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case file [Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at
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anytime you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
00:01:49
please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website today's episode deals with the crime
00:01:56
committed against the child that won't be suitable for all listeners the teixeira Mendonca family lived in the
00:02:10
north and portuguese town of lazada 40 kilometers east from the country's striking and sun-baked coastline
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situated in the economically developed Porto district lazada is known for hosting championship motor racing events
00:02:25
on a circuit just outside of town it features remnants of its rich ancient history with heritage monuments and
00:02:33
sites including churches manors and courts dating back to the Middle Ages lazada maintains its strong agricultural
00:02:42
tradition with sprawling rural farm and Bush lands intersected by winding highways that lead to winland
00:02:49
municipalities the Texeira Mendonca family homes by patriarch manuel and his wife Philomena were well known and
00:02:58
regarded within the local community by the late 90s the couple had two children an 8 year old daughter named Karina and
00:03:07
a son 11 year old we Pedro born on January 28 1987 we Pedro was an affectionate and happy child who was the
00:03:18
life of the party a devoted animal lover he accumulated a menagerie at home adopting so many Canaries that he was
00:03:27
forced to give some to his grandparents he once brought a squirrel home and made
00:03:32
a treehouse for her though was left devastated when it escaped the next day when he wasn't caring for animals we
00:03:41
Pedro loved riding his bicycle skateboarding and helping with handiwork and electrical
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projects at home a cane soccer player he dreamed of playing professionally when he grew up his life was full of jokes
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until after with Philomena describing her son's life as contagious she admired his imagination a quality she observed
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during his long bubble baths and when he attempted to use a fork as a makeshift -
00:04:09
television antenna Philomena worked at her father's driving school directly opposite the family home making it
00:04:18
convenient for her children to stop by if they needed to speak with her during office hours on Wednesday March 4 1998
00:04:27
shortly after 2:00 p.m. Philomena was busy working when Hui Pedro arrived he'd just finished the
00:04:35
lunch and had cycled over seeking permission to spend the rest of the afternoon taking a car ride with his
00:04:41
friend Afonso dish dish was the 22 year old truck driver who had become close with Filomena's family after obtaining
00:04:50
his driver's license from her school three years earlier his own family was burdened by financial struggles which
00:04:58
elicited a great deal of sympathy from Philomena she provided - with clothes and let him assist at the driving school
00:05:06
for extra money - soon befriended Filomena's children and she trusted him to drive hi Pedro and Corrine after
00:05:15
school most days we pedra was particularly enthusiastic about his new friend who seemed cool and exciting to
00:05:24
the 11 year old by virtue of being older despite their significant age difference
00:05:30
- was regarded as childish and immature which made him relatable - hi Pedro according to - the two were like
00:05:39
brothers yet not everyone in the Teixeira Mendonca household approved of their friendship
00:05:47
we perjurers father Manuel and his maternal grandfather Jose a were troubled by the 11-year age gap between
00:05:54
the two as well as Dash's habit of smoking cigarettes in boy Pedro's company Manuel expressed his concerns to
00:06:03
his wife on multiple occasions and although Philomena regarded darish as harmless she respected her husband's
00:06:10
grievances and started limiting the time we paid ruined - spent alone together therefore she denied her son's request
00:06:19
to go driving with - that afternoon Hooper Giroux was unhappy about his mother's decision but ultimately
00:06:27
accepted it Philomena reminded him that he had a tutoring lesson at 5:00 p.m. and suggested he play in the vacant
00:06:35
field behind her office in the meantime the large space was framed by dry grass trees and shrubs and contained a
00:06:43
circular dirt track occasionally used for horse racing although the field was surrounded by main roads cars didn't
00:06:52
usually access the area making it a popular place for children to play Hui perjur'd did as his mother told waving
00:07:00
goodbye as he happily pedaled off on his bike towards the field [Music] nearly four hours later as 6:00 p.m.
