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Investigators hired by Gerry and Kate McCann to find their missing daughter, Madeleine, are hoping to obtain DNA samples from known pedophile Raymond Hewlett, to establish whether he was involved in the little girl's disappearance. Travelling to Aachen, Germany, today, the detectives are hoping to question Hewlett, 64, about the case. An Aachen police spokesman said that the public prosecutor will decide over the next few days whether to give Hewlett, who is recovering from throat cancer surgery in a hospital. the DNA test. Hewlett, who has served jail time in the UK for raping children, was allegedly living near the McCann’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance May 2007. Police will use results from the DNA test to compare Hewlett’s DNA samples to unidentified samples found at the scene of the crime. Clarence Mitchell, the McCann family spokesman, said he hoped Hewlett would speak to detectives and co operates with their investigation. Speaking yesterday he said; 'Mr Hewlett has denied any involvement in Madeleine's abduction. 'Our investigators hope he will co-operate by giving them whatever information is needed so they can eliminate him from the investigation.' Hewlett’s wife, Marianna Schmuker, spoke out in defense of her husband, saying that he had nothing to do with Madeleine’s disappearance, and declaring him ‘innocent’; even after news emerged that he had been spotted outside the McCann’s apartment in Praia da Luz 'many times'. A new witness has come forward to reveal that Hewlett had talked non-stop about the Madeleine story in the weeks following her abduction in May 2007. Hewlett had been living in the Praia da Luz area at the time of the abduction, but had left and gone to Morocco soon after. Witness Peter Verran, a former Scots Guardsman, said that Hewlett seemed to know a lot about the McCann family and the resort where Madeleine had disappeared from. Mr Verran, who was camping with his family in Morocco, had expressed concern that police would mistake his child for Madeleine, since she bore a resemblance to the missing girl, but Hewlett had quickly replied that Madeleine was not in Morocco. He said that Hewlett seemed to know a lot about the Ocean Club complex where the McCann’s had been staying, explaining that he had been to the resort many times and used to park his van close to their apartment. He was boastful about knowing the layout of the resort, the restaurant where the McCann’s had been eating and even the flat that Madeleine had been taken from. Verran went on to say, 'He (Hewlett) said it was common knowledge among locals that Praia da Luz in general and the Ocean Club in particular was a magnet for Romanian gypsies who abduct and then traffic children. 'I asked him why he'd left and come to Morocco. He told me he'd had to leave Portugal in a hurry.
'He said he'd packed his family up in half an hour and just driven out of the area. That was just after Maddie was taken.' The McCann’s spokesperson has been quick to say that although Hewlett is, 'a person of interest' to the investigation, he is just one of many leads they are currently following. Hewlett is vehemently denying having anything to do with the abduction of Madeleine McCann, saying, 'I've done nothing wrong - nothing, nothing.' June 2009 easyDNA provide full services for all your DNA testing requirements. For our full price list and more information please visit our website. |
