As the trial of alleged Madeleine McCann pretender Julia Wandelt continues, the Mirror takes a look at Kate and Gerry McCann’s group of friends who dined with the couple on the fateful night their daughter disappeared
On the evening of May 3, 2007, while holidaying in Portugal’s Praia da Luz, Kate and Gerry McCann[1] dined with friends at the tapas restaurant of the Ocean Club resort.
Throughout the night, the group of nine adults would head back to check on their children, who’d been left to sleep in their hotel rooms some 55 metres away. As they chatted away in the open air eatery, just as they had done for the past three nights, they had no clue that something terrible was happening on the other side of the pool.
At 10pm, Kate went to check on her and Gerry’s three young children, two year old twins, Sean and Amelie, and three year old Madeleine. To her horror, Madeleine, who she’d read a bedtime story to mere hours before, was nowhere to be seen, and the window was wide open.
In the days that followed, Leicester-born Madeleine’s disappearance[2] would spark a public frenzy not seen since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales[3]. But for Kate and Gerry’s friends, dubbed The Tapas Seven, the reality behind the headlines was quite a different experience.
Now members of the group have found themselves at the centre of yet another harrowing twist in the as of yet unsolved case, as the trial of alleged Madeleine pretender Julia Wandelt continues.[4]
READ MORE: Julia Wandelt’s chilling letter to Madeleine McCann parents with ‘cruel signature’[5]
Polish national Wandelt and Karen Spragg from Cardiff, stand accused of stalking the McCann family, with chilling allegations emerging from Leicester Crown Court this week. Jurors heard how the pair allegedly waited outside the McCann family home and surprised Kate as she returned home, demanding a DNA test and unsuccessfully trying to prevent her getting inside, before banging on the door.
Wandelt is accused of sending a letter, calls, voicemails and WhatsApp[6] messages to Kate and Gerry, and sending Amelie and Sean Instagram[7] messages claiming to be missing girl Madeleine. It’s been claimed that Wandelt “called over 60 times in a day” to Kate, who will today take the stand.
As well as harassing the McCann family, it’s also been alleged that Wandelt made contact with David Payne, one of the friends who was with Kate and Gerry when Madeleine vanished. Wandelt and Spragg deny the charges.
Here, the Mirror[8] takes a look at the so-called Tapaz Seven, and where they are now.
Jane Tanner – married to Russell O’Brien
Jane provided what was initially believed to be crucial evidence through her witness testimony, known as the Tanner Sighting. The mother of two claimed to have seen a man carrying a child from the McCann’s apartment at 9.15pm, 45 minutes before Kate sounded the alarm.
According to marketing executive Jane, who’d been 36 at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance, she passed Gerry McCann chatting with another holidaymaker on his way back to the restaurant from his 9.05pm check on kids. However, neither man could recall seeing Jane.
Jane alleged the child she’d seen child had been wearing floral patterned pyjama bottoms, and was being carried in the arms of a white, dark-haired man who didn’t appear to be a tourist. Although initially seen as a vital clue, this testimony was later disregarded after a British man came forward to confirm this sighting was in fact him carrying his daughter from the night creche.
In 2007, Jane became the first of the Tapas Seven to speak out in an interview with BBC’s Panorama, describing her “absolute horror” at the thought that she could have saved Madeleine. Risking potential prosecution under Portuguese privacy laws, Jane shared: “I have not spoken before because the Portuguese police told us not to talk about the case at all. From Day One we have done everything we can to help them with the investigation.
“I’m talking now because I’m being called a liar and a fantasist. I know what I saw. I think it’s important that people know what I saw because I believe Madeleine was abducted.
“If people are not taking that seriously, there could be people out there that see her somewhere, could have evidence to give and think ‘I’m not going to give that because she wasn’t abducted’. And that is the scariest thing out of this – that people wouldn’t come forward because they think we’re lying, which is rubbish.”
Meanwhile, a friend of Jane’s said: “It’s true to say she is haunted by that thought and goes over and over it every day. She thinks to herself, ‘If only I had stopped him’ and ‘If only I had seen his face’.”