00:07:37
approached Philomena and Manuel received a phone call from Hui Purdue's tutor informing them that he had not turned up
00:07:45
for his five o'clock lesson this came as a surprise as he had never missed the tutoring session before the
00:07:53
eleven-year-old suffered from epilepsy that required daily medication and fear soon grew that he may have suffered an
00:08:00
attack if untreated a seizure could cause severe brain damage or worse a search party was quickly formed and
00:08:11
local residents were asked if they had seen the boy a neighbor revealed that at around 3 p.m. they adventure Pedro's
00:08:19
bicycle amongst the bushes in the vacant field behind Filomena's office his family contacted the National Public
00:08:27
Guard Portugal's military police who were responsible for civil law enforcement and a wide scale search was
00:08:35
initiated the police came to the streets of lazada with assistance from local firemen residents and specially trained
00:08:43
police dogs that failed to uncover any other sign of the young boy three local boys came forward to report that as they
00:08:54
were claimed football together in the vacant field earlier in the afternoon we Pedro arrived on his bike and joins them
00:09:02
at around 3 p.m. a black vehicle drove onto the racetrack and pulled up alongside Hui Pedro who chatted with the
00:09:10
male driver before gesturing to his friends that he wouldn't be playing with them he climbed into the car leaving his
00:09:18
bicycle behind the children identified the driver as 22 year old her Fonzo desh who they said
00:09:27
had been fixated on Hui pedra over the past a couple of weeks constantly asking where he was who he
00:09:33
was with and what his upcoming plans were Hui Pedro's youngest sister Corina also recall that earlier that year diya
00:09:43
SH had taken photographs of her and her brother something he'd never done before
00:09:50
several other witnesses also reported having seen Hui Pedro speaking to Afonso dear shed the field that afternoon - was
00:09:59
sighted driving a black Fiat Uno that belonged to his brother who confirmed he had blown - the vehicle - dish so he
00:10:06
could take it for its annual roadworthy test a mandatory practice in Portugal for vehicles over eight years old
00:10:13
however records revealed - didn't attend the scheduled inspection police quickly
00:10:22
located - Hoopa drew wasn't with him and he claimed to not to know where the missing boy was - was taken to the la
00:10:32
serda police station for further questioning where he denied giving weeper drew a
00:10:36
ride claiming he had only seen the boy for five minutes between 150 and 1:55 p.m. after this brief encounter
00:10:46
he drove alone to the nearby city of paços de ferreira located about 15 minutes west where he parked outside a
00:10:54
pharmacy he sat in the car for a while before walking around to town looking at the shop windows he then drove the short
00:11:04
distance to his girlfriend's home in the nearby town of freer manji arriving at 6:45 p.m.
00:11:11
there he received the phone call from his sister informing that weeper Dhruv was missing bleep a jurors distraught
00:11:19
grandfather josée was also at the police station awaiting news in a desperate bid to
00:11:25
locate his grandson he confronted desh and offered him anything he wanted to disclose we paid Roos whereabouts Dias
00:11:34
began to cry insisting he didn't know where the 11 year old was then all of a sudden he gave police anonymous warning
00:11:44
telling them we petrol could already be very far away and today should quote close the borders - was also accosted by
00:11:59
hue Pedras young cousin Joelle Andre who began telling officers about an encounter the two boys had with - the
00:12:07
previous day - warned him to shut up but Andre was undeterred explaining that - had invited
00:12:15
them to quote go to the prostitutes diya allegedly told the young boys to meet him at the field near the driving school
00:12:25
the following day where he would pick them up when March 4 arrived Andres mother wouldn't let him leave the
00:12:32
house so he missed the meeting a local firefighter named Maria was one of many who witnessed we Pedro get into a black
00:12:42
car at the field that afternoon when she visited the local police station to provide a report she ran into Afonso -
00:12:50
and recognized him as the car's driver and informed officers of her discovery this rattled - who confronted Maria at
00:13:00
the fire station following their encounter he was visibly worried and bombarded her with questions pertaining
00:13:07
to the ongoing investigation including whether she knew what his car looked like meanwhile we pay Dru's
00:13:16
disappearance had made of local news with reports describing him as 4 foot 11 inches tall weighing approximately 45
00:13:24
kilograms with short brown hair dark eyes and Sun tanned skin this description was
00:13:32
accompanied by a picture of him flashing a smile that revealed his distinctively
00:13:36
large front teeth a local sex worker named Al Cena recognized that the boy in the photograph and immediately contacted
00:13:45
authorities according to our Cena on the afternoon of March 4 she was working along the Strada NASA now 106 a highway
00:13:55
leading into the town of lush dosa 10 kilometers northwest of lozada a man in a black car had pulled up beside her
00:14:04
accompanied by a child she now believed had been Hui Pedro the men asked if al Cena was working and offered to pay her
00:14:13
2000 scooters to have sex with the boy whom he said was 14 years old the boy got out of the car that was obviously
00:14:24
distressed and started to cry al Cena led him into the woods but didn't initiate any physical contact
00:14:32
instead sympathizing with him and spending the next 15 minutes trying to calm him down the boy said the man was
00:14:41
his uncle who was forcing him to visit sex workers against his will al Cena asked if his mother knew to which the
00:14:49
