| cr3_6 |
 |
| cr3_7 |
 |
| cr3_8 |
 |
| cr3_9 |
 |
| cr3_10 |
 |
Leicestershire Police Squad
Witness Statement
CJ Act 1967, s.9; MC Act 1980, ss.5'(3) e 5B; Regular Criminal
Process 2005, Decision: 27.1
Janet KENNEDY
Occupation: Retired Teacher
This statement (consisting of five pages and signed by me) is
the truth and in accordance with my understanding. I offer this
evidence with the knowledge that, if proven to the contrary, I
may be subject to litigation if having voluntarily witnessed
something which is false or does not correspond to the truth.
Date: 14th April, 2008
I am married to Brian KENNEDY. We have two children together,
now adults. One of them has a child of his/her own. Brian has a
sister whose name is Susan Healy who is the mother of Kate
Healy/McCann; Kate is married to Gerald McCann and has three
children, Madeleine, Sean and Amelie. Kate was the bridesmaid
when I married Brian and has maintained a close relationship
with our family since adolescence, because she is an only child
and was part of a very close group with our children.
Both Brian and I are retired teachers and have worked in
numerous schools in Leicester and Birmingham, respectively.
After the birth of my children, I stayed at home with them
without working for a few years. I remember that we moved to
Rothley in Leicester in 1982. I remember perfectly the day
because we had a terrible rain storm/floods.
I resumed teaching until 1998, the year I retired. I then became
a moral and religious education counsellor in Catholic schools
for six years. I have also done voluntary work, but am very
close to family and have a very strong bond with the entire
family.
I am particularly close to Kate and Gerry, and remember that
when they moved to Leicester, before Madeleine's birth, our
house was always open to them 'they were frequent visitors, often
overnight' I believe that this is something I inherited from my
mother.
I would say we have a good relationship with them; we have given
them much help and generally, our family functions well closely.
We are always present when someone needs us.
Gerry first started coming to Leicester in order to participate
in cardiology conferences held at Glenfield Hospital. It was
usual for us to fetch him at the airport and take him to the
conference and later return him to the airport. It is for this
reason the family serves and we were always present when Kate or
Gerry needed us. After selling our home in Glasgow, Kate rented
a room in The Limes in Rothley and Gerry stayed at the
hospital' I think that he made circuits between Glenfield
Leicester Royal Infirmary and the Boston Hospitals. They married
in 1998. They arranged to buy a home in Queniborough. I remember
that Kate was anxious to have children and I also remember the
day she informed us she was pregnant with Madeleine.
I had a close friend, Sister Margaret, who stayed with us for a
few days and whom Kate invited along with us to take tea. I told
her not to worry as we had guests, but she was very persistent.
She was seated at the table and gave us the good news. She was
positively radiant and happy. I remember Sister Margaret telling
me what a privilege it was to have been involved in a tender
family moment such as this one.
After Kate and Gerry's move to Leicestershire, we naturally
began to see each other with greater frequency. Kate had a
normal pregnancy and continued to work but always took care of
herself and swam a lot during her pregnancy.
When Madeleine was born, the entire family was present to help
support Kate who did not return to work as she felt her place
was at home. Following the birth of the twins, she only returned
to work part-time when they were one year old. I remember that
in the beginning, Madeleine did not sleep well at night, and
needed much attention.
When Madeleine was small, Gerry arranged work in Amsterdam and
shortly after living there with Kate, she discovered that she
was pregnant with twins. There were some problems with this
pregnancy and she needed lots of bed rest. Once again the family
helped. They travelled back and forth to offer help. However,
even though this was the case, Kate never neglected her care of
Madeleine even tough it was very complicated.
Kate had a few scares during her pregnancy with the twins and I
remember that it was necessary for a doctor to certify her
ability to travel by airplane home with me, on the 1st December.
Gerry and Madeleine travelled in the family car and via 'ferry'.
Madeleine was very close to Gerry; she was always at his side.
Madeleine, Sean and Amelie were all born via I.V.F. and all of
us in the family believe that these children were a blessing
from God. The three children are all very special and very
loved. Kate's trials with I.V.F. did not all go well and it was
very traumatic and uncomfortable.
Kate possesses a natural maternal instinct, also due to having
worked in obstetrics in new Zealand and in Glasgow. Kate worries
about people, she is kind and courteous. Gerry is a typical male
and is very organised, but I feel it is Kate who dominates.
Gerry adores Kate. At times, Gerry appears to be totally
absorbed in his work showing some difficulty concentrating
outside of this realm. Kate brings him back to reality. At
times, he can appear rude or curt. I would say that they have a
fresh relationship, and they are very much in love with one
another and admire each other immensely. Gerry is very paternal,
not only with his children but this is a natural trait that has
nothing to do with his experience as a doctor.
When Madeleine was small she would cry a lot. She was a very
active baby who did not sleep well. She liked to be carried. She
liked people to move around with her and to sing to her. Kate
and Gerry found that she craved a lot of attention and were
grateful for the help from other members of the family.
They did not show resentment towards Madeleine and I would say
that as parents they functioned very well.
Madeleine would normally go to bed around 19:30 ' 20:00 and Sean
and Amelie around 18:30 ' 19:00. As already mentioned, together
Kate and Gerry were very precise about sleep time.
