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NOTE: There are
several OCR errors in this statement, all created when it was
burned to the DVD. I have either made a "best guess" or ignored
them, so the translation is not always word-for-word.
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Witness
Statement 2007/11/16 11h30 DIC Portimao
Lizelle Joubert Marais
Despite being a South African national she understands
Portuguese though better in its oral form than written.
She states being the chef in the GOLFINHO
restaurant at 14-A, rua da Calheta, Praia da Luz, where she had
performed her duties for about 5 years. She is married to
Adriaan, the chief of staff ["the boss"] of the restaurant.
She found out about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann on 3
May, at around 23h00/23h30 when she left the restaurant. Her
husband and the owner were still in a bar while she was on the
floor above the restaurant where she stayed on occasions. She
was in bed when she heard noise in the street seeming to come
from some people who were calling in loud voices for MADIE,
MADIE. She called her husband and it was he who told her that a
young girl had disappeared from an apartment of the Ocean Club.
She stayed at home with her baby, waiting for her husband to
come home, which he did after having helped with the search for
the child and he told her exactly what had happened.
Asked about if, during the days before or after the
disappearance, she had seen anything strange in the area, she
said Yes, she had. The restaurant where she worked was about 700
metres from the Ocean Club, near to the church. Some days
previously, not knowing exactly when but it had been during the
previous week, she became aware of an individual in the 'square'
next to the restaurant where she worked, who had behaved in
manner she thought strange. She worked in the kitchen and
through a door there she had seen that person in the square at
various times. The person used the public telephone [in the
square] for long periods of time, always for more than 10
minutes. To her, the person did not appear to be either a
tourist or a resident of the town. One time she had passed close
to him and had felt 'strange' but did not know why.
She described him as being male, white with tanned skin, around
30 years old, between 1,70 and 1,75m tall, and of normal build.
She recalled he had dark hair, it looked like dark brown, long
at the back but not fully covering his neck. She does not
remember the front because he sometimes wore a cap. She cannot
describe the hat or its colour. She did not see any glasses but
is sure that he had no beard or moustache. She remembers that
his eyes were small but not their colour. He had a small mouth
with thin lips. She does not recall any other details. She did
not hear him speak so she does not know if he was Portuguese or
foreign, but she had the feeling that he was not Portuguese. She
understood? [thought; imagined] him to be English. She would
recognise him again, in person or by photograph. She recalls
seeing him wear a red T-shirt but does not recall any details
about his trousers or footwear.
As already said, the individual came there on several days, not
knowing exactly which. She remember that the last time she saw
him was two or three days before the girl's disappearance. He
never returned [She never saw him return]. Being shown the
portraits created as part of the investigation along with
various photographs from the case file, she did not recognise
the individual nor any similarity. With respect to the picture
made by Jane Tanner, attached, she affirmed that the hair in the
picture was similar to that of the individual she had seen, as
referred to in this statement, such as the colour and the
hairstyle. Also the build of the person in the picture appeared
similar but she couldn't affirm it was the same person due the
lack of facial features in the picture.
Despite not being able to say on exactly which days he was in
the area, she could affirm that he was there once at lunchtime
and on other days between 16h00 and 18h00.
Nothing more said, I have read the statement, ratify it and will
sign.
E&OE |