boy replied no he continued to sob and Alcina gave him a hug promising he would be okay she walked the child back to the
00:15:00
car and watched as a drove away under the impression that the driver was heading to a brothel 500 metres away
00:15:11
despite multiple witness statements indicating otherwise the police were not convinced that Hui Pedro had been
00:15:19
abducted instead they treated his disappearance as a search and rescue case certain heerd either collapsed
00:15:26
somewhere or wandered off too far and gotten lost though that to Shara Mendonca family begged authorities to
00:15:35
act with urgency the district court was unable to Winterfell unless it was confirmed that an
00:15:40
abduction had taken place roughly 24 hours after we paid Roos disappearance several agents of the judicial police
00:15:49
finally arrived in lazada to assist in the ongoing search as the National Criminal Police Agency the judicial
00:15:58
police were responsible for investigating serious crimes such as homicides kidnappings organized crime
00:16:05
and terrorism over the following days the local neighborhoods wells rivers and outlying scrublands were searched
00:16:15
repeatedly missing person posters featuring a photograph of a smiling Reaper drew wearing a light grey t-shirt
00:16:23
were distributed in the case soon gained national media attention the young boy's
00:16:30
disappearance sparked an overwhelming sense of communal grief with many Portuguese news articles referring to
00:16:37
the missing child as our boy or our little boy Pedro the intense media coverage prompted an onslaught of calls
00:16:48
to the Teixeira Mendonca family people claimed to have Hui Pedro in their possession with some
00:16:55
callers demanding a ransom for his safe return one male caller claimed to be the
00:17:01
boy's kidnapper and demanded that Philomena undress in front of her window in order to get her son back a
00:17:09
clairvoyant informed the family about a vision they'd received to avoid Pedro's head in a river Philomena received the
00:17:18
most horrifying call in which a child repeatedly yelled Mumma into the receiver before the phone abruptly
00:17:25
disconnected she was certain the voice was her son's despite a judge ordering that the
00:17:35
family's phone calls be placed under surveillance none were traced police refused to
00:17:41
investigate them further saying they hadn't heard the calls themselves and didn't have the means of locating the
00:17:47
people responsible for making them the family suggests that possible methods which were dismissed by the police who
00:17:55
explained that those strategies were quote only in the movies the police also disregarded the multiple witness
00:18:04
accounts the placed we pair drew in the company of Afonso desh on the afternoon of his disappearance dish maintained his
00:18:13
version of events and promptly moved away from lazada with nothing else done to pursue him further as a suspect
00:18:21
although Philomena had a limited the time Deus spent with her son neighbours had since informed her that the two had
00:18:29
been meeting in secret prior to IPE Dru's disappearance Philomena had also noticed the shift in
00:18:37
Dash's demeanor he was reserved which at the time she had attributed to the fact
00:18:43
he was maturing and had recently gotten a girlfriend now she suspected he had been planning to harm her son for a
00:18:51
while and was withholding important information from investigators the Teixeira Mendonca family visited all
00:19:00
the key locations to search for clues but found no trace of a pair Drew and a month passed with no further
00:19:07
developments in the case in April 1998 Portuguese journalist nunu Ruggiero traveled to Disneyland in Paris
00:19:21
with his wife and children to write an article about the famous theme park for Portuguese women's magazine Carlos the
00:19:29
article was published along with several photographs documenting the Hazaras trip including one taken by a camera
00:19:36
positioned on a ride called Pinocchio's daring journey in the photo no news wife young son and daughter are
00:19:45
seated together in the front row of the Wrights carriage while nunu who has seated alone in the middle row holding a
00:19:51
camcorder behind him in the third and final row a little boy was seated next to an older man the boy whose face was
00:20:02
turned slightly to the left had tan skin brown hair and was dressed in a dark his
00:20:08
hip up jacket he was sitting next to a Caucasian man who appeared to be aged in his 40s with balding dark hair and was
00:20:17
wearing a red hooded jacket an observant Carter's radar noticed the boy looked remarkably like WePay drew upon seeing
00:20:29
the image for themselves Philomena and Manuel were certain it was their son the Portuguese police confiscated the
00:20:37
photograph for further analysis and sought CCTV footage taken during the ride but euro disney's video security
00:20:45
system hadn't been functioning on the day the photo was taken and too no footage existed the boarding man was
00:20:53
largely obscured by nunu and his camcorder making him difficult to identify there were conflicting reports
00:21:02
as to whether he was identified with some local sources claiming he was a bar owner or security guard from Portugal's
00:21:09
porter district of which lazada was situated but the lead didn't progress any further for the many Portuguese
00:21:19
people who believed the boy in the photo was indeed Hui Pedro the picture supported the theory that he
00:21:25
had been abducted and was still alive speculation arose that afonso dish had sold we paid read to traffickers who
00:21:34
quickly ferried him abroad a hypothesis seemingly bolstered by - warning police to close the borders members of the
00:21:43
Teixeira mendonça family set out overseas spending all of their money travelling
00:21:49
to various locations in search of wheat Pedro became no closer to finding him Philomena Teixeira later said it's hard
00:22:01