Dr Russell O’Brien – married to Jane Tanner
Between 9.30pm and 10.15pm, fellow medic Russell stepped away from the group to care for daughter Evie, who’d been vomiting. He and Jane had taken it in turns to eat their dinner quickly, to make sure they could be there for their poorly child.
It was when Russell returned to the table to eat his steak that Kate ran in screaming to Gerry that Madeleine had gone. Along with Fiona Payne and Rachael Oldfield, Russell told police officers that he’d seen British-Portuguese property consultant Robert Murat at the holiday apartment complex on the night of the disappearance.
Murat was made the investigation’s first arguido after police heard he’d been asking lots questions about the case, but this arguido status was lifted the following year after detectives found nothing connecting Murat to the investigation.
As reported by The Sun in 2008, Russell told officers of an uncomfortable conversation the group had shortly before Maddie vanished. He remembered: “We then had a conversation about the ludicrous pressure on parents that they can’t take photos of their children.
“The other aspect of the conversation, which is doubly haunting, was that we said, ‘You’re far more likely to get clobbered by your uncle or your neighbour than some random stranger’. Since this happened ten or 11 hours before Madeleine was abducted, it seemed a very uncomfortable coincidence.”
Russell also had to speak out following reports in Portuguese newspapers that alleged that he went missing for an hour and a half at the same time that Madeleine disappeared. Although he was not directly named, the paper gave identifying details that pointed to who exactly was being discussed, The New Statesman previously reported.
In response, he and Jane issued the following statement: “These reports in the Portuguese press are completely untrue and extremely hurtful. We have spoken to the police today, and have been assured that our status as witnesses has not changed.
“We would like to request that the privacy of our family and our police testimony are respected by the media. We just hope that the police’s considerable efforts to find Madeleine are successful.”
This stated was supported by Portuguese police chief inspector Olegario Sousa, who stated: “Do you think that if we had the name of the person who committed this crime, we would be waiting to arrest them?”
Dr Matthew Oldfield – married to Rachael Oldfield
Consultant endocrinologist, Matthew, who had worked with Gerry at the same hospital in Leicester, stated that he’d checked on the McCann children at 9.30pm, but clarified that he did not actually see Madeleine given that he was standing outside the children’s bedroom door, and would have had to have looked around the door to see her bed.
He informed Portuguese police that he left the holiday apartment after glimpsing the twins asleep in their cots, satisfied that all was quiet. After returning to the table, Matthew confirmed that all the children were sleeping. Mere moments later, Gerry went to check on them himself.
According to a witness statement given by Matthew, in the presence of inspector Patricia D., “there was nothing unusual and he knows of nothing special happening”. The statement went on to note that Matthew attested “that the tourist complex was quiet and that nothing unusual happened there. That during the day the children were under the supervision of the respective mini-club staff.
“That Madeleine is the daughter of both Gerry and Kate. That he doesn’t know if Madeleine was suffering from any illness or if she was taking medication. That Madeleine is very lively, obedient, communicative and extrovert. Madeleine’s parents are both very friendly, communicative, happy and sensible.
“That the couple have an excellent relationship with their children, not making any difference in the treatment of each. That the three children were very much wanted by the couple, all three being the result of, ‘In Vitro’, fertilisation. The interviewee thinks that it is a kidnapping with the intention to demand a ransom from the parents, because these are people who are very comfortable financially.
Rachael Oldfield – married to Matthew Oldfield
Recruitment consultant Rachael was the one who informed Jane Tanner that Madeleine had disappeared, and later informed police she’d spotted Robert Murat outside apartment 5A.
In August 2007, Rachael spoke out against reports made in Portuguese tabloid Diario de Noticias, which claimed that officers had intercepted emails and calls between the McCanns and their friends in recent which “prove” the that Madeleine had been killed inside the apartment.
