By Chris Summers, BBC News

The boss of a limousine firm has been convicted of ordering the murder of his wife, an off-duty special constable. Fadi Nasri, who made a televised appeal for information in the days after she was stabbed, is not the first killer to cry crocodile tears.

One night in December 1996 Lee Harvey was stabbed to death on an isolated road in Alvechurch, Worcestershire.

His fiancee, Tracie Andrews, told police he had been attacked by another motorist after a “road rage” incident.

I held her hand at the press conference when all my family were pointing the finger and at the end of the day she lied Maureen Harvey

She later appeared at a police press conference looking in a terrible state and begging for help in catching the killer.

The former model claimed a “fat man with staring eyes” had attacked her boyfriend, stabbing him more than 30 times.

But detectives became sceptical of her story and they discovered that the couple had a stormy and often violent relationship.

Andrews, who was 28 at the time, was later charged with murder and at her trial a jury was told she had stabbed him to death after a row.

Last year, Mr Harvey’s mother, Maureen, said she could never forgive Andrews, who is serving a life sentence for the murder.

Mrs Harvey said: “I held her hand at the press conference when all my family were pointing the finger and at the end of the day she lied.”

In January 1997, nine-year-old schoolgirl Zoe Evans went missing from her home in Warminster, Wiltshire.

Her mother, Paula Hamilton, and stepfather Miles Evans appeared at a press conference, begging for her to come home.

Miles Evans appealing for information to find missing Zoe

Unbeknown to Zoe’s mother, the man sitting next to her was actually responsible for killing her daughter.

Zoe’s naked body was later found in a badger sett and Evans was arrested and eventually convicted of her murder.

It transpired that Zoe had been taken her from her bed and sexually assaulted.

A post-mortem examination showed she died from asphyxiation.

Zoe’s mother later said Evans deserved the death penalty for what he had done.

In September 1994, Carol Wardell, the manager of a building society in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, was murdered and around £15,000 stolen from the branch.

Her husband, Gordon, appeared at a press conference and told reporters he had returned home from the pub on a Sunday afternoon to find his wife being held captive by a man who was wearing a clown mask and was armed with a knife.

Gordon Wardell claimed his wife’s killer wore a clown mask

Wardell claimed he had been punched and forced to the ground and fell unconscious after a chloroform-soaked cloth was pressed over his face.

Wardell, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses, told journalists: “A man got hold of my wife and was threatening her with a knife.”

He claimed he had been tied up by the gang who took his wife off to the building society early the following morning.

But within a month police realised his story was a pack of lies and he was arrested.

Sentencing him to life imprisonment, the judge at Oxford Crown Court said Wardell had gone to elaborate lengths, including tying himself up and inflicting injuries, to make it appear as if the couple were the victim of robbers.

In August last year, Wardell, 54, was told he would not be eligible for release for another 18 years.

In May 1991, the boyfriend of Oxford University student Rachel McLean reported her missing and so began a drama more intriguing than any of Inspector Morse’s cases.

John Tanner, 22, who was studying classics at Nottingham University, not only appeared in a press conference appealing for help but also took part in a televised reconstruction.

He claimed Miss McLean had seen him off at Oxford railway station and said a long-haired stranger had offered to give her a lift home.

John Tanner even took part in a reconstruction with a policewoman

Tanner told reporters his girlfriend had been “a lover of life” and even asked people to help “out of sheer consideration for her mother and father and myself”.

But a few days later police discovered Rachel’s remains under the floorboards at her flat in Oxford and Tanner was immediately arrested.

His tall story crumbled around his ears and he was charged with her murder.

At his trial at Birmingham Crown Court, Tanner changed his story and said he snapped and killed her after she admitted she had been unfaithful.

But he was convicted of murder and jailed for life.

On Valentine’s Day in 2005, Joanna Nelson, who worked at a Jobcentre in Hull, vanished.

Paul Dyson soon appeared on television acting the concerned boyfriend.

Humberside Police launched a massive search but Miss Nelson’s body was not found until 24 March, near Malton, North Yorkshire.

You went on TV and displayed breathtaking and nauseating hypocrisy Judge Tom Cracknell

Under interrogation by detectives Dyson, 31, finally cracked and admitted he was responsible for her death and said he had strangled her after a trivial row about housework.

