Thoughts on the case from crime expert Pat Brown

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Why do People Tweet so Much about the Madeleine McCann Case?

The news media is reporting that McCann skeptic Brenda Leyland tweeted some 4220 times about the McCann case (how they got this number I am not sure) and, certainly, that does raise an eyebrow as to the issue of obsession and, to some people, trolling. Although I myself think, wow, that is a heck of a lot of tweets on one subject, I quite frankly don't want to count how many I have tweeted on the matter and that would be on top of my seventy plus posts at The Daily Profiler on the Madeleine McCann case, a whole lot of Facebook posts, a trip to Portugal to analyze the case, oh, and yeah, a book, too. So I guess that wouldn't put me far off of Brenda Leyland's numbers except I could claim I have more validity for speaking on a case as I am a professional profiler and Brenda, well, she is just a "regular" person (in fact, my haters will say any "real" professional profiler would never have spent as much time as I have on this case without pay....that I am just doing it because I am a nutter and self-promoter...you can't win with this case, as a professional or a layperson when it comes to being called a troll).

But there is a perfectly logical reason why both so many people are spending an incredible amout of time ruminating about this case; there has not been a case like this since I don't know when. I think this case beats out the JonBenet Ramsey case and the Charles Lindbergh case for many reasons, the biggest which is the McCanns themselves. The case is fascinating, bizarre, a media magnet (so the media should have no right to mock anyone for their interest in the case), and unsolved. And to top it all off, we have a set of parents who act like no other set of parents of missing children, parents who have courted the media from Day One and sucked a massive amount of money out of goodhearted people and sued the crap out of anyone who dares to "purport a theory" (a right everyone has as stated by Gerry McCann under oath).

So, Brenda couldn't let go of this case? I can understand why. Was it healthy for her? I have no idea. Did it give her something to do or did it drive her crazy? Did she lose faith in justice? Did she lose faith in the government? In law enforcement? In the media? Was the doorstopping the last straw? We will never have the answers to this but I can surely state that Brenda is not alone in wanting to get to the truth of the McCann matter.

I have pretty much given up on that. I believe we have a whitewash in progress and this whole affair will be put to bed and the answers we all seek may have to wait for another time, if that time ever actually arrives. It saddens me because it seems wrong for so many to try so hard to just get this case handled honestly and properly. Some do it for justice for Madeleine, some do it for justice for all missing children, some keep on to insure our governments act properly, and some want the McCanns to justify their use of the money so many have given to them to "find" Madeleine only to find their money squandered.

As a profiler who has worked on cases from the inside, I can tell people that the McCann case isn't the only one that has had the truth hidden about it. I have seen police lie to the public, prosecutors lie to the public, evidence claimed to exist that doesn't exist, people convicted wrongly that no one cares enough about to be sure that due process was served, I have seen DNA reportedly matched when, in fact, no DNA actually exists. Why does this happen? Because it can and because the media knows which side their bread is buttered on and unless there is going to be a hell of a lot more in it for them than the next few easy stories from the police department, they aren't going to print anything controversial. Sadly, most police detectives work hard and want to see the right person convicted of the crime but politics sometimes overtakes the case, and when that happens, truth and justice and anyone who cares about these things become collateral damage. Just like Brenda.


Criminal Profiler Pat Brown

October 8, 2014


http://patbrownprofiling.blogspot.co.uk/

I think 4220 tweets in seven years is not much. One would have to say at the same time (the reader enlighten) the tweet is something like talking, talk to an audience. The average person speaks about 16,000 words a day. In tweets we repeat ourselves, as in the talk. No, 4220 tweets about a topic that captivates you - because one senses injustice - that is not much. For many of us, the forums were like an endless conversation about this case. We are not to blame, that the case is not resolved.

And how many words in Kate McCann`s book?
How many words have the McCanns spoken on TV sofas, Leveson, radio etc.
I`m sure if amounts to far more than Brenda`s over the years.

But then us `regulars` aren`t allowed to express opinions are we.

What`s the world coming to - all these plebs expressing their opinions - can`t have that can we.

They've probably counted all the tweets containing the #mccann hashtag, but that doesn't mean that every tweet was about them, it's used to be included in that thread of conversation.

Isn't defending the McCanns (by attacking antis with abuse which actually is 'vile') every day from dusk till dawn even stranger? Campaigning against an injustice seems to me to be a compulsive motivation, it's something I can understand. Rabidly defending the McCanns is something that strikes me as an obsession. Either that, or a job.

Just look at the behaviour of some football 'fans' .
We all have our obsessions, whether they are harmful or not is another matter, but they're an intrinsic part of the human condition.

I don't think some of these people understand why they behave in the way that they do, something in them compels them to defend their 'side' no matter the rationale behind it.

Thank goodness for critical thinkers, we could do with more of them.

I hear what you are saying but to me the car is not so important as to what was alerted to in the apartment,the crime happened there,if it can be proved that Madeleine died there then the car is only part of the evidence in transporting a corpse if this is what it was used for to a final resting place,the car is all part of a conspiracy to hide a body,the real crime happened before,all IMO of course based on nothing.