to remember that moment I saw the photograph and everything I felt I don't know who to blame but neither the
00:22:08
picture nor the other clues or steps taken in Paris came to anything [Music] the same month the Eurodisney photo was
00:22:23
published 1,300 kilometers northeast of lozada in the city of London the British
00:22:29
National Crime Squad initiated a large-scale covert inquiry called Operation Cathedral the inquiry aimed to
00:22:38
track down the elusive members of an online pedophile ring known as the Wonderland club who had distributed more
00:22:45
than 750,000 illicit images of children this investigation covered in episode 115 of case file led to the arrest of 29
00:22:56
year old Kent based computer technician and volunteer youth leader Gavin seekers amongst his large
00:23:04
collection of child exploitation material were images showing the abuse of a young boy labeled with the name
00:23:11
Billy following the completion of operation Cathedral in September 1998 the British National Crime Squad
00:23:20
sanitized the many of the images and compiled a database of victims faces for investigative agencies worldwide to use
00:23:28
in their efforts to identify locate and save the children featured in 2000 international authorities believed the
00:23:38
boy referred to as Billy in Wonderland's collection or a striking resemblance to
00:23:43
missing Portuguese boy we Pedro they contacted Philomena Teixeira and requested that she view the images
00:23:52
herself to see if a positive identification could be made as the images could only be viewed in Geneva
00:23:59
Switzerland a date was scheduled for Philomena and Manuel to visit in 2001 they were briefed about what to expect
00:24:08
prior to their arrival including details of the level of abuse featured in the content
00:24:15
upon saying the images of Billy Philomena confirmed that was indeed Hui Pedro although the content was
00:24:24
distressing it increased the couple's hope that their son was still alive as media reported on the positive
00:24:33
identification authorities feared it would spur hoipe Drew's abductors to murder him out of panic
00:24:40
Gavin Seger's sent his cohort fellow Wunderland member he and Bulldog were interrogated by Interpol but both denied
00:24:48
knowing who sent them the photos the poor quality of the images made it difficult for authorities to pinpoint
00:24:56
when or where they were taken and to their origin was not able to be determined Hui Pedro was one of only a
00:25:04
few children who were positively identified in the images shared within the Wunderland Club the other known
00:25:11
victims included six children from the United Kingdom seven from the United States one from Chile and another from
00:25:19
Argentina the investigation into who Pedro's disappearance slowed due to a lack of credible leads but the case hold
00:25:32
to the public's interest to such a degree that numerous sightings continued to be reported years after his abduction
00:25:38
none of which were definitively confirmed at one stage a Portuguese man named - Josie D'Amato Ashe was
00:25:47
approaching his release from prison for swindling when he announced that he knew the
00:25:52
whereabouts of the missing child he told authorities Hui pedra was taken to the city of visnu on the night of his
00:26:00
disappearance 165 kilometers southeast of Lozada and was later kept by the owner of a grocery store in England his
00:26:10
story was convincing and de Matos promised to retrieve the child upon his release as he was due to be paroled at
00:26:18
the time authorities were certain it wasn't just a ploy for the inmate to escape prison
00:26:25
sparing no expense the Texeira Mendonca family provided the marsh with an unlimited credit card cell phone into
00:26:33
Volvo s80 vehicle to facilitate the journey to bring we pay drew home the mottos kept in touch with the family
00:26:42
first heading to Spain before continuing onwards to England where he found hui Pedro's grandfather back in Portugal
00:26:49
stating hello I have in front of me the grandson of mr. Teixeira he is eating an
00:26:56
ice cream the call prompted an emotional response from the desperate family yet as the days passed there was no further
00:27:06
word from de Matos and suspicions grew authorities discovered that the Marta ash hadn't even left Portugal and that
00:27:16
his entire story was a scam he was ultimately convicted of fraud and served seven years in prison
00:27:25
who you pedras grandfather josée maintained his belief that Afonso dish was responsible for his grandson's
00:27:32
disappearance he had promised his daughter he would bring her son home no matter what spending all of his money
00:27:39
hiring private detectives and travelling to various countries tirelessly searching for clues in 2003 josée was
00:27:49
killed in a tractor accident his sudden death was another devastating blow to Philomena who credited her father is
00:27:58
giving her the strength to carry on josée was commended by the lazada community for his ongoing determination
00:28:07
and for ensuring the search efforts to find piper drew continued in that same year a major Portuguese pedophile ring
00:28:18
was exposed after nine survivors came forward to report being subjected to sexual abuse during their time at
00:28:25
state-run orphanages known as cars appear for houses of the pious members of the ring included doctors lawyers a
00:28:34
prominent television host an ambassador and other high-profile individuals during the investigation a former sex
00:28:44
worker claimed to have seen vapor drew at a boarding house in the Portuguese capital city of Lisbon and on a
00:28:51
videotape that was later given to Carlos silvano a significant member of the pedophile ring
00:28:58
Silvan who was a driver for the orphanages and his role within the group was to transport children from Casa baya
00:29:05
to the homes of abuses he later confessed to 639 charges relating to child abuse and procuring children for
00:29:15
