OFFICIAL INQUIRY FILES and DOCUMENTS
FORENSIC COLLECTIONS 4 MAY 2007

This information belongs to the Ministério Público in Portimão, Portugal.
It was released to the public on 4 August 2008 in accordance with Portuguese Law

2307 to 2322 Report (dated 3 June) with images of forensic exams carried out in Apt 5A on 4 May 2007.

TRANSLATION BY ALBYM

Processo Vol 9 Pages 2307 to 2323
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Specialist Examination Report 200707060-CR/L
Requester: DIC PJ Portimao
Fax: 399 of 8 May 2007
Date: 4 May 2007  
- INQUIRY -
This is the report of the specialist examination of a dwelling situated at Apartment 5A, of Block A of the tourist accommodation building, "Ocean Club" - Praia da Luz, Lagos, from where there occurred, on 3 May 2007, the disappearance of a minor of English nationality.


- OBSERVATIONS AND ANALYSES PERFORMED -
On 4 May 2007, at 15:30, a Crime Scene team from the Police Science Laboratory, comprising the undersigned, went, at the request of DIC PJ Portimao, to a dwelling situated at Apartment 5A, of Block A of the tourist accommodation building, "Ocean Club" - Praia da Luz, Lagos, in order to perform a specialist examination of the location.There follow photograph displays of the exterior of the apartment to be examined as well as detail of the entrance thereto.


Photo 1: Orthographic map of the location with the target apartment being indicated with a red circle.

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Photos 2 and 3: Displays of the entrance (from Rua Doutor Agostinho da Silve) and of the apron [open paved area; car park] existing in the immediate area of the tourist accommodation building of the target apartment, the front door to which is indicated with a red arrow.

Photos 4 to 6: Displays of the pathway to the main door of the target apartment, of that door with the number 5A being visible, and of the sign at the street access in front of the referred apartment.
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Photo 7: Display of the side and rear of the target apartment.

Photos 8 to 10: Displays of the side gate leading to the apartment, of the small garden area and of the pathway behind it.
09_VOLUME_IXa_Page_2310 washing machine adjacent to sink , fridge behind kitchen door

Initially a general observation of the interior of the apartment was carried out it being seen that it comprised a kitchen, a living room, a bathroom, a master bedroom and a bedroom with two single beds and two small cots for children.  
Photos 11 and 12: Displays of the interior of the kitchen of the target apartment.

Photos 13 to 15: Displays of the interior of the living room and of the hallway to the street door at the front of the apartment.

09_VOLUME_IXa_Page_2311 photo 17: bath with shower hose
Photos 16 and 17: Displays of the entrance and of the interior of the bathroom of the target apartment.

Photos 18 to 20: Displays of the interior of the master bedroom of the target apartment.

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Photos 21 to 23: Displays of the the bedroom with two single beds of the target apartment.

Then began the detailed observation of the apartment interior ending with the search and recovery of forensic trace material relevant to the present examination.
Initially the search began for latent shoe-prints it being verified that dozens existed on the floor, in the various rooms of the apartment, which invalidated the attempt of identifying those of the perpetrator. Also, innumerable tracks [footprints] that were taken to be canine in origin mixed with red- and white-coloured chemical products, as used to see fingerprints, and an enormous quantity of hairs probably of animal (dog) origin that made it difficult to find possible traces, especially in the bedroom of two single beds and two children's cots from
where the minor disappeared, and next to the aluminium window/door leading from inside the living room to the exterior area behind the apartmen
t.
09_VOLUME_IXa_Page_2313
Photos 24 and 25: Detail of the red-coloured chemical existing in the bedroom from where the minor disappeared.

It proceeded with the search and recovery of hairs from the floors of the pathways [a] of the front door hallway and [b] from the aluminium window/door of the living room up to the interior of the bedroom with two single beds from where the minor disappeared, and from the entire floor of that bedroom.
[
NOTE: I have inserted the [a] and [b] into my translation to make it clear that there were two pathways being examined.]

In this search the following was recovered:
- various hairs from the floor in the area of the doorway of the bedroom with two single beds from where the minor disappeared, they being placed inside a paper envelope in accordance with instructions issued by the Biology Section of the LPC and referenced as trace evidence #1;

- various hairs from the floor area next to the bed where the missing child was sleeping, they being placed inside a paper envelope in accordance with instructions issued by the Biology Section of the LPC and referenced as trace evidence #2;

- various hairs from the top of the bed where the missing child was sleeping, they being placed inside a paper envelope in accordance with instructions issued by the Biology Section of the LPC and referenced as trace evidence #3;
09_VOLUME_IXa_Page_2314 First reference to stain on bedspread
- various hairs from the floor area next to the bed opposite to the bed from which the sleeping child disappeared, they being placed inside a paper envelope in accordance with instructions issued by the Biology Section of the LPC and referenced as trace evidence #4;

- various hairs from the floor of the living room, they being placed inside a paper envelope in accordance with instructions issued by the Biology Section of the LPC and referenced as trace evidence #6;

- various hairs from the floor of the main door entrance hallway of the apartment, they being placed inside a paper envelope in accordance with instructions issued by the Biology Section of the LPC and referenced as trace evidence #7;

On the single bed opposite to that from which the child disappeared, despite it being impregnated the red-coloured chemical product referred to, the search for hairs proceeded,that search having been negative.

