Police to Hand Over McCann Case Papers

Gerry McCann, right, father of missing four-year-old Madeleine, receives a visitor into his house in Rothley, near Leicester, England, Monday, Sept. 10, 2007, after returning from Praia da Luz in Portugal Sunday with his wife Kate. Madeleine McCann disappeared on May 3 from the family apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal. Gerry and Kate McCann have been named by the Portuguese police as official suspects, 'arguidos' . (AP Photo/Sang Tan) (Sang Tan - AP)

ROTHLEY, England -- Documents on the investigation into the disappearance of 4-year-old Madeleine McCann won't be given to Portuguese prosecutors by police until Tuesday, and her parents waited at their British home to see if they would be charged.

Portuguese police had been expected to hand-deliver to prosecutors on Monday the results of their investigation into the girl's disappearance May 3 from a hotel in southern Portugal. Police named Kate and Gerry McCann as suspects Friday.

But police spokesman Olegario Sousa said the prosecutor would not receive the case until Tuesday, and he declined to provide further details, citing Portugal's secrecy law covering ongoing investigations.

Portimao District Attorney Jose Cunha de Magalhaes e Meneses will then review the case files, which contain details of forensic evidence and police interviews with the parents.

The McCanns, who returned to Britain on Sunday with their 2-year-old twins, kept a low profile Monday, avoiding reporters camped outside their home.

Philomena McCann, Gerry's sister, accused the police of "clutching at straws" to clear the case up.

"Kate and Gerry have been a thorn in their sides for a long time. What better than to cast them as the villains?" she told GMTV.

The McCanns, who are both medical doctors, have hired a high profile legal team that includes Michael Caplan, who represented Gen. Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator, when Spain tried to extradite him from Britain in 1999.

The administrators of a $2 million fund set up to help find Madeleine were investigating whether some of the money could be used to help pay the McCanns' legal bills, Britain's Press Association quoted an unidentified family friend as saying.

Sousa said he expected the public prosecutor to "quickly decide" on what action to take. The prosecutor's office determines whether charges should be brought against anyone, whether more investigation is needed, or if the case should be dropped.

Madeleine's disappearance, and her parents' campaign to find her, has attracted worldwide attention. The story took a startling twist Friday when Portuguese police formally named them as suspects.

Until Friday, suspicion had centered on Robert Murat, a British man who lived near the hotel from which Madeleine disappeared and who was the only formal suspect. He has not been charged, and he has said he is innocent.