others seven members were later tried six of whom were convicted of using the orphanages to rape a number of teenage
00:29:25
boys the trial sent shockwaves through the country but no definitive link between the pedophile ring and hoipe
00:29:33
drew was ever identified the alleged videotape featuring footage of the child was never found over the ensuing years
00:29:45
Hui Pedro's loved ones criticized the nation's bureaucracy over what they regarded as a sloppy and negligent
00:29:52
investigation Channel TV our journalist Donna Leal reported that authorities had
00:29:58
failed to speak to important witnesses or follow up leads that emerged during the early days of the case in addition
00:30:07
Philomena Teixeira had been sexually harassed by an inspector of the judicial police during the initial stages of the
00:30:14
investigation which resulted in her filing a complaint Cooper drew was particularly close to
00:30:23
his uncle and Godfather Carlos Teixeira whom he idolized in 2007 Carlos thanked the public for their
00:30:31
ongoing support and solidarity saying the family had employed all possible means in the search for clues including
00:30:39
resorting to the use of mediums and other spiritualists in Portugal and abroad they followed all instructions
00:30:47
given by these alternative guides including climbing mountains in the dark visiting isolated abandoned houses
00:30:54
undergoing hypnotism and participating in magic rituals but to no result at one stage Philomena spent the night in a
00:31:05
field after receiving word from her son's alleged captors that they were going to hand him over although she
00:31:12
believed it was yet another con her heart wouldn't let her miss the meeting as anticipated her hopes were dashed
00:31:21
when no one showed although the botched investigation was a source of pain and frustration for the family Carlos
00:31:30
Teixeira remarked I do not even feel entitled to say that I am harmed because my pain is so small compared to what
00:31:40
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April 2007 marked a nine years since we paid drew vanished on the 28th of that month Jerry and Kate McCann traveled
00:36:15
from their home in Leicestershire England to a family resort in the coastal Portuguese village of prior
00:36:20
deluge located in the Algarve region 620 kilometers south of la serda the area was particularly popular with British
00:36:30
tourists Jerry and Kate brought their three children two year old twins Sean and Emily and to their three-year-old
00:36:38
sister Madeline the McCann family were also joined by a group of friends and several of their young children the
00:36:47
group spent the next five days enjoying the resort's facilities Thursday May 3 2007 was the penultimate day of their
00:36:57
trip at 7 p.m. Cade and Jerry put the children to bed before going to meet their friends for
00:37:04
an 8:30 p.m. dinner the restaurant was located 82 metres from their ground-floor rental apartment every 30
00:37:13
minutes one of the adults would take the short walk back to the residential block
00:37:18
to check on their sleeping children at 10:00 p.m. Kate entered her apartment and looked
00:37:24
into her children's bedroom and to notice the window was open and Madeline was missing the authorities were
00:37:32
notified immediately and search parties quickly set out but no trace of metal and McCann has ever been found and the
00:37:40
circumstances of her disappearance remain a mystery rumors circulated that Madeline's case
00:37:47
was connected to the disappearance of Lupe drew for though it has been confirmed that Madeline was not featured
00:37:54
in any images or videos confiscated from the Wunderland Club given that Afonso Diaz job as a truck
00:38:02
driver required him to travel extensively around Portugal he was also considered a suspect in Madeline's case
00:38:10
Philomena told newspaper 24 orderers I immediately thought of my son even though the cases are different and I
00:38:20
thought of Madeline's parents the anguish they are suffering the Teixeira mendonça family sent them a cans a
00:38:28
letter but never received a reply as with hoipe Drew's case a number of investigative mistakes were made from
00:38:38
the outset of Madeline's disappearance but her abduction received far more attention resources media coverage and
00:38:45
funding this disparity caused the tensions between the McCanns and the Portuguese public with newspaper
00:38:53
headlines asking what about our missing children Phil a minute to share I told journalists that while she was glad the
00:39:02
police were taking great efforts to find Madeleine she felt it was unjust that the same efforts weren't being made to
00:39:08
recover missing Portuguese children she had been unaware that Portugal even had forensic police units until Madeline's
00:39:16
disappearance as their services had never been engaged in the search for her son Philomena
00:39:23
told television news reporters the McCanns have everything available to them even a helicopter I didn't have
00:39:31
that nine years ago I didn't have anything in an interview with Carter's magazine she said it is hard for me to
00:39:42
see all the means available for this case when perjury received and none of this I have the same right as Madeline's
00:39:49
parents I demand the same treatment for my son's case investigators promised me that my son's case is not forgotten they
00:39:59
work hard but have no means our government has not yet realized that this is a real problem and two that it
00:40:07
requires real measures such as a change of law and adequate means to investigate
00:40:14
Portuguese nationals believed that hoipe drew might have been found already if his case had been given the same amount
00:40:21
of due diligence as the McCain investigation the vice-president of the Algarve tourist board stated there is no doubt
00:40:30
that this case has a much higher profile because Madeleine is British and was on
00:40:35
