By Mirror.co.uk 26/11/07

Portuguese police may finally be on the verge of concluding that Madeleine McCann was killed in the holiday apartment by a paedophile intruder who panicked and suffocated her when she screamed.

They are also thought to be considering pinning her death on a mystery man seen running from their holiday flat with a child in a blanket – absolving her parents of any blame.

The U-turn is being mooted after a massive review of the case under a new police team led by senior detective Paulo Rebelo.

A gruesome recreation of possible events on the night Madeleine disappeared was published today by respected Portuguese daily Publico. In it, Madeleine wakes from her sleep as the intruder hovers.

“She has to be silenced. Violence, suffocation probably. And unexpected death,” theorises Publico. “All over in minutes. Now he had to get her out of there. Close the door. Flee as fast as he could.”

The newspaper adds: “The theory this is the explanation behind Madeleine’s McCann’s disappearance, the night of May 3, was practically ruled out previously by police investigators.

“Now though, it’s gaining strength in the centre of the investigation.”

Rebelo is said to be re-visiting several theories – including the idea that an intruder could have stalked the McCann family during their Algarve holiday. He would have known from building up a picture of their daily routine that the best time to strike was when they put Madeleine, now four, and twins Sean and Amelie, two, to bed and went to eat tapas at a nearby restaurant with friends.

Jane Tanner, one of the so-called Tapas Nine, helped police produce an e-fit of a man she says she saw running from the Ocean Club complex with a child in a blanket around the time Madeleine disappeared.

The paper also claimed detectives were not holding out much hope full DNA tests would help advance the investigation when they are finally sent back from a Birmingham lab to Portugal.