Kate McCann Named a Suspect

LONDON, Sept. 7, 2007 — -- She moved England and the world with a four-month massive media campaign to retrieve her missing daughter.

Today, Kate McCann, the mother of Madeleine McCann, who was 3 when she disappeared, was formally declared a suspect by the Portuguese police and given the status of "arguido." Gerry McCann's sister, Philomena, told ITV news that Kate McCann has been offered a plea deal of two years or less in jail if she admits to accidentally poisoning the child.

"They tried to get her to confess to having accidentally killed Madeleine by offering her a deal through her lawyer - 'if you say you killed Madeleine by accident and then hid her and disposed of the body, then we can guarantee you a two-year jail sentence or even less,"' the sister told ITV news.

The couple continued to strenuously profess their innocence Friday.

"By acquiring the status of arguido," said Rosemary de Rougemont, a lawyer specializing in Portuguese law, "Kate McCann will acquire the right to remain silent and to be legally represented."

McCann will have to submit to any forensic test and the judge may also restrict her movements and ask her to make regular contacts with the police, Rougemont said.

McCann and her husband, Gerry, reported Madeleine missing May 3 after the couple reportedly put the child to bed and went to dinner a short distance away in the resort of Praia da Luz, Algarve.

McCann returned today to the police for further questioning. When she arrived at the police station, people booed her for the first time, said Alison Roberts, with the BBC in Portugal.

McCann looked "very nervous and frail," said Roberts. "It's understandable. She had been questioned for 11 hours the day before."

Relations between the McCanns and the police have deteriorated lately with the discovery of blood samples in the bedroom of the Portugal apartment. Tests were conducted on blood samples, clothes and other items from the residence. The results of the tests, conducted in a British laboratory, haven't been made public.

But authorities now have some results from the tests, according to a police spokesman quoted in press reports.

"Police suggested that they have found Maddie's blood in the car that was hired by [the] McCanns 25 days after Maddie disappeared," said Justin McGuinness, the McCanns' spokesman, in an interview with the BBC.

"They believe that they have evidence to show that in some way she is involved in her daughter's death," said McGuinness.