, but said they did not have enough evidence to charge him. Maddy`s parents, Kate and Gerry, criticized for leaving the children alone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Imagine going on your family vacation. While you`re having dinner, you go back to check on the kids and one is missing. That is just what happened to baby Maddy`s parents.

Straight out to "America`s Most Wanted" Ed Miller. Ed, there are recent developments. What`s the latest?

ED MILLER, "AMERICA`S MOST WANTED": Well, actually, you know, there`s been a lot of confusion about this case. You know, way back on May 5, police said, We know who took Maddy. In reality, weeks later, they don`t really who took Maddy. There`s been a lot of suspects who they`ve said are suspects with a small S, not a capital S. They really don`t have a whole lot more now than when she first disappeared.

GRACE: Now, tell me the latest on the suspect, as he is being called. He`s been released. I don`t understand that.

MILLER: Well, because they simply don`t have enough on Mr. Murat. You know, Mr. Murat originally was questioned because he was -- he volunteered in the investigation. He had volunteered to be a translator. He seemed to be asking an awful lot of questions and he seemed to be very, very interested in the case. And that`s how they first started questioning him.

He and a girlfriend and the girlfriend`s ex-husband also seemed to match a description of three people that police originally were looking for. But again, there really is nothing concrete to link these three people or Mr. Murat specifically to the crime.

As a matter of fact, some British investigators have said that Portugal police have really botched this case. They never really looked very hard for the child in the very beginning. And as you well know, with missing children, speed is most important. You need to get on top of it right away, and they did not.

GRACE: Well, speaking of the botched investigation -- we`re talking about baby Maddy, her parents at a luxury resort when she goes missing from their rented room.

Out to you, Marc Klaas, president of Beyond Missing. Take a look at just some elementary things police failed to do -- did not secure the crime scene where the baby was kidnapped, did not issue a public appeal, did not release a suspect description, did not immediately go house-to-house within the luxury resort, Marc, did not search streets near the hotel, did not interview all the hotel guests, didn`t check video of vehicles leaving the resort -- there are cameras that show who comes in and leaves the resort -- did not check motorway cams -- you know, those cameras that you often see at red lights, Marc Klaas -- did not notify border patrol -- you can cross that border in about two hours -- until 15 hours later, and actually ignored repeated tips that came in, Marc Klaas.

MARC KLAAS, BEYONDMISSING.COM: Well, every one of those is a critical mistake, and every one of those could have allowed the kidnapper to get away with the child. And quite frankly, it looks exactly like that is exactly what happened. Unfortunately, Nancy, they don`t have the sophisticated protocols in other countries that we have in the United States for the recovery of missing children. Although this is the most widely publicized case probably in history, and certainly has the largest reward in history, it just may be too late.

But I would caution the parents never to give up hope and to continue to look. It`s going to be very hard to secret that little girl, and it`s going to be very hard to keep that secret either publicly or privately.

GRACE: Well, you know, interesting, Tom Shamsak, private investigator, the police there are sinking so many resources, almost all of their resources, into this one alleged suspect. If he`s the wrong guy, they`re screwed. Do you know what all they`ve been doing for this one suspect? Soil samples, fingerprint samples, full search of DNA, you name it.

TOM SHAMSAK, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: Well, the response was inadequate and inexcusable. The -- they`re right now isolated on this one individual. I think that the U.K. police officers need to be allowed to have access to the file and to start this investigation right from the beginning again. The failure to not control the crime scene, the failure to not control the borders are really egregious mistakes. This was botched right from the get-go.

GRACE: Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Robert Murat in the white shirt, filmed just days ago. He was reported to police after journalists became suspicious of his activities and his claim to be liaising between police, Madeleine`s family and witnesses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police say they removed numerous items during their search of Robert Murat`s home which remain part of the inquiry. Witnesses saw personal computers and mobile phones being taken. Decoding any saved information can take time. Videocassettes were also removed for analysis. Officers also took away clothes and samples of forensic material. It`s unclear where they are now being examined. Police say they completely searched the villa, but detectives spent less than a full day collecting material and then allowed the family to return, leading some to question how thorough they actually were.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Back to you, Ed Miller with "America`s Most Wanted." Tell me about the scene. What happened when baby Maddy went missing that evening?

MILLER: Well, that evening, as said before, the parents went to dinner. And they felt they were doing the right thing because they could see -- according to them, they could see the front door of this luxury apartment. We should explain this is not a typical hotel, this is a luxury hotel with suites. And they were down in the restaurant and they said they could see the front door right from where they were, and all the doors and windows were locked.

