The Gaspar Statements from the PJ Official Files

Last Name: GASPAR
Forenames: KATHERINA ZACHARIAS
Age: +18
Date of Birth:
Address:
Postal Code:
Profession:
Telephone no.:
Date of Testimony: 16/05/2007
Number of Pages: 8

I give this declaration in relation to the McCANN family who are currently in Portugal. The McCANN family is composed of Gerry McCANN, his wife, Kate McCANN and their three children, Madeleine, age 4, and Sean and Amelie, who are twins and 3 years of age.

As is abundantly clear, Madeleine is not with her family presently, and has been missing for the last two weeks.

I will begin by explaining that I am married to Savio Gaspar and that we have two daughters. Ellen is almost 3 and Isabella is now one year old. I have been married to Savior for 11 years. I am a general practitioner as is my husband. I met my husband when we were (page 1) working together in Exeter, around 14 years ago.

In order to explain how we know the McCANN family, I would like to state that my husband knows Kate as both attended Dundee University between 1987 and 1992. At that time, she was Kate HEALY. I met Kate and Gerry at their wedding, in 1998, in Liverpool. Both Savio and I went to the wedding. As Savio was Kate’s friend, we were invited to the event.

From what I know, Savio did not know Gerry before the wedding. After this time, we became friends and about three times we spent weekend vacations together. I would say that we are intimate friends of Gerry and Kate.

I remember that in 2002 or 2003, Savio and I spent the weekend with Gerry and Kate in Devon. We maintained contact with one another via telephone.

In 2002/2003 Savio and I lived Birmingham and the McCANNS in Leciester.

In September of 2005, Savio, myself and Ellena, who at the time was 1 and a half years old, spent our holidays abroad, in Mallorca. We went (page 2) on holidays with Kate, Gerry, and Madeleine, who should have been around 21/2 years old, and the twins, who were only months old. I remember that I was pregnancy with Isabella.

On those holidays we also met Gerry and Kate’s friends.

There was a couple, whose names were Dave and Fiona, and whose family name was PAYNE, I think. I believe that they were married and had one daughter, 1 year old, called Lilly. I remember that on these holidays, Fiona was pregnant.

There was another couple, whose names were Tara and Stuart, and whose family name I cannot remember who were also on holiday with us. They had two boys, 1 and 3 years old, whose names I do not remember. I did not know these two families until the holidays together. As I recall, I think that David organised the holidays and we all stayed together in a big house in Mallorca.

We spend a week on holidays, however, the McCANN family, and the PAYNE family stayed for two weeks. I think that Tara and Stuart, and their two children, also stayed for only one week.

Two or three days passed in Mallorca where we relaxed (Page 3) with our children. Possibly around the fourth or fifth day abroad, I remember an incident that stayed with me. I tell this in this way, and afterwards I have thought many times about the incident that I am about to describe.

One night, on holidays, the adults—the couple aforementioned—were on a patio on the side of the house were we lodged. We had been eating and drinking.

I was seated between David and Gerry who were both speaking about Madeleine. I don’t remember the conversation in its entirety, but id did appear they were discussing a possible scenario. I remember David telling Gerry something like “she” (referring to Madeleine) “would she do this”.

Upon mentioning “this”, David was sucking on one of his fingers, pushing it inside and outside his mouth, and with the other hand encircled his breast in a gyrating fashion over his shirt. This was done in a provocative manner and carried an explicit insinuation in relation to what he was doing.

I remember that I was shocked at this, and looked at Gerry, and also at Dave, to gauge their reactions. I looked around (page 4) as is saying “did someone else hear that, or was it just me”. Silence registered in all the conversations and after, we all began conversing again.

I never spoke to anyone about this, but always felt that it was very strange and not something that should be discussed or said.

Besides this, I remember that David once again did the same thing. When I refer to this, I want to clarify that it was during a conversation in which he was talking about an imaginary situation. I do not know of what. I believe that he was talking about his own daughter, Lily, although I cannot be certain. He put one of his fingers in his mouth and slide it in and out, and with the other hand, drew a circle around his breast in a sexually provocative way. I believe that he was referring to what Lily would do.

I believe that he did this later, during the holidays, but I cannot be sure. The last time, besides this, when I was with David and Fiona was several weeks after the holidays, when Savio and I were at a restaurant with Gerry, Kate, Dave and Fiona.

I am certain that he said or that he repeated the same gestures aforementioned, but it could have occurred in a restaurant in Leicester, however (page five) I believe that it was later in Mallorca. When I heard Dave asking is “she did this” a second time, I took it more seriously.

I remember questioning whether looked at my children or the others in a different way. I imagined that he maybe visited Internet sites related to small children. I thought that he may be interested in child pornography on the Internet.

During our holidays I was more attentive at bath time after hearing Dave saying this.
During our vacation in Mallorca, it was the fathers who bathed the children. I had the tendency to walk close to the bathroom, if David was bathing his children. I remember telling Savio to be careful when he was there, in case Dave was helping bathe the children and, in particular, my daughter Ellena. I was very clear about this, as having heard him disturbed me, and did not trust him bathing Ellena alone.

When I heard Dave say that a second time, this reinforced what I already though in relation to his thoughts about little girls. During our stay in Mallorca, Dave and his wife, Fiona, accompanied by this daughter Lilly, took Madeleine (page 6) with them to sped the day together, and to give Kate and Gerry a bit of rest with the twins. At stating this, it is not that I was reoccupied with Madeleine’s safety, as she was also with Fiona and Lilly, along with Dave.