holiday here and - this is causing resentment amongst the Portuguese child protection campaigners alleged that
00:40:44
corruption and complacency were rampant amongst Portuguese law enforcement which
00:40:49
allowed such kidnappings to continue the founder of international child advocacy
00:40:55
group innocence in danger stated that she had tried to set up an office in Portugal but eventually gave up because
00:41:02
the local authorities were reluctant about the idea at the time of Madeleine McCain's disappearance police were still
00:41:14
distributing a photograph of hui pedro at age 11 rather than taking advantage of age progression technology to show
00:41:21
what he might look like at age 20 Philomena insisted that police update her son's image to increase the
00:41:29
likelihood of him being identified but they refused in response several artists volunteered to create a
00:41:37
portrait of what we Pedro might look like at 20 years old with Philomena describing these illustrations as quote
00:41:44
the best gift of recent times On June 1 2007 Philomena attended an event for world Children's Day that ain't to raise
00:41:56
awareness for missing minors she told Cara's magazine she felt hi Pedro wasn't in Portugal adding it is hard for me to
00:42:07
imagine what he will be doing I have been in psychiatric treatment because I start thinking about what happened or
00:42:13
how he might be I always imagined that I will find him in a way that I can still
00:42:19
do something for him even if he is sick or fragile I will help him recover and we will still have a future Hui Pedro's
00:42:30
younger sister Corina who was now 18 years old still referred to her brother in the present tense and expressed her
00:42:37
below that he would return in 2009 new hopes were ignited when in the United States
00:42:46
kidnapping survivor Jaycee Lee Dugard was found to 18 years after she was abducted from a street
00:42:53
near her Californian home in 1991 covered in episode 33 of case file JC was held captive by a convicted sex
00:43:02
offender Phillip Garrido and his wife Nancy in their home for almost two decades before she was discovered and
00:43:10
rescued by law enforcement like hoipe drew JC was 11 years old at the time of her abduction her reappearance gave the
00:43:21
Texeira Mendonca family some encouragement about the ingenuity of investigators and fueled hope that hoipe
00:43:28
drew might still be found alive two years later a new police team based in Port au used witness statements taken
00:43:39
during the crucial hours after he perjures disappearance to reconstruct what likely happened to him in the 24
00:43:46
hours following as a result of these efforts on February 11 2011 Portugal's central department of
00:43:55
criminal investigation and prosecution indicted Afonso desh desh the longtime prime suspect in the now 13 year old
00:44:04
case was charged with aggravated abduction hikaru Sal Fernandez the lawyer for the Teixeira Mendonca family
00:44:13
lamented the very large delay the Public Prosecutor's Office had taken in issuing
00:44:18
the indictment but welcomed it as an opportunity of hope for Hui Pedro's parents Sal Fernandez said these efforts
00:44:27
should have been made in the original investigation quote during the 48 hours that followed the disappearance the
00:44:35
investigation failed to respect the basic procedures and to led to weeks months years going by with nothing being
00:44:43
done a preliminary hearing was held at los zetas district court to determine whether desh would be tried for the
00:44:53
young boys disappearance prosecutors maintained that on the afternoon of March 4 1998 dears drove
00:45:02
who paid you to visit sex workers before taking him to an unknown destination they noted that dia shall act an
00:45:10
adequate alibi between 2:00 p.m. and 2:00 6:45 p.m. that day although he claimed he had been walking around the
00:45:19
nearby city all afternoon he was unable to provide any specific locations prosecutors believed he knew what
00:45:28
happened to repay drew but refused to tell as it would implicate him in the abduction in response - declared himself
00:45:38
a victim claiming the allegations were quote without factual support and that Hawaii Pedro did not enter his vehicle
00:45:47
under such circumstances he questioned the central testimony of the prosecution's key witnesses including
00:45:56
WePay Drew's three friends who were present at the field on March 4 1998 as their statements were supplied over
00:46:04
three different periods ranging from 1998 to 2008 - argued that were inaccurate and
00:46:11
unreliable he asserted that Alcina the sex worker gave an inaccurate description of the boy she saw on that
00:46:20
afternoon initially saying his eyes were blue before changing her statement to say they were dark brown Dias also
00:46:29
highlighted that the prosecution had no physical evidence to prove who Pedro had
00:46:34
been in his car he claimed as far as high-paid rio is concerned the thing I want most in the world is that he
00:46:43
appears I never denied being with him but I never saw him again after we parted company that day and I haven't a
00:46:52
clue what happened to him despite his efforts to discredit the case against him Alphonso - was formally
00:47:04
accused of kidnapping and ordered to stand trial the purpose of the trial was not to determine exactly what happened
00:47:11
to a jury but to decide whether - was responsible for his disappearance the accused - continued to maintain his
00:47:20
innocence while refusing to clarify exactly what happened on the afternoon Pedro went missing
00:47:28
the trial began in the court of law Zara on November 17 2011 - who was now 34 years old requested to be excused from
00:47:38
attending on the grounds that prolonged absence from his job as a long-distance truck driver would result in economic
00:47:44
difficulties but his request was denied he also claimed to have cognitive difficulties that translated into an
00:47:53
