http://www.kidnapping.be/affairemadelein1/index.html28/08/08
David Payne's statements were taken the day after Madeleine's disappearance, May 4th 2007 at 2.45pm. As with all the others, David Payne was accompanied by a, "sworn," interpreter, A. Francisco M. The statement was recorded by inspector Patricia D.
The words at the beginning of an interview are invariably the same. They are mandatory type words. They form the legal basis of the document. Recited often, they are like:
"We, Patricia D., police inspector, in the service of the PJ, Portimao Section, note:"
On the subject we are recording it is shown:
That the interviewee made this statement voluntarily. That he has been on holiday in Portugal since April 28th 2007, staying at the Ocean Club, Praia da Luz. That he plans to return to England on May 5th 2007 (Saturday). That he has known Madeleine's parents for around 5 years. That he was on holiday with Madeleine and her parents. That he came with a group. That the group is composed of nine adults and eight children. The adults are: Diane, the interviewee and his wife (children: ***** and ***), Russell and Jane (children: **** and ****), Matthew and Rachael (child: ******), Gerry and Kate (children: Amelie, Sean and Madeleine).
That they came to Portugal via a tour operator. That it was the interviewee who booked the trip.
Concerning the days spent in Portugal, the interviewee describes them as being all very much the same. He states that his family, composed of his mother-in-law Diane, his wife Fiona and their two children, spent their days more independently than other members of the group. They were most often with the couple Russell and Jane.
Concerning the remaining membes of the group, normally they got up and went for breakfast at the, "Millennium," restaurant, after which they left their children at the Kids Club and the adults went to do sports inside the tourist complex or they went to the beach. The couple Gerry and Kate had breakfast in the apartment. It was usual to have dinner together every night. With the exception of Saturday, when they all dined at the, "Millennium," restaurant, every evening the group was to be found at the, "Tapas," restaurant at around 8.45 for dinner. While the adults were dining, the children were sleeping in their respective apartments.
In answer to our question, the interviewee states that during all the meals, he never went to his apartment or to any of the group's apartments, because he has an, "intercom," and the signal carries from the apartment to the restaurant. The other members of the group went, randomly, every 20 minutes, to their apartments to make sure their respective children were asleep.
Concerning yesterday evening, he states that he, his wife and his mother-in-law arrived at the restaurant at around 8.55pm. According to what he remembers, when they arrived, all the members of the group were present, apart from the children, who were in bed. During the evening, Gerry, Jane and Matthew went, alternately, to their children's bedrooms to check if they were sleeping. He thinks they physically went into the apartments. He no longer remembers in what order they went see their children.
Towards 10pm, Kate went to her apartment, and less than 5 minutes later, she came back to the restaurant, breaking down, reporting that Madeleine had disappeared. Then everybody went to the apartment occupied by Madeleine's family. He remembers comments concerning the fact that the window and the shutters were open, while they had remained closed throughout the week.
That the apartment occupied by Madeleine's family comprises two bedrooms, a small kitchen, a lounge and a bathroom. That the lounge has a door which gives outside access in the direction of the restaurant. He does not recall any more details of the apartment but he remembers that the bedroom occupied by the children has a window that looks onto the main road. That he never went into the said bedroom occupied by the children but he could see that there were two beds and two cots. The cots were placed in the middle of the bedroom. One of the beds was placed against the window and the other, the one occupied by Madeleine, was against the wall facing the one which has a window.
In answer to our question, the interviewee doesn't know how many times Madeleine left the tourist complex, but he knows she went, at least once, to the beach. That during the holiday, he saw nothing abnormal concerning the couple Gerry and Kate, neither with their children nor, notably, with Madeleine. In the context of the group, he noticed nothing abnormal. That during the whole holiday, and particularly during the day and the night yesterday, nothing unusual happened in the tourist complex, which attracted his attention, or which could be correlated with Madeleine's disappearance.
He describes Madeleine as being a communicative girl, happy, obedient and very well behaved. Madeleine's parents are very sociable people, known by lots of people, kind and affectionate. Madeleine is indeed the daughter of both elements of the couple. She was wanted and is the result of, "In Vitro," fertilisation. There was no difference in treatment between Madeleine and the twins. He doesn't know if Madeleine suffers from any illness, nor if she is on medication. He has nothing more to say that could help the progress of the investigation.
