The evidence of the cadaver dogs

One of the key lines of evidence Goncalo Amaral refers to in his book is the work of two internationally-acclaimed British police sniffer dogs, namely the two springer spaniels, Eddie and Keela, who have been trained and used by British dog handler Martin Grime. These dogs, who hitherto had a 100% track record in 200 or more cases of successfully locating where corpses had lain (Eddie) or of detecting human blood (Keela), found the scent of a human corpse in the following locations:

1.The living room of the McCanns’ apartment (5A) in Praia da Luz, on the floor next to the outside wall, behind the sofa

2.In or near the wardrobe in the McCanns’ apartment bedroom

3.On the veranda of the McCanns’ apartment veranda

4.Amongst the flowerbeds outside the apartment

5.On two of Dr Kate McCann’s clothes

6.On a red T-shirt belonging either to Madeleine or to her younger brother Sean

7.On the pink soft toy often produced by Dr Kate McCann for media photographs, ‘Cuddle Cat’

8.On the floor of the Renault Scenic, the hired car used by the McCanns, near the driver’s seat

9.On the car keys of the Renault Scenic

The presence of human cadaverine in these locations or on these items indicates that a corpse which has been dead for at least 90 minutes, usually at least two hours, has been in direct contact with these locations/items. The dogs did not find the scent of a human corpse anywhere else in Praia da Luz. Eddie was reported never to have given a ‘false positive’, i.e. a false alert, to the scent of a human corpse. His reactions to the above ten locations (he alerted to two separate items of Dr Kate McCann’s clothing) can therefore be trusted. The probability is that the only corpse that could have been in contact with those 10 locations – though it is sad to spell this out in black and white – is that of Madeleine McCann.