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Witness statement
FAWKES; Claire Louise
Occupation: Teacher
Date: 22 nd April 2008
Signature
_________________________________________
I am the person referred to at the address above
where I live with my husband S**** and daughter
R*** aged 3½.
At Easter my family had two weeks holiday. I do
not remember the exact date we travelled but I
know it was a Saturday after Easter. We
travelled to the OC, P da L in the Algarve in
Portugal.
We had never stayed at a MW resort before but
the facilities in relation to child care and
sporting activities were attractive. We
travelled from Gatwick to Faro and were
transferred to the resort by MW reps. The
holidays were booked as a complete package
through MW.
Upon arrival we were allocated an apartment
identified as G5 A or something similar. It was
the corner apartment on the ground floor of a
block of two or three storeys. Our apartment had
two bedrooms and a patio with a door that opened
onto the terrace opposite the swimming pool,
restaurant and OC children's playing area. The
other entrance led onto the parking area.
During the holidays we would occasionally place
R*** in the crêche when we were doing other
activities. On the Wednesday or Thursday of the
second week of our holiday I received a phone
call from a MW employee saying that R*** had
fallen in the crêche and had cut her chin. When
I arrived at the club she had almost stopped
bleeding, but even so and through precaution we
took her to a doctor in P da L, who put in some
stitches. I do not remember if she bled again
after this or whether she did in the apartment,
but it is a possibility. However nobody else
injured themselves or died during the holiday.
I was not robbed during the holiday and none of
our possessions disappeared. I never detected
the presence of anyone strange near the
apartment. R*** slept in the bedroom whose
window looked over the parking area. It had a
window which I think we never opened and a metal
shutter that covered the entire window on the
outside, but which was controlled from the
inside of the bedroom either electronically or
by a belt that was pulled. It was nearly always
closed, but on occasions we would open it to
have more light. As far as I can remember the
shutter worked perfectly well. We never had a
bad experience with the windows or doors.
In order to enter and leave the apartment we
would always use the front door that led onto
the parking area given that the patio door could
only be locked from the inside.
When you entered into the living room from the
patio, there was a coffee table opposite with a
sofa parallel to the kitchen. I do not remember
whether the sofa was pushed against the wall. I
think there was sufficient space to pass behind
the sofa and the dining table.
I made a sketch which I showed as proof to CLF
and which I delivered to DC Wright. We did not
move any of the furniture in the apartment.
As I have already said we travelled to Portugal
with our daughter R*** who slept in the back
bedroom, opposite the pool area. I used to refer
to her bedroom as the lilac room because the
bedclothes and curtains were lilac.
We would generally walk to the MW restaurant at
a distance of 5 or 10 minutes to have breakfast.
We would normally have lunch in the apartment.
During the first week of the holidays we would
return to the same restaurant for dinner. I
can't remember what the restaurant was called.
During the second week we would sometimes dine
at the Tapas. My husband and I would have dinner
out each night. While we were out we would hand
Ruth over to the care of MW babysitters. The
normal procedure was to dress her in pyjamas at
about 19.00 and at 19.30 take her to the place
near to the reception. Ruth would stay in the
care of MW staff until they (children) were
ready to sleep. If they were tired, there were
beds available for the children to sleep in. We
would collect R*** on out return to the
apartment at about 21.30 - 22.00. This service
was included in the holiday package and was
available until 23.00.
We never left R*** on her own. When she was not
with us she was in the organised care of someone
who looked after the children.
On the Friday before our return home, my husband
had gone to the beach leaving R*** and I in the
apartment. The keys were also in the apartment
but I couldn't find them, so I felt unable to
take R*** to the crêche.
I was worried and went to the terrace to see if
I could spot S****. It was at this moment that I
saw three road sweepers in the immediate area.
They all appeared to be staring in my direction
and I felt they were observing me. I had
wondered whether to leave the apartment open
whilst I took R*** to the crêche but from the
moment that I felt observed, this idea lost its
appeal. They were all men and wearing overalls
that reminded me of surgical outfits. I do not
remember anymore about them.
I handed a CD to DC 4064 HOLLIDAY on 15h45 of
22nd April 2008 containing some pictures of our
holidays at the MW resort. It was referenced as
CLF2. |