Sentencing him to life in prison, Judge Tom Cracknell, highlighted his callous appearance on the TV appeal for information in finding Miss Nelson.

The judge told him: “You went on TV and displayed breathtaking and nauseating hypocrisy.”

As he was led away to begin a life sentence Dyson was verbally abused by friends and family of his victim.

The phenomenon is not confined to Britain.

In October 1994, a young mother, Susan Smith, told police in South Carolina she had been carjacked by a man who had driven off with her two young sons still in the vehicle.

Smith appeared on television appealing for the man to return the children.

Susan Smith blamed a black carjacker

But nine days later she confessed to police to having driven the car into a lake, with the boys, three-year-old Michael and Alexander, 14 months, still inside.

It emerged that she had been having an affair with a man and had killed her boys because he had told her he did not want any children.

The case was seen as racially sensitive because Smith had claimed a black man had been responsible.

She was later convicted of murder but a jury spared her the death penalty and she was given a life sentence.

Saturday marks the first anniversary of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance from an apartment in the Algarve. A year on the consequences are still being felt in Portugal.

The Madeleine McCann saga has had a big impact in Portugal, on tourism locally, and in particular on the Polícia Judiciária (PJ), the criminal investigation force that is still handling this case.

Officials at the PJ and the Ministry of Justice, which oversees the force, were this week adamant Saturday would be marked by no special event or indeed any comment on the investigation, which is covered by judicial secrecy until mid-May, with a possible extension to August.

But the PJ’s national director, Alípio Ribeiro, felt obliged to react to figures that emerged this week on his force’s performance, and which some observers saw as pointing to a lack of resources and strategy, or even a crisis in confidence.

They showed sharp drops in the number of detentions by PJ inspectors and in charges resulting from their investigations in the past year.

While nationwide, the number of detentions dropped by 50%, in the Faro region where the investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance is being handled, the drop was 37%, while the number of investigations that led to charges fell 58%.

Brain drain

That is likely to reinforce a widespread public perception here that police time and resources were disproportionately allocated to one high-profile case.

In Oporto, where police are investigating a string of nightlife murders, the number of detentions fell by 60% and investigations leading to charges by 10%.

Mr Ribeiro – who made headlines in February when he said detectives had been “hasty” in declaring Kate and Gerry McCann official suspects five months earlier – played down the figures.

In comments to the Lusa news agency, he said the number of detentions was no indicator of effectiveness, given a changing legal framework.

But Carlos Anjos, president of detectives’ union ASFIC, said there had been a brain drain and sagging morale in the two years since Mr Ribeiro came in.

He told TSF radio: “It’s logical that operational capacity has diminished. We’ve lost more than 20% of personnel, that can only give the result we’re now seeing.”

Justice Minister Alberto Costa is expected to face questions on the issue in a parliamentary debate next Wednesday on the security forces.

‘Clarify the truth’

Meanwhile, the former coordinator of the PJ’s criminal investigation department in Portimão, who oversaw the Madeleine McCann case until he was removed from his post by Mr Ribeiro in October after reportedly criticising his British counterparts, is preparing to sue unnamed British media outlets.

Though as department head he had no hands-on involvement in the case, he bore the brunt of British media criticism of the PJ – criticism that António Paulo Santos, the Lisbon lawyer retained to prepare the libel action, says Mr Amaral feels tipped over into personal insults.

Having put in for retirement, the former PJ coordinator also plans to publish a book about his work, to be entitled “Verdade da Mentira” – “The Truth about the Lie”.

“It wouldn’t be written if he hadn’t been the victim of personal insults – even his children suffered at school,” said his lawyer. “It’s not for financial gain.”

The book would not, he added, violate judicial secrecy or aim to incriminate anyone, but to tell Mr Amaral’s side of things and lay out the evidence so readers can draw their own conclusions.

“Its one mission is to clarify the truth,” Mr Santos said.

No date has been set for publication but it would be after Mr. Amaral’s retirement, which is set to take some months.

Several books about the case have been published in Portugal, but this would be the first by anyone involved and is likely to find a ready market.

Resentment in Portugal of the critical tone of British media coverage, as expressed in letter, emails and phone calls to newspapers and broadcasters, and on internet forums, is widespread and often fierce.