inability to quote situate himself in time and space and to request it to undergo psychological testing but this
00:48:02
request was also denied due to the amount of publicity surrounding the case and the public's
00:48:10
hostility towards - the lazada municipal police closed the streets surrounding the courthouse and increased their
00:48:18
presence for the trial Philomena Teixeira testified detailing the moment she farewelled her son has he cycled
00:48:26
towards the field behind her workplace she referred to the accused as simply him describing - as a childish person
00:48:36
who at the age of 22 played on an equal footing with her 11 year old son and - consequently appeared harmless Hui Pedro
00:48:46
his cousin Joe l1j also took the stand the now adult Andre told the court that on the day of his cousin's disappearance
00:48:55
dears planned to take him and twe paid you to meet with sex workers despite the fact they were both children as Andre
00:49:04
missed the meeting he believed he may have avoided becoming a victim himself plagued with survivor's
00:49:11
guilt he thought he could have saved his cousin from being kidnapped had he been
00:49:15
there saying being - we might have had the strength to flee Alcina the sex worker who was approached by a man with
00:49:26
a young boy on March 4 1998 also appeared in court during her testimony she was shown a photograph of 11 year
00:49:36
old hoipe drew and said she was absolutely certain it was him she met that day when asked if the men who
00:49:44
accompanied the child was sitting in the dark Alsina stared at - for several seconds
00:49:49
before replying yes the defense pointed out that during the investigation Alcina never unequivocally
00:49:58
identified the driver of the car as Afonso - she conceded this was correct but explained the authorities had never
00:50:07
attempted to help her formally identify the man despite speaking with them on three separate occasions she was finally
00:50:15
able to do so in court as it was the first time since the event she had seen - face to face a former judiciary police
00:50:25
inspector who was involved in the investigation from its inception until 2001 told the court he believed who he
00:50:32
paid you may still be alive noting I have no evidence but that's my belief regarding Afonso - the former officer
00:50:43
remarked there were some things that did not fit right I could not materialise evidence that he was guilty or innocent
00:50:52
he contested our Cena's statement claiming that two days after he paid Rouge disappearance she said the man who
00:51:00
approached her drove a white car not a black one like dishes who eat perjurers uncle who accompanied the inspector to
00:51:08
speak with our Sina during the initial investigation rebutted this maintaining that she had described the black vehicle
00:51:17
the defense put forward a different timeline of events for the afternoon of Hui Pedro's disappearance claiming he
00:51:25
had met with - prior to riding his bike to visit his mother at her workplace they argued that the prosecution was
00:51:33
using - as a scapegoat and he was only being accused because of the animosity that had been brewing between their
00:51:40
client and Hui Pedro's father Manuel at the time of his son's disappearance they claimed Manuel was jealous of the
00:51:48
amount of time they're spent with his wife and son resulting in - and Philomena concealing their meetings from
00:51:55
him Manuel denied these allegations saying his main concern was only ever the age difference between dish and Hui
00:52:03
Pedro a group of judges presiding over the case along with several witnesses and
00:52:10
the Texeira Mendonca family traveled to key locations throughout lazada to reenact the circumstances leading to we
00:52:18
pay Dru's disappearance they went from the field behind the tashera's driving school to the lush Stosur sex work zone
00:52:26
which was allegedly where - had taken the boy and the last place he was seen Philomena chose to stay in the car with
00:52:37
her daughter as she had already visited the area to search for clues after our Sina provided her statement at the
00:52:43
outset of the investigation being there again so many years later brought her deep sorrow as she wondered what she
00:52:52
could have done to prevent her son's disappearance Manuel later told Carters magazine it
00:53:00
was difficult to relive that final day but he endured it because he believed it would help find the truth
00:53:12
the prosecution requested afonso - be imprisoned noting he had shown no sign of remorse and had behaved with total
00:53:20
indifference quote I ask for justice for the resolution of the case at the end of
00:53:29
this process is the hurt and anguish and not finding out what happened to Pedro we ask for justice and expect it to be
00:53:37
done On February 22 2012 in a result that surprised that many Afonso - was acquitted the panel of judges rejected
00:53:52
the testimonies from the prosecution's witnesses and accepted the defense's argument that Villa Manor was the last
00:53:58
person to have seen hui Pedro the decision was based on what was described as weaknesses in the evidence citing in
00:54:07
particular the quote lack of consistency in our Cena's testimony members of the public were outraged by the decision
00:54:17
with some who had gathered at the courthouse in anticipation of a guilty verdict shouting abuse at Afonso - as he
00:54:24
left the free man following his acquittal - told television station RTP one that he last saw we paid Roo on the
00:54:34
afternoon of March 4 1998 when he drove away from the field when the 11 year old
00:54:40
was riding his bike - who had since married and had a nine-year-old son said he now feared for
00:54:48
his family's safety he regretted the suffering they had endured but expressed relief at the court's decision quote
00:54:57
when I got home I said son it's proven that your father never had anything to do with it he stated he would continue
00:55:07
