Thinking the unthinkable: Did Madeleine McCann's parents kill her?

No

4 of 18

by David Chaproniere

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The McCann's are many things: publicity seeking, foolish to have left their children alone, manipulators of the press in the eyes of the cynics among us, saintly in the eyes of many parents with young children, saboteurs of a local tourist economy; but they are not killers.

It might be reasonable to say, however, that that their irresponsibility led to Madeleine's disappearance, and it is this which calls into question the level of positive coverage surrounding them. The fact that they left their very young children alone in their room while the parents and friends dined out is nothing short of shocking - and in hindsight I am sure the McCanns will agree with that. It is certainly something they will have to live with for the rest of their lives. Whether the children had been sedated also calls the parents general good press into question: did they use their medical knowledge to drug their children and therefore leave them easy prey for a kidnapper? The facts are decidedly murky on this matter; yet if the McCanns did indeed sedate their kids, again that is something they will have on their conscience for a very long time to come.

This is not to say that all parents should be super responsible; there is, though, a generally acceptable standard regarding child care. Yes, parents can make mistakes, and no child can be one hundred percent safe from risk or harm, but it is a parent's duty to care for a child to the very best of his or her ability. To leave very young children alone or to drug them to ensure they sleep is, surely, tantamount to child neglect.

It seems the media, particularly the newspapers, as so often happens in such situations, are turning against the McCanns, but then the McCanns have generated such mass media coverage that it is hardly surprising that the press will begin to find fault with them. It was seen as rather ironic that, when they returned to Britain, the McCanns pleaded for privacy, having ensured they remained in the public eye for months. Those of us who are now weary of the daily headlines regarding Madeleine certainly wish their privacy could be granted, if only so that the media can go back to reporting on more pressing issues such as flooding in Africa, the impact of the "credit crunch", upcoming elections in Pakistan, or the troublesome Zimbabwe and Iran. But this story rumbles on, and shows no signs of slowing. Hardly surprising, then, that when the McCanns become suspects themselves, the media circus pounces and ratchets up the headlines accordingly.

Whether the McCanns are victims of circumstance or guilty because of their own publicity-driven motives depends on one's personal view. However, as foolish as they have been when it comes to the care of their children, no one could be so foolish as to kill their own child and then generate and fuel the media frenzy as they have.

Meanwhile, pity the many poor children who have gone missing, past and present: they will unlikely have their plight reported in much detail all the while the McCanns hog the limelight. As much as I empathise with the vanished Madeleine and whatever may have befallen her, no one child should carry the weight of so many others as she does.

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