The News of the World and businessmen including Sir Richard Branson have jointly pledged £1.5m. Scottish tycoon Stephen Winyard has offered £1m.

Madeleine’s fourth birthday has been marked in the UK and in Portugal, where she disappeared on 3 May.

Posters have been distributed and many have joined an e-mail campaign.

Yellow ribbons

Madeleine, from Rothley, Leicestershire, disappeared from an apartment in the resort of Praia da Luz.

Fifty pink balloons were released at the village of Queniborough, close to Rothley, on Saturday, where Madeleine lived until a year ago.

Yellow ribbons were tied to railings in the family’s home village, while others were worn by Celtic and Aberdeen fans at a football match in Glasgow. Posters were handed out to holidaymakers leaving from East Midlands Airport.

Mr Winyard said of his decision to offer a reward that he would be “rejoicing with the rest of the nation” if it helped to secure Madeleine’s safe return.

The News of the World has promised £250,000 – matching the contribution of Top Shop owner Sir Philip Green.

Sir Richard and Everton FC owner Bill Kenwright were among others who contributed.

Madeleine’s parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, who are still in Portugal, released a statement on Saturday pleading for people to “redouble their efforts” to find Madeleine.

“Keep looking, please keep praying, please help bring Madeleine home,” they said.

Tributes in pictures

The girl’s aunt, Philomena McCann, said the couple would be having a “family day” to mark Madeleine’s birthday, and celebrate her life so far.

Other family members gathered at the Glasgow home of Madeleine’s uncle, John McCann, she said.

British ex-pats met on Saturday lunchtime at the holiday complex where Madeleine was taken.

They tied yellow ribbons on the railings to express their hope that she would be returned safely.

In the UK, Chancellor Gordon Brown was among those expressing sympathy for the family, saying every parent would be thinking of ways to help them.

Several football players in Scotland, where Madeleine’s father is from, made appeals for information. This follows televised messages in recent days from stars including John Terry, Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham.

CCTV clues

The official ground search for Madeleine in the Algarve has ended, but police say they still have significant leads to follow up.

BBC correspondents say detectives have questioned nine people in the past few days, but say there is little sign of a breakthrough.

The focus is shifting from being a local search for Madeleine to an international child abduction inquiry, amid suggestions she may have been taken out of Portugal.

Media reports about leads have focused on CCTV footage from a petrol station on the night of Madeleine’s disappearance.

It was thought to feature two men and a woman driving a car with a British number plate.

Police have declined to confirm or deny reports about any possible leads, citing Portuguese law.

The McCann family have been actively campaigning for publicity for the case, hoping poster and e-mail campaigns will help the police.

The international number for Crimestoppers is +44 1883 731 336. People with information about Madeleine can call anonymously.

Last Updated: Sunday, 6 May 2007, 06:56 GMT 07:56 UK

The parents of a three-year-old girl feared abducted in Portugal have made a fresh appeal for information that could lead to her safe return.

Doctors Gerry and Kate McCann, from Leicestershire, also said they appreciated the “significant efforts” being made to find Madeleine.

Portuguese police say they have a suspect in mind and believe the toddler is still alive and in the area.

She vanished from a holiday apartment while her parents were at a restaurant.

The McCanns were on holiday at Mark Warner’s Ocean Club in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz when Madeleine disappeared on Thursday.

Speaking outside their apartment with his wife, Mr McCann said: “We have no further information regarding the investigation but appreciate the significant effort everyone is making on our behalf.

“We would again like to appeal for any information, however small, that may lead to the safe return of Madeleine.”

In a statement on Friday Mr McCann made a first appeal for help and spoke of his family’s “anguish and despair”.

Prayers will be said in churches in Praia Da Luz on Sunday for the safe return of the girl.

Artist’s impression

In the first official briefing on the case on Saturday, Guilhermino Encarnacao, director of the judicial police in the Faro region, said officers were working on the assumption Madeleine was being held between 3km and 5km (about two to three miles) from the resort.

He said police had taken about 30 calls from potential witnesses and have created an artist’s impression of a suspect.

Responding to criticism that the police had been slow to respond, Mr Encarnacao said officers arrived at the scene 10 minutes after being alerted to the disappearance.