As already referred to, I was only with Dave and Fiona on one occasion, after Mallorca. And I have not spoken to them since this time. In these last years, we have seen eachother, along with the McCANNS, on occasion. These occasions coincide with the children’s birthdays—a time when we get together.

The first time I hear the terrible news regarding the disappearance of Madeleine from the radio, my thoughts went immediately to Dave. I asked Savio if Dave was also on holidays with the McCANNs in Portugal but he did not know.

I watched TV to catch the overage of the notices and found that Dave was there. I saw him on television in the first days after the disappearance. At that, I believed that he was on holidays with the McCANNs in Portugal. Today, Thursday, the 16th of May, 2007, at 15H40, I gave DC Brewer a page containing 2 photographic images. I am going to reference these images as (ref KZG/1) (probably element) that may (page seven) be presented with my approval, if necessary. These photographs were taken during out holidays in Mallorca. In the photographs, Dave is wearing a white t-shirt and the woman in the photograph is his wife Fiona. The man that is holding the cup of wine in the photograph is Stuart. These photographs were taken whilst we were in Mallorca.

Signed:


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Volume XIII TOC, pgs. 3892 to 3601

3916 to 3920

Witness statement of Arul Savio Gaspar



Name: Arul Savio Gaspar

Date of statement: 16-05-2007

This statement was made in relation to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

I currently work as a GP at Saint Clements Surgery, Birmingham, where I have been employed for the last nine years.

Madeleine is the daughter of Kate and Gerry McCann and we are friends of the family.

I have known Kate since 1987, when we met at Dundee Medical School, and became friends. We have remained in touch all this time and meet up 3 or 4 times a year, we often talk on the phone or email each other.

When we first became friends in 1987 she was still known as Kate Healy, this was the case until she married Gerry at the end of 1990s. Kate and I completed our medical degrees in 1992, when we each carried on with our lives, once we had begun our careers.

After I finished my degree I began my career in Exeter, and I think Kate went to Glasgow.

I only met up with Kate again in 1997 or 1998. At that moment I was married to Katherina, we had both been invited to attend Kate and Gerry’s wedding.

After their wedding we lost contact and I think they went to New Zealand.

We only met up again in 2001 in Birmingham.

The couple visited us in the house where we then living, in Athingys Green, and this was the first time I talked to Gerry.

I think that at the time Kate and Gerry were living in Queeniborough, Leicestershire.

From 2001 and 2005 we were in regular contact and often visited each other’s homes.

We planned holidays for the first week of September 2005 in Majorca, Spain, together with three other couples including Kate and Gerry. We did not know the other two couples, they were friends of Kate and Gerry’s, we had never met them before.

We all had children.

When we went on this holiday we had one daughter, Ellena aged 18 months.

Kate and Gerry had 3 children, Madeleine almost two and the twins who were six months old.

The other couples were Fiona and David Payne and their daughter Lily who was one year old and Stuart and Tara who had two boys aged three and one. I do not remember Tara and Stuart’s surname nor the names of their children.

Katherine and I had booked the holiday for one week and the other two couples had booked for two weeks. We stayed together in a large villa.

We all arrived at the villa separately.

During the period we stayed at the villa I remember a gesture made by David Payne.

I do not remember the context of the conversation between David and Gerry, but I do remember seeing David use his left index finger to rub his nipple, using circular movements, whilst he put his right index finger into his mouth, touching his tongue. This happened during a meal, at the end of the day in the villa, I do not remember the time or the date, but we would usually dine between 19.30 and 21.00 every day. I think this happened in the middle of the holiday.

I remember that when I saw this gesture I immediately thought it to be in very bad taste, independently of the context of the conversation they were having. We were sitting around a white plastic table in the villa. I don’t know if anyone else saw the gesture, apart from my wife Katherina. After this gesture, we did not notice any others and as far as i know, the gesture was not repeated.

We never commented on this gesture during the rest of the holiday and I thought no more about it.

I can describe Dave as a Caucasian male 1.78 m tall, and of a medium complexion. He had brown hair and used glasses/contact lenses depending on the circumstances.

I can say that Dave was a pleasant person. I do not remember him having any unusual characteristics.

During the holidays Dave never behaved in an inappropriate manner with Madeleine or with any of the other children. Dave was popular with the children and I took this to be because he was a close friend to the family.


I never distrusted Dave. After the holidays there was one occasion when we were with Kate and Gerry and Fiona and Dave were also present.

That was in a restaurant in Leicester in 2005. I do not remember the name of the restaurant.

We had a pleasant evening, just the three couples without the children.

I do not remember Dave having behaved inappropriately on this occasion. We have not spoken to Dave or Fiona since December 2005, only due to their being friends of Kate and Gerry, not for any other reason.

The last time I saw Kate, Gerry, Madeleine, Sean and Amelie was in March 2007 when they came to our house for the first birthday celebration of my daughter Isabella. On the morning of 4th May Katherine saw the news about Madeleine on television. We were very shocked and worried given that they were close friends.


It was during the days following the news of the abduction that we discovered that Fiona and David Payne were also with them in Portugal.

It was at this moment that Katherina showed concern at the gesture made by Dave in Majorca in 2005. Katherina remembered that when Dave made the gesture he was referring to Madeleine.

I only remember that Katherina saw the gesture at the time, I had forgotten the episode, it was never the subject of conversation.

At the time I did not feel the gesture was referring to Madeleine.

It is my wish that the police are aware of my preoccupation with the gesture made by David Payne.

Signed. .