And they went back, according to them, several times to check on the children to see if they were all right because it wasn`t just Maddy there, there was the other two, as well. And then when they finally went back, when they finished dinner, lo and behold, the doors had been jimmied open and she was gone. The other two were there, but she was gone.

We should point out that as awful as it may seem to realize that in foreign countries, in some foreign countries, in particular, that blond children, little blond, angelic girls are possessions worth more than a pot of gold. And it`s an awful thing to think about, but it is reality that police are working on that theory that this child may have been stolen simply because of the way she looked. Somebody must have been spying on her, looking at her, stalking her to know that she was there.

GRACE: Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police tape still marks the outer limits of his gardens and the driveway here, but police have been very clear they don`t have enough evidence even to continue questioning Robert Murat, let alone arrest him. So at this stage, it is very difficult to know, really. Should we really regard Robert Murat as a suspect, or is he, as he says, a scapegoat?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More than two weeks since she disappeared, the reality is that Madeleine could be anywhere. Her parents, of course, know this. And so the Internet is a major tool in their campaign, a means of communication which can cross borders and reach millions of people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Findmadeleine.com is an Internet phenomenon. In 24 hours, it`s become one of the world`s most visited Web sites, with hits from across the globe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you haven`t been approached by Nicky Gill (ph) and her team to help out in the Madeleine campaign yet, you probably will be soon. As best friend of Madeleine`s mum, she`s made it her mission to keep the family in the headlines.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nicky and her friends concentrate on sending a message of hope, and by phone to Kate herself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just so you know, it looks great, and you know, we`ll keep it going now. This is her little place here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Out to the lines. Diane in California. Hi, Diane.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. How are you?

GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was wondering if the parents could be charged with child neglect or child endangerment?

GRACE: Out to you, Renee Rockwell. They did leave the children alone. It was a group of eight parents, four couples. Every night, they would go to this tapas or appetizer restaurant about 100 yards, I believe - - between 50 and 100 yards -- of the condo that they were renting. They could see the door. They could only see one side of the condo, Renee. But they did leave the three children alone in there. And Renee, here`s the kicker. For about $10 more a day, they could have hired a nanny or a babysitter to stay there, Renee.

RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: And Nancy, and you know what? They didn`t want the children around strangers. Incredible. But what are you going to do to these parents now, charge them with a crime? Their heart is broken. Nancy, don`t discount the fact that this child could be a victim not of a sexual predator but of a human trafficking ring.

GRACE: What do you mean by that?

ROCKWELL: Well, it doesn`t mean that somebody stole the child to molest the child. The child could have been sold on the black market not only for a sexual slavery type of a sale, but also maybe a person who wanted a blond-haired child, wanted this baby...

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: OK, can I try to pin you down with a yes/no? Please don`t make me answer for you. Can the parents be charged with neglect?

ROCKWELL: They could, Nancy, but I don`t see that happening.

GRACE: That could definitely happen. That`s the legal answer to Diane in California`s question. It hasn`t happened yet, but yes, legally, they could be charged with neglect, just like every other case you hear, Diane, many that we cover here, when bad things happen to children, when parents leave them alone, no matter how good their intentions are.

Out to Elizabeth in Arkansas. Hi, Elizabeth.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I`m a big fan of the show.

GRACE: Thank you, dear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of the luxury resorts in the upscale places have cameras on the gates and in the halls and things like that. And the other thing that I wanted to know was if they have the footage and if they`ve explored the option of the little girl getting out on her own. Because I have a little girl, and let me tell you, if they wake up and Mommy and Daddy`s not there...

GRACE: Ed Miller, back to you. Tell me the facts around that. I know it was heavily secured. I know that there are a lot of video cameras, but not specifically on this condo or this rental unit. Did they come in through a window or a door?

MILLER: Well, it`s unclear because, again, the door had been jimmied, and also the window had been jimmied open. So it`s unclear whether they came through a window, went out through the door, or one came through the front, one came through the window. Again, it`s unclear.

But she`s absolutely right. We should make this crystal clear. This is no fleabag place. This is a very lavish resort. So this could happen to any parent that -- anywhere, in this country or anywhere in the world, for that matter. They go on a luxury vacation. They think they`re very safe. In reality, they`re not safe at all. And that is what happened.

There were -- to answer the question directly, there were video cameras, not specifically at this unit but in the area, in the hallway, you know, outside the restaurant, that sort of thing. So yes, there are video cameras. They have not been able to, apparently, isolate one or two individuals from those cameras.

GRACE: The reality is, from my sources, Ed Miller, they haven`t even gone through all the video yet. Hello, guys! Check the video of cars coming in and leaving the premises. The border is only about two hours away.