Mum of one Rachael described the allegations as “very hurtful and rather ludicrous”, and expressed frustration on behalf of the group amid widespread speculation. Rachael stated: “I think there are some leaks coming from the police but a lot of what I have read recently has been completely untrue. Whether a journalist has had a bit of information and made the rest up, or the police are feeding some truth or untruths, I just don’t know.”
She continued: “They are throwing mud at us and we are not able to defend ourselves. It does not help to find Madeleine. We just have to hope the investigation progresses to a point where something concrete comes out of it.”
Dr David Payne – married to Dr Fiona Payne
Other than her parents, Leicester University scientist David was the last person to see Madeleine alive. At approximately 6:30pm, while Gerry played tennis, he’d checked in on her, Kate and her twin siblings, later giving his impression of “a family who’d had such a fantastic time”.
He remembered that the three young children had been dressed in their pyjamas and “looked immaculate… just like angels, they all looked so happy and well looked after and content”.
In 2008, David informed British police in that Kate had first told the group, “she’s gone” after making her dreadful discovery. As per David’s testimony, Kate later said, “they’ve taken her, they’ve taken her”. David has since been named in this latest trial as having been contacted by alleged stalker Wandelt.
Dr Fiona Payne – married to Dr David Payne
Mum of two Fiona also told police she saw Murat. She and husband David had brought their own high-spec baby monitor from home and set it up at the restaurant so they could listen for any sounds of their children stirred.
Fiona later told British police about how “hysterical” Kate returned to the table. She recalled: “[Kate] was hysterical, it upsets me very much to even think about how she was,” Fiona said in a 2008 police interview.
“She was so terrified, absolutely inconsolable, she was rampaging round… the room, she’s up and down, pacing, kicking walls, just on, for most part, just imagining where or what might be happening to Madeleine and angry at herself and then for having left her, not being there and just, she was shouting a lot, I can’t, ‘We’ve, we’ve let her down Gerry, we’ve let her down, we weren’t there for her’.
It’s understood that Fiona has been a particular source of support for the McCanns. In May 2023, Fiona spoke movingly at a vigil held to honour the 16th anniversary[9] of Madeleine’s disappearance, reciting Emily Dickinson’s classic poem, Hope is the Thing With Feathers, before embracing Kate.
The Mail Online reports that Kate, has previously praised her loyal friend Fiona, sharing: “She has remained such a wonderful support. Her support is very important to me.”
Dianne Webster – mother of Fiona Payne and grandmother of Lily and Scarlet
Grandmother Dianne told British police that she suspected twins Sean and Amelie had been drugged, and was surprised that they were still asleep as the night descended into chaos. In a 2008 police interview Dianne said Gerry had been “absolutely distraught” when everyone arrived at the apartment.
She remembered: “I’ve never heard a man make the noises he made, and Kate, Kate was just… you just can’t put into words how they were. I remember I went through into the room where… Madeleine was sleeping and she said ‘she’s been taken’ because she said that the shutters and that had been open, the window open.
“The twins were still asleep in the cot and I, with all the noise going on I don’t know how they slept through it which makes me think there was, they must have been drugged with something.”
In October 2007, London’s Evening Standard reported that hair samples from Sean and Amelie found no evidence of sedatives, proving the McCanns’ claim that they had not given their three children sleeping pills on the night of Madeleine’s disappearance.
A source told the publication: “It would be logical for tests to be carried out on the twins to show they have never been given sedatives. It would be right to say those tests show no evidence of sedatives in their systems.
“It backs up Kate and Gerry’s claims they have never sedated the children and explains why they are so certain they can prove the allegation is just another police smear.”
Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com
READ MORE: ‘This woman is not Madeleine McCann’, jury told in stalking trial[10]
References
- ^ Kate and Gerry McCann (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Madeleine’s disappearance (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Princess of Wales (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Madeleine pretender Julia Wandelt continues. (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Julia Wandelt’s chilling letter to Madeleine McCann parents with ‘cruel signature’ (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ WhatsApp (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Instagram (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Mirror (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ 16th anniversary (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ ‘This woman is not Madeleine McCann’, jury told in stalking trial (www.mirror.co.uk)