The children would occasionally awake during the night,
particularly when they wanted to eat or be changed. Kate and
Gerry would get up and take care of them ' it was for this
reason they wanted to check on them when they were out.
Because Madeleine did occasionally have bad nights, Kate
arranged a bonus system. She would get up in the middle of the
night, would go to her parent's room to ensure they were there
and would return to her own bed. This situation had gotten
better before they went to Portugal.
The bonus system appears to have functioned well with Madeleine.
She also had one for swimming if I remember well. The kitchen
was replete with bonuses.
I had a conversation with Kate regarding care of the children in
particular, leaving the children to cry until exhaustion and
Kate and I both agreed that this was not correct and that the
attention should be placed on calking them down. As parents,
Kate and Gerry did not let their children cry.
Kate is good with motherhood; she is calm and has the capacity
of maintaining equilibrium between the children and cares for
all their necessities.
I never saw Kate or Gerry punish the children physically, and as
referred to previously in this statement, they make use of other
strategies which the children seemed to take well to. I never
saw Kate or Gerry administer any type of medication to help the
children sleep. Both Amelie and Madeleine have taken 'Calpol' (paracetamol)
to control fever, but nothing more.
I have no knowledge of Kate or Gerry taking any medication, nor
do I believe that they have ever been in the position of not
knowing what to do with the children.
Madeleine is a normal child who likes challenges. She is smart,
active, required a lot of attention, participates, loves to
play, and who had a wonderful imagination. She is a fantastic
little girl.
I never noted that Madeleine was unhappy at home. Life has its
ups and downs. She had falls and incidents, as does any child.
When the twins were born, it took her a while to adapt, but she
surpassed this moment. She loves the twins and teaches them and
shares with them. Madeleine is very wise for her age.
On the day before the Portugal trip, I went to their house to
keep the children occupied whilst Kate and Gerry packed their
bags. We went to the garden and Madeleine recited the book 'We're going on a bear hunt'. She recited this fantastically and
without any evidence of unhappiness.
I feel a great injustice in relation to Kate and Gerry' to the
way people judged them. They checked on their children
constantly; the children always came first so that their routine
was not disturbed. Kate and Gerry believed that it was safe.
Relative to the allegation that Madeleine made regarding Sean's
crying, I do not have any idea what possessed Madeleine to make
such an affirmation and also would state that Madeleine had a
very fertile imagination.
This situation is profoundly sad. They made a decision that the
children were safe and this is something they will have to live
with for the rest of their lives. The power of hindsight is
wonderful. 'The people that have been most punished for having
done nothing wrong are Kate and Gerry'.
Their life was optimal, the development of Madeleine was good,
she began walking and talking very early. She was smart,
attentive and full of imagination. The twins were born in 2005
and I remember that Kate was great with both of them and
Madeleine. Kate possessed a diary for the twins and their
feedings. Madeleine dealt well with the arrival of the twins
although she was only 22 months old at the time. There was
occasionally a pinch or a poke but nothing more than pure
jealously. As they began to grow up, they loved their older
sister, and spent a lot of time with her. Madeleine taught them
many things.
I remember one occasion when I was taking care of them and
Madeleine took out her doctor play toys and used the thermometer
to hit Sean on the head. I spoke with her about taking care of
her siblings and not hurting them, at which time she hit Sean
once again -- Madeleine was like this, very energetic.
Gerry and Kate are good rationalisers, they do not hit. They
have their proper strategy which involves taking the child out
of the situation and putting them in time-out, close the door,
and let the child think about what they have done. This always
seemed to gain results.
Last year, Kate and Gerry bought the children a toy for the
garden. Madeleine was so confident in her strength, as she was
in the protection of the twins. I was always close to the
children and now I am even more. I told them that I would visit
them at least once a week and we would normally go to the
park'we are like the substitute grandparents. Since the
disappearance of Madeleine we developed an even closer bond with
the twins and help the family pick them up from the creche when
it is necessary.
We never travelled together as a family. We did have a trip
planned for October of last year but sadly, after the
disappearance, it was not realised. We have spent important
family time at Christmas and Easter. We have also spent some
time in Kate and Gerrys house during the children's birthdays.
At one celebration, we got to know David and Fiona Payne who are
intimate friends of theirs. L*** Payne is the same age as
Madeleine, and Kate and Fiona became friends as the children
grew. What is evident is that both mothers are similarly
dedicated and loving. David appears to be an emotionally calm
man with a good heart. Kate always said that he was too kind and
at work needed to be a bit more forceful.
The statement that follows was elaborated in response to
questions asked by the PJ:
Madeleine frequented the creche three times per week and the
twins two times per week.
Kate returned to work two days per week and would be home on
Fridays and Mondays.
Kate believed that it was important to stay at home to raise her
children. They possessed freedom of movement and were able to go
to the park, travel, and enjoy life. She enjoyed maintaining a
routine with respect to the children's feedings, namely, the
type of food and the hour it was administered.
When night arrived, the routine was tea, bath,
tooth-brushing' that all liked to do this so that after they
could be inspected ' story for bedtime, pray 'what they could '
and bed.
Precisely related to this routine at home is why Kate rejected
the idea of using the Ocean Club facilities and lay the children
to sleep on one of the mattresses in a common area. It was for
this reason that she and Gerry decided to leave the children
sleeping in their apartment and checking on them regularly.
This statement was made by me and is the truth in accordance
with my understanding.
|
