THREE ARGUIDOS have been named officially in the Madeleine investigation case since the little girl disappeared on May 3.
The list may grow before the case is considered closed, especially as the case enters a new enquiry stage this month.
The first person to be named arguido, or suspect, was Robert Murat, an English citizen who lives in Praia da Luz not far from the holiday apartment where the McCanns were staying.
This happened on May 15, only 12 days after Madeleine went missing. Murat was called in by the PJ for a six-hour interview after Lori Campbell, a journalist from the Sunday Mirror, reported to the authorities what she considered to be his “strange behaviour” during the first few days of the investigation.
The expatriate is still living in Praia da Luz, in Villa Liliana, with his mother Jennifer Murat. He is now unemployed and waiting for the Portuguese authorities to disclose whether he’s involved or not in the disappearance of Madeleine.
The two other arguidos were named in September. Gerry and Kate McCann’s involvement represented an unexpected turn in the case.
It happened after a series of inspections of the apartment where the McCann family stayed at the time Madeleine went missing, as well as to the boot of their car, hired several days after her disappearance.
As a result of these inspections, specially trained dogs, brought in from the UK, found samples of body fluids in the apartment, said to be from Madeleine.
The couple were separately interviewed at the PJ headquarters in Portimão on September 7 and 8 and then both named arguidos.
Shortly afterwards, and contrary to what they had previously said, the couple returned to the UK, arriving in their home town of Rothley, in Leicestershire, on September 9 amidst frenzied media coverage.
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