Dorothy's Damage

My previous post posed a number of questions to consider with regards to the possibility that the Gerry and Kate McCann and the “Tapas Seven” were being untruthful and were responsible, explicitly or implicitly, for the “disappearance” and presumed death of Madeleine McCann.

These questions have weighed on my heart and mind and I have an answer that will put the case “to bed”, at least for me. It’s not a satisfying nor sensational answer and I’m sure many others have already come to this same conclusion.

The Answer

Madeleine McCann was given prescription (not over-the-counter) medication by her parents. An accident occurred that resulted in her death in the vacation apartment and in the panic of the moment her parents feared the consequences of their decision to drug Madeleine on their careers.

They knew that her body would be evidence of their abuse of access to prescription medication and result in losing their medical licenses, their careers, and their social status. This is why Madeleine’s body could not be found.

Evidence of Madeleine being drugged would also open up the investigation as to whether or not the McCann’s twins and other children of the “Tapas Seven” were also drugged. Since at least one parent in each of the four couples was a medical doctor (MD), they would all face similar consequences to their medical licenses, careers, and social status. This is the tie that binds the lips of the “Tapas Seven”.

What this isn’t

I don’t think the primary fear from Madeleine’s death and resulting motivation to cover up her death was the McCann’s losing custody of their twins. Their actions leading up to Madeleine’s “disappearance” were focused only on themselves. Their actions after Madeleine’s “disappearance” were focused only on themselves. If the same “accidental” fate struck the twins as it did Madeleine, I think the McCann’s would have claimed all of their children were kidnapped with no bodies to be found.

I don’t think the McCann’s gave Madeleine an over-the-counter sleep aid. Any children’s medication could be justified, especially by two doctors. However, a prescription medication out of place in a child would raise serious alarms.

I don’t think the parents sexually abused Madeleine or were aware of any sexual abuse perpetrated on Madeleine. If Madeleine was sexually abused, it would be discovered on examination of her body; however, this would be true if Madeleine were alive. Kids have accidents and go to the doctor or the emergency room where full examinations are also done. This would be an ever-present risk to the parents, not one that only occurred in the case of her death. Abused kids also tend to act out in school and get on the radar of teachers and school counselors. Any number of things could have eventually raised a red flag of sexual abuse in Madeleine’s life.

The Hope of Confession

I think it’s within the realm of possibility that someone will come out with the truth of their involvement and what happened. The best reason would be due to a guilty conscience, repentance for their role in her “disappearance”, and willingness to take accountability for the consequences of their actions.

All that to say, I’m not holding my breath for the best-case confession scenario. I do think someone could be persuaded to confess their part since the adults involved are at or near the end of their professional careers, Madeleine’s body is quite decomposed so there may be no or a reduced risk of finding evidence she was drugged, and the remaining children are adults.

Perhaps more realistically, the icing on the motivation-to-confess cake would be that the authorities offer immunity from prosecution for the confessor’s role. I wouldn’t be surprised if such a scenario would also result in claims of emotional or physically spousal abuse upon the confessor as to the reason they were silent all these years.

Final Thoughts

My heart is heavy for what Madeleine endured for her short life. I’m also troubled by considering the childhood of her siblings and the other “Tapas Seven” children. I can only hope that the parents had a sobering wakeup call and straightened up their priorities in life. The silence is deafening though.

I am thankful for Madeleine’s story and what it reveals about the dark side of human nature. Our awareness of our own fears can shed light on our flaws and give us compassion for the very human, very flawed, responses of others.