After the recovery of hairs described above there proceeded the search for possible traces of semen, using a variable-wave light source appropriate for the task, there being identified various
[several] areas where fluorescence characteristic of this type of trace evidence was seen.

The areas where the fluorescence was seen were submitted to a "Phosphatise test" search there being a slightly positive reaction
(purplish colour) only in area of the bed-cover of the single bed opposite to the bed from where the minor disappeared, a piece of that bed-cover being collected and placed inside a paper envelope in accordance with instructions issued by the Biology Section of the LPC, it being referenced as trace evidence #5;

A search was also made for possible biological traces and fibres on the single bed from where the minor disappeared, using a variable-wave light source appropriate for the task, the result obtained having been negative.

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The area of the pillow of the bed from the minor disappeared was inspected with the intention to detect the presence of some smell [aroma] characteristic of volatile substances typical of chloroform or ether, this search proving negative

There proceeded the search for possible blood traces in all of the apartment, using a variable- wave light source appropriate for the task.This search resulted in the detection of several spots having a red-brown tone that suggested blood, which were subjected to a "Kastle-Mayer" peroxidise test, the result obtained, in all cases, being negative.

There also proceeded the observation and search for blood traces inside the apartment using a chemical product to find latent blood traces. In the application of the referred product no results characteristic of the presence of blood traces were found

Photos 26 and 27: Displays of the floor area of the bedroom from where the minor disappeared from where were collected hairs referenced as trace evidence #1.
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Photos 28 to 30: Displays of the floor area of the bedroom from where the child disappeared from where were collected hairs referenced as trace evidence #2 and the top of the bed from where the child disappeared from where were collected hairs referenced as trace evidence #3.

Photos 31 and 32: Displays of the upper part of the bed [i.e. the head of the bed] from where the child disappeared there being indicated the hairs recovered and detail of some of those hairs.
09_VOLUME_IXa_Page_2317 Photos of bedspread stain
Photos 33 to 35: Displays of the bedroom floor area next to the single bed opposite to the bed from where the child disappeared from where were collected the hairs referenced as trace evidence #4

and the area of the single bed opposite to the bed from where the child disappeared from where was taken a piece of cloth with presumed traces of semen it having been referenced as trace evidence #5.

Photos 36 and 37: Displays of the floor areas of the living room and of the street door hallway from where were recovered hairs referenced as trace evidence #6 and #7.
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Finally, there also proceeded the detailed analysis of the door and of the windows of the target apartment there not being detected the existence of any clues/traces of break-in/forced entry on them.

Photos 38 to 40: Detail of the lock of the door of the apartment front entrance where the non-existence of break-in/forced entry was verified.
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Photos 41 to 43: Details of the window of the bedroom from which the child disappeared where the non-existence of traces/clues of break-in/forced entry was verified.

After the examination of the inside of the apartment and despite the immediate surroundings of the referred apartment not having been preserved [protected] there proceeded the detailed observation of the exterior there not having been detected the existence of any objects/traces of forensic value and [nor] of any traces of shoe-prints in the garden area of the apartment.
The recovery of cigarette stubs was not viable due to the existence of a reasonable quantity thereof within the referred perimeter.
[Note: I think the writer meant to say 'due to the non-existence of'.]
09_VOLUME_IXa_Page_2320
Photos 44 to 46: Displays of the front of the apartment where various people were observed, there being visible the location of the security cordon delimiting access to the dwelling and the access pathway to the garden that also had not been preserved.

- CONCLUSIONS -
[The indented paragraphs are repeats of the detailed collections and recoveries described in the body of the report.]
The trace evidence described before and referenced as #1 to #7 were delivered to the Lisbon Office of the National Institute of Legal Medicine, under cover of delivery note #156/2007-CR/L a copy of which is attached, for further laboratory examination.

Lisbon, 3 July 2007

J P Cardoso, F Viegas
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Map of flat showing trace collection locations
 
Processo 9 Page 2323
2323 - Delivery report (dated 8 May 2007) of hair and cloth collected from 5A
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p2323 08-05-07 Delivery #156 to INML from LPC

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