Prosecutors to receive McCann case

PORTIMAO, Portugal (CNN) -- After questioning the parents of a missing British girl last week, Portuguese police will hand over the Madeleine McCann case to the prosecutor's office Monday, police chief inspector Olegario De Sousa told CNN.

Kate and Gerry McCann -- who returned Sunday from Portugal with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie to their home in Rothley, England -- will have five days to present themselves to police in Portugal, De Sousa said.

Earlier it was revealed the couple are receiving legal advice from a lawyer who has previously acted for former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet.

The McCanns have steadfastly denied any involvement in their daughter's disappearance in May, days before her fourth birthday.

Brian Kennedy, Kate McCann's uncle, told reporters Monday the McCanns are "holding up extremely well." The two-year-old twins "slept soundly," he added.

He could not comment on the legal situation, but said the McCanns would return to Portugal if they're asked to.

The McCanns will receive advice from Michael Caplan QC, who acted for Pinochet when Spain attempted to extradite him from the UK in 1999, the Press Association reported.

They are also said to be receiving advice from Angus McBride, a criminal lawyer who is experienced in protecting the reputation of those being investigated by the media or police.

A family friend said the two lawyers would advise the couple on more than just extradition but gave no further information, the Press Association reported.

After questioning the parents of a missing British girl last week, Portuguese police will hand over the Madeleine McCann case to the prosecutor's office sometime on Monday, police chief inspector Olegario De Souza told CNN.

On Sunday, Madeleine's father Gerry McCann described the return back to Britain as "heartbreaking", but vowed to continue their search for the four-year-old.

He insisted that he and his wife Kate played no part in the disappearance four months ago of Madeleine despite being named by Portuguese police as suspects in the case.

The family then traveled to their home in the Leicestershire village of Rothley, 170 kilometers (110 miles) north of London, where dozens of TV camera crews and journalists were waiting.

Madeleine's aunt, Philomena McCann, said it was "unbelievable" that the couple had been named as suspects, and urged the police to focus their investigation on finding the little girl.

"No-one believes the Portuguese police," she told GMTV. "To think they are so callous and psychopathic that they could have done that... two more loving parents you could not hope to meet."

In a separate interview with the BBC she said the family wanted the "investigation changed round to look for Madeleine alive, as we reckon she is."

She added that the parents were prepared to return to Portugal to under go further questioning.

The McCanns reported that Madeleine had gone missing days before her 4th birthday on May 3 from their holiday apartment in Praia Da Luz in southern Portugal.

The parents told police they had left the girl and her siblings asleep in the unlocked apartment as they dined just meters away, checking on them frequently. However, later in the evening they discovered she was missing.

The case became a sensation in the British press and then internationally, with celebrities, including soccer icon David Beckham, offering their help. The parents traveled abroad to drum up support and even met Pope Benedict XVI.

But on Friday police in Portugal named the couple suspects after finding Madeleine's blood in a car the family rented 25 days after reporting her disappearance, a family spokeswoman said.

Officers in Portimao put the couple through intense rounds of questioning over the past few days, and declared them "arguidos," which, under Portuguese law, allows investigators to pose certain types of questions.

Arguidos also get certain legal protections that are not extended to mere witnesses. The term "arguido" is generally translated as "suspect." Portuguese authorities have not commented on the investigation.

The couple had vowed to stay in Portugal to clear their name, but on Sunday family spokeswoman Justine McGuinness said the McCanns were "returning to Britain after careful thought" and to give their twins a more normal life.

"I would like to emphasize that their return is with the full agreement of the Portuguese authorities and the police," McGuinness added.

Philomena McCann told the British news network ITN that police "tried to get Kate to confess to having accidentally killed Madeleine by offering her a deal through her lawyer" in which she would say she killed Madeleine by accident "and then disposed of the body."

The Sunday Mirror quoted Kate McCann discussing the offer.

"They are basically saying, 'If you confess Madeleine had an accident, and that I panicked and hid the body in a bag for a month then got rid of it in a hire car, I'd get two or three years' suspended sentence,'" she is quoted as saying, adding, "Police don't want a murder in Portugal."

Numerous friends and relatives of the McCanns have called any allegations of them having harmed the girl ridiculous.

On Saturday, Kate McCann's mother Susan Healy told ITN, "It's ludicrous. It's bizarre ... Kate never raises her voice to her children. She's the most loving and gentle mother."

"She's kind, gentle, funny, she has a good sense of humor -- a person with a good sense of integrity, as is Gerry," Susan Healy said. E-mail to a friend

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