The blood they found in the car (at the reservoir) was aspirated over the interior, it was argued at the time it could have come from sneezing and having taken cocaine. (I live in North Devon)

Andrew wrote:http://florida.newszap.com/okeechobeenorthlake/139161-113/cadaver-dogs-to-search-boys-school-property-in-okeechobee?printerfriendly=true

I read that article, it made my blood run cold.  My heart bleeds for all those poor boys who had to endure so much misery and nobody heard their cries, just like the stories we're now reading regarding paedos in high places, the children had nobody to turn to surrounded by such evil.

I wonder if anyone heard Madeleine's cries and she was ignored?  (I'm not including Mrs Fenn in that, she had no direct responsibility for MBM.)

Pat Browns take on the photo isuue.

http://patbrownprofiling.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/why-mccanns-love-conspiracy-theorists_6.html

Yesterday, I wrote about how unsolved cases can sometimes garner such great interest that the public may overanalyze every piece of information and come up with a more and more complicated theory about what happened and why the crime has not been solved. Someone who read the post then wrote me and said if the very in-depth theories about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann had no validity - that "The Last Photo" is photoshopped and wasn't take on the day claimed, that Maddie died way before May 3, that the entire evening of May 3 including the negligant behavior was just staged to make a kidnapping scenario possible, that Maddie never was in the creche during the week leading up until she vanished, that there is something far more sinister involved in the disappeance of Madeleine than an accidental death and panicked cover-up - then the McCanns would have offered more proof of Maddie being alive until May 3 in order to quell these damning theories.

But, in reality, these theories do nothing but benefit the McCanns' claims that Internet crazies and trolls are making ridiculous claims; it is the far more likely scenario, the simple one of negligence and a desperate cover-up that the McCanns would like to go away. This is why they want Amaral's book off the market, why they want my book off the market - the truth is what they fear being proven, not a myriad of farout theories promoted by people with no power to influence law enforcement. The more fantastical the theories, the easier it is to discredit those who create them.

In fact, the McCanns love convoluted scenarios so much, they hired a bunch of crooked private investigators to create all kinds of bizarre kidnapping scenarios because they know the public loves to latch on to fascinating puzzles and that keeps the money coming in. Can you imagine how few donations they would have received if their PIs only looked for a local pedophile who would have killed Maddie within hours of abducting her? Not many would have supported that kind of search....it is just sad and boring and even if it brings closure to the parents and saves other children's lives, there is just nothing very inspiring about searching for a dead child.

The McCanns also have to be happy about the complicated scenarios that Scotland Yard has managed to develop because, again, it takes the focus off of a simple crime that points to them being involved.

If only all the focus of everyone - the public, the police, and professionals - simply looked back at May 3rd, 2007 and analyzed what went wrong that evening, how the McCanns likely dealt with it, and what they  could have done to destroy the evidence of their involvement and, most importantly, focused on where her body might be  - the one piece of evidence that could lead to an actual conviction - maybe then, this case would have a chance of being solved and justice done.

I don't believe there is a snowball's chance in hell of this happening at this point, but it is a shame that  more effort isn't put into just that.

I don't think a pic of  Maddie was taken of her on her own at the pool, to me, it's been cropped and printed for the frame beside the computer. It's easily done.

Does Pat Browwn sum it up for you Walt? I've pooh pooed the photo threads and thought they were only put up to time waste. Look back on the threads and tell me where I have supported anything other than ' maybe' a time and date has been changed. Look at the picture on this forum ( I'm on iPad and cannot post the pic again,but it is on here anyhow!) check Gerrys right ear as the leg should meet his ear and tell me that is the way it should be. Maybe we have a duff image? Find one that shows Iam wrong. This is the only time (apart from bizarre compositions) that I have any truck with Photoshopping. I await your reply or Pat Browns.

Bampots wrote:Does Pat Browwn sum it up for you Walt?

KISS,is what she says I believe.

32 comments so far on the blog, some interesting discussion!

http://patbrownprofiling.blogspot.co.uk/

Any comment on picture Walt?

Bampots wrote:Any comment on picture Walt?

I answered in the other thread,but just to reiterate,I read the thread's about the picture with interest,but am happy to admit not to understanding half of what was said,do I believe its been altered,no.

Thanks Walt. I had / have similar thought but can't explain leg of glasses.m

Could I just say that I have never heard the side piece of a pair of glasses called a leg, only an arm!

Freedom wrote:Could I just say that I have never heard the side piece of a pair of glasses called a leg, only an arm!

Have had this discussion many times. English friends call it the arm, Scots say leg

A new pair of specs has just cost me an arm and a leg.

Thank you, Chirpy - it's that language barrier again between England and Scotland!

Aye jist so Freedom! But reflect on this,an arm generally picks things up for use or inspection,whereas legs undeniably support.

HiDeHo has written an excellent piece over the way on the Pat`s blog thread but, as usual, she is being told she is wrong by a sock. Just cannot help himself it seems.

It will be interesting to see how HiDeHo responds. She has suddenly started posting there more often, hasn't she?

Could I just say again that Mr B has strongly denied having any current duplicate accounts.