The play was set to begin. No time for rehearsals, when suddenly an extra appeared, an extra who had no place in the events about to take place.Shortly after 9 pm May 3rd, Jez Wilkins, the famous TV Director had become a major player in the abduction of Madeleine McCann. Later, newspaper headlines would scream ‘Madeleine and the Silent Witness’ the man who would clear the McCanns.
When we look at the police statements, no one has come forward to say they saw any of the group walking around or near any apartments on any other night.
Wilkins, did see Tanner May 3rd, but much earlier in the evening, he remembers she wore a purple dress and was standing outside her apartment. If Tanner saw Wilkins she has never said so.
Tanner has not mentioned seeing Jez and if what Jez says is true ,at some stage in the evening Jane changed her clothes.
Gerry McCann was seen the evening of May 3rd leaving or returning to his apartment by someone who knew him. The young Irish girl (not sure if this young lady exists)also saw McCann and Wilkins talking together... no one has denied that this meeting did take place.
The problem for McCann is that this messed up his well thought out plan. The timing of Tanner seeing Wilkins, McCann and the abductor all at around 9.15 or 9.20 pm means if, as McCann claims, he had just checked his children and all was well the abduction took all of four minutes and while he and Jez were standing outside the apartment.
McCann needed to explain why he was there to Jez, checking his children and telling him if he had not been with a group they would not have left the children alone, the seed was planted, the children alone left a window of opportunity for an abduction. Wilkins later had a knock on his door not to ask for help but to inform him McCanns child had been abducted.
Tanner gave McCann an alibi by saying she saw him and the abductor at the same time. The Smith Sighting, if anyone later would think they recognized McCann, was now covered. (Or so they thought)
There are no witnesses for any other evening, no one saw anything because there was nothing to see.
The plan would have been so simple, the McCanns would have returned to the apartment after dinner and drinks, (drinks paid for by credit cards that they claim not to have had.).... at a much later time, their usual 11.30 or 12.00 pm. The simulated abduction planned to take place at just before 10.00 pm would leave more than ample time to play on neglect.Instead, we only have a window of four minutes at the most for the abductor to have entered, jemmied shutters, grabbed a sleeping Madeleine without disturbing the twins in their blanketless cots and make his get away.
Had things gone to plan, I believe we would not be sitting here at our keyboards trying to discover what really happened to Maddie. There would have been evidence of a forced entry and anger from the public at the amount of hours the children were left alone but leaving a huge opportunity for an ‘abductor’ to have taken a child.
Wilkins foiled the plan and a new idea was whipped up, the tearing of a childs book to write on and fit a timeline, children checking, to match the meet with Wilkins.
Bridget O’Donnell , the partner of Jez, what is her role in all of this ?
December 14th 2007, Bridget wrote an article for the Guardian. Bridget either has a very bad memory, or she said things to mislead. Tennis coach Georgina Jackson said Madeleine had a tennis lesson on Tuesday May 1st... Bridget admits Madeleine and her daughter were in the same group as they had both practiced for a dance to be shown the following Friday... why then did Bridget say the tennis lesson was on Thursday morning, the day after Madeleine vanished?
Bridget also claims they sat in the afternoon sun and laughed as Gerry practiced his tennis swing. Again Georgina in her witness statement said she had seen Jez and McCann talking but very few words... there does not appear to be this friendship Bridget would like us to believe.
Bridget also tried to make the PJ look foolish by claiming they did not recognize a photograph of Madeleine, she was also very unpleasant about Robert Murat.
