Norfolk link to missing Maddie

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15 May 2007 08:37


Robert Murat who is being questioned by police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
A former Norfolk car salesman whose estranged wife and young daughter live in a quiet Norfolk village has been interviewed by Portuguese police investigating the abduction of Madeleine McCann.

Robert Murat lived in Hockering, near Dereham, with his wife Dawn, young daughter Sophia and stepson David, until a couple of years ago when he returned to his native Portugal.

Intense police activity has surrounded a villa lived in by Mr Murat just 160 yards from where little Madeleine was snatched.

Mr Murat's mother Jenny, who is believed to own the house, has been running a stall on the seafront in the village of Praia da Luz, appealing for information from members of the public about Madeleine's disappearance.

Mr Murat was a regular sight crossing the police tape and approaching the McCanns' apartment following Madeleine's disappearance.

He said he was helping the McCanns as a translator.

On May 4, the day after Madeleine's disappearance when media descended upon the area, Mr Murat made himself known to journalists, chatting about the case but refusing to reveal what his role was initially.

Madeleine McCann.
He told people that he had a daughter the same age as Madeleine.

Last night the semi-detached home in The Street, Hockering, where Dawn Murat lives was surrounded by members of the media and she and another woman - both carrying children - along with a man were driven away by police at about 10pm to a secret location.

A Norfolk Police spokesman said: “We have responded to the situation as it has developed.”

He added that no-one had been arrested at the address in Hockering and no-one in the village was being questioned.

It is believed the people taken from the Hockering address had been taken away to protect them from the media scrutiny.

Today a police presence remains at the house.

Villagers and former work colleagues spoke of their shock that Mr Murat was being questioned by police over the case of the missing four-year-old Madeleine.

He worked for several years selling cars in Norwich for companies including Desira and Inchcape.

Mr Murat also previously worked for Bernard Matthews at the Great Witchingham factory and played darts locally.

Retired farmworker Geoffrey Livock, 71, of Manor Close, Hockering, said he had last seen Mr Murat about a year ago but had regularly spoken to his ex-wife.

He recalled he had been to see Mrs Murat a few days ago and her ex-husband had rung while he was there and was talking about Madeleine's disappearance.

“Rob rang Dawn and said he was doing some interpreting work in Portugal involving the little girl who had gone missing.”

“He seemed a decent sort of chap and got on well with everybody,” said Mr Livock, who said the couple had been married about 11 years.

Chris Rivett, who worked with Mr Murat at Desira in Norwich from 2002-2004 said he was “a very good salesman” and was “a down to earth, solid, dependable guy.”

“He was very diligent and the last person on earth you would think could do anything outside the law.”

Mr Murat's cousin, Sally Eveleigh, said there was ``absolutely no way' he could have anything to do with Madeleine's disappearance.

She agreed that Mr Murat's daughter looked very like the missing girl, but added that lots of children could look similar to her.

“Are we going to accuse all the fathers of all these children of that?' she said.

Ms Eveleigh, who runs a guesthouse near Lagos, close to Praia da Luz, said: “They (police) had heard from English reporters that this was happening, that Robert had said he missed his daughter so much.

“And from that, because they've got nothing to go on, they've all started assuming.

“We had dinner with them on Saturday night, him and his mother. He was so calm, they stayed at the table when we left - if you're doing something bad, there's no way you would be doing that.

“And I've known him all his life - he's much younger than me - and there's absolutely no way. He loves children, but not to something like that."

Police in Portugal stressed Mr Murat and “one or two” others were being questioned but no-one had been arrested.

A few days after Madeleine disappeared Sunday Mirror journalist Lori Campbell reported him to the Portuguese police because she thought he was suspicious.

She said: "Basically he surfaced on Friday afternoon last week and was walking around as if he was somebody official. He claimed that he was just a local guy who spoke fluent Portuguese and English and was helping the family.

"He was coming in and out of the family apartment speaking with the media and acting like he was somebody official. But when questioned about it, he was very vague about his position.

"He said he just volunteered to help the police with their investigation.

"He was in and out of their apartment throughout the week. He said he was just helping to translate witness statements.

"He kept trying to emphasise parts of the investigation such as 'maybe she's gone to Spain, maybe it's too late'."

Ms Campbell said he told her that he had a three or four-year-old daughter.

A Sunday Mirror spokesman said: "Our reporter Lori Campbell became suspicious of Mr Robert Murat's behaviour early on in the hunt for Madeleine McCann and last Monday, after discussions with the London office, reported him to the Portuguese police at the scene.

"Lori also spoke to the British Embassy and police in Leicestershire, who took a statement."

Local translator Gaynor de Jesus, who went to school with Mr Murat, said she was "shocked" at the development.

She said Murat had joked with her about media rumours that he was a suspect in Madeleine's disappearance.

Ms de Jesus, 32, said of Mr Murat: "He said he had a daughter who was Madeleine's age and looked very like her.

"I remember him saying a couple of years ago that he had become a father.

"I lost touch with him. This was the first I've seen of him for many years.

"I didn't realise he spoke that good Portuguese, to be honest, I never pictured him as a translator. I never even realised that he had such a good relationship with the local police."

Dave Shelton, a local expatriate Briton who organised volunteer searches across the area since Madeleine's disappearance, had been due to help organise Mr Murat's mother's stall in the town.

The idea was to gather information from people who otherwise might be unwilling to speak to police.

He said he had known Mr Murat for many years but they had not been particularly close.

"I had a coffee with him on Saturday morning. He was telling me how he was working with the Policia Judiciaria and had to sign a declaration of secrecy, or whatever it was, and that he couldn't discuss the case with me at all."

Madeleine was snatched from her bed 11 nights ago while her parents were dining in a tapas bar opposite their holiday apartment.