 |
|
Raymond Hewlett has refused to cooperate with the Madeleine
McCann investigation |
A CONVICTED paedophile wanted for questioning by detectives
working for Madeleine McCann’s parents is close to death, it was
revealed yesterday.
Sex fiend
Raymond Hewlett, 64, can no
longer speak because of throat cancer and lives in a council flat he
shares with his partner in Aachen, Germany.
Investigators fear that Hewlett could take the secret of
Madeleine McCann's disappearance
with him to the grave.
Hewlett’s lawyer, Detlev Wagner, said: “He could not talk to
them even if he wanted to.
“He is gravely ill. He does not have long for this world.”
Retired senior police officers working for Madeleine’s parents,
Kate and Gerry, from Rothley, Leics, have been trying to quiz Hewlett
since May.
But while he has spoken with British police investigating other
offences against children dating back nearly 35 years, Hewlett has
steadfastly refused to co-operate with the private investigators.
The Briton, who has multiple convictions for offences against
children, came to the attention of investigators after an English
couple came forward with new information.
They alleged he was near to the Praia da Luz holiday resort in
Portugal where Madeleine, then three, vanished in May 2007.
Private investigators Dave Edgar and Arthur Crowley, both
ex-police officers with many years of experience, first went to see him
in Aachen when he was being treated for his cancer in hospital.
Numerous requests to interview him were all turned down.
Wagner claims that his client was poised to broker an interview
with the detectives but broke it off because he found the lawmen “too
pushy”.
In June Hewlett – still smoking the cigarettes blamed for causing his
throat cancer – said: “It’s obvious why they’re interested in me.
“But they can all think what they like. I didn’t kill the McCann
girl. It’s the truth and it’s never going to change.”
He admits he was in the Algarve at the time Madeleine vanished.
Hewlett looks strikingly similar to a sketch of a suspect with
a pock-marked face seen lurking around the apartment where the family
stayed in May 2007. |