An investigation unit began work within 30 minutes, he added.

Relatives have flown to the Algarve to be with the couple, from Rothley, who were holidaying with their three children.

Window opened

The Ocean Club resort offers a creche service but the couple decided to leave Madeleine and two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie sleeping in the apartment while they went to a nearby restaurant.

They had taken turns to return to check on their children.

Madeleine, who turns four next Friday, was last seen by her father at about 2100 local time.

When Mrs McCann went to check on her about an hour later, she found the bedroom’s outside shutter and window had been opened and her daughter missing.

Resort staff and guests helped the McCanns search the complex grounds into Friday morning and police were notified.

Pictures of Madeleine have been widely distributed, and ports and the Spanish police put on alert.

British Ambassador John Buck, who is with the McCanns in the Algarve, said they had been joined by three family liaison officers from Leicestershire Police.

Mr McCann’s sister Philomena criticised the Portuguese police for initially “playing down” their response to the disappearance.

But she said the family was elated to hear police believed Madeleine was still alive.

“There was a distinct feeling of elation, you know – but it’s been a while since we actually heard it and it’s really important to keep your emotions in check,” she said.

Police investigating the disappearance of a three-year-old British girl from a Portuguese holiday resort say it appears she has been abducted.

Officers say they have a suspect in mind, and believe Madeleine McCann remains in the area and is still alive.

Her parents, from Leicestershire, left her at their apartment at Mark Warner’s Ocean Club in Praia da Luz on Thursday, while they were at a nearby restaurant.

Doctors Gerry and Kate McCann have spoken of their “anguish and despair”.

In the first official briefing on the case, Guilhermino Encarnacao, director of the judicial police in the Faro region, said officers are working on the assumption she is being held between 3km and 5km (1.8 and 3.1 miles) from the resort.

They had about 30 calls from potential witnesses and have created an artist’s impression of a suspect.

Responding to criticism that the police had been slow to respond, Mr Encarnacao said officers arrived at the scene 10 minutes after being alerted to the disappearance.

An investigation unit began work within 30 minutes, he added.

Police are expected to provide a further update on their investigation later.

Window Opened

Relatives have flown to the Algarve to be with the couple, who were holidaying with their three children.

Speaking to press on Friday evening, Mr and Mrs McCann, from Rothley, pleaded for the return of their “beautiful” Madeleine.

Mr McCann, with his wife at his side, read out an emotional statement outside the holiday apartments on Friday evening.

“We cannot describe the anguish and despair we are feeling as parents of our beautiful daughter Madeleine,” he said.

“We request that anyone with any information relating to Madeleine’s disappearance, no matter how trivial, contact the Portuguese police and help us get her back safely.”

The Ocean Club resort offered a creche service but the couple decided to leave Madeleine and two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie sleeping in the apartment.

They had taken turns to return from the restaurant to check on their children.

Madeleine, who turns four next Friday, was last seen by her father at about 2100 local time.

When Mrs McCann went to check on her about an hour later, she found the bedroom’s outside shutter and window had been opened and her daughter missing.

Resort staff and guests helped the McCanns search the complex grounds into Friday morning and police were notified.

Pictures of Madeleine have been widely distributed, and ports and the Spanish police put on alert.

British Ambassador John Buck, who is with the McCanns in the Algarve, said they have been joined by three Family Liaison Officers from Leicestershire Police.

Mr McCann’s sister Philomena, criticised the Portuguese police for initially “playing down” their response to the disappearance.

She has been in phone contact with her brother.

Speaking from her home in Glasgow, she said: “He thinks it’s just too little, too late.

“It was hours before the local police turned up and we’re talking two bobbies that totally downplayed the incident and said that Maddie had maybe just wandered off.”

However, she said that the family was elated to hear the police believed Madeleine was still alive.

“There was a distinct feeling of elation, you know – but it’s been a while since we actually heard it and it’s really important to keep your emotions in check,” she said.

The Mayor of Lagos, Julio Barraso, defended the police from accusations that they had been too slow to act.

He told BBC News 24: “During all the night of Thursday until Friday they have been here and they started the investigation and I believe that humanly it’s not possible to ask for more.”