to believe that hui Pedro was still alive until it was proven otherwise the outcome of the trial had a devastating
00:55:17
impact on Philomena causing both her physical and emotional well-being to deteriorate significantly she struggled
00:55:26
to wait with her weight plummeting to 39 kilograms the Teixeira mendonça family made a submission to the Court of Appeal
00:55:36
arguing that the trial judges had relied on evidence that should have been forbidden specifically the testimony of
00:55:43
three inspectors who did little to investigate the case despite their lack of involvement the court had regarded
00:55:51
the officers as reliable and informed witnesses especially when it came to discrediting our cena's testimony the
00:56:00
family's lawyer Hikaru so Fernandez claimed to the inspectors uninformed statements poisoned and infected the
00:56:07
court's decision and that quote the judgement was not of the judges but of the three inspectors Saar Fernandez
00:56:17
called the ruling that Philomena was the last person to have seen her son unbelievable stating
00:56:24
well that does not make any sense why was hypo drew going to ask his mother to go out with Afonso when he had already
00:56:33
been with him one of the other driving school employees had also testified to seeing Pedro visit his mother at
00:56:42
approximately 2:15 p.m. on the day of his disappearance and overheard Philomena denying his request to meet
00:56:49
with desh Sal Fernandez called the courts finding unacceptable stating this case cannot stay with this
00:57:00
decision for the sake of our history we owe this to the memory of hoipe drew if he is dead or if he is alive and we owe
00:57:09
this to our cena an extraordinary woman who did not gain anything from it and told the truth
00:57:16
the Teixeira mendonça family continued to fight for a retrial with Manuel stating until we know what happened to
00:57:26
wipe her drew we will continue while Philomena once again called for justice to be done
00:57:35
the acquittal was condemned by the court of appeal and a retrial was scheduled for 2014 although this news was
00:57:44
favorable Philomena questioned whether she had the strength to continue with more legal ordeals as the retrial
00:57:52
approached Manuel explained after learning that the case was going to retrial my wife managed to recover a
00:58:01
little and Danelle weighs 47 kilograms but as she approached the trial she stopped eating again and became more
00:58:09
fragile the doctors feared that she would become very thin again Philomena was overwhelmed with anxiety and to
00:58:20
required hospitalization to be fed through a tube when concerns arose whether she would be
00:58:27
able to testify Manuel told the media she has to do it and she will because he is very
00:58:34
important to her the retrial commenced at the appellate court of Porto Philomena was one of the
00:58:45
first witnesses to testify before a new panel of judges and once again publicly relived the last time she saw her son
00:58:54
after both sides had presented their cases for the second time the judges considered the evidence and reached a
00:59:01
conclusion they accepted Afonso - had indeed taken Hui Pedro from the field to visit our Sina for his attempt to make
00:59:13
the eleven-year-old engage with sex workers deist was found guilty for corruption of a minor the judges
00:59:21
concluded adesh was the last person in Hui Pedro's company before he vanished however they believed there wasn't
00:59:29
enough evidence to prove he was responsible for the disappearance itself and he was not convicted of the boy's
00:59:36
abduction on March 4 2013 15 years to the day after hoipe Dru's disappearance - was sentenced to three years and six
00:59:48
months in prison hikaru say Fernandez the Teixeira mendonça family's lawyer remarked for me
00:59:57
this is a very important day very important for Philomena and for Manuel but it is above all a very important day
01:00:06
for Hui Peru because Hui Pedro may be alive and we will continue the search for him and if he is not alive his
01:00:15
memory deserves that we carry on until we know what happened to him it is the first victory but not the last
01:00:24
the last victory will be when we know what happened to him philomena praised the court's decision
01:00:32
calling it a glimmer of hope and a little light at the end of the tunnel on march 18 2015 after exhausting all
01:00:44
possible avenues of Appeal Dias began his prison sentence in the northern Portuguese city of gimr rush two years
01:00:52
later in late March 2017 he was paroled for good behavior after serving just two-thirds of his sentence his early
01:01:03
release came as a disappointment to fill a mentor who was overcome by emotional and physical exhaustion when she heard
01:01:10
the news she later described her reaction to reporters from flash magazine stating I feel such a great
01:01:19
revulsion I am sorry to live in a country where people and institutions are not what they should be I think
01:01:26
there is more and more injustice each anniversary of her son's disappearance was extremely painful for Philomena as
01:01:36
it felt like he had only vanished yesterday she often dreamt of him playing happily with his sister and
01:01:43
imagined the man he would have become Philomena felt Hui Pedro would still be constantly smiling as he did when he was
01:01:52
a boy saying I am hopeful that he is a tall man with a strong structure I can only imagine the hug I am going to give
01:02:02
him Afonso - maintained his innocence insisting that he served time for a crime he didn't commit he told a
01:02:12
journalist from national daily newspaper Journal de noticias that he was truly a
01:02:18
free man because he never wrote anything to anyone in an interview with a popular
01:02:24
Portuguese news program he said the warning he gave police to close the borders shortly after Hawaii
01:02:30
Pedro went missing was sarcastic quote his granddad thought I threw the kid onto the back of a truck so I told him
01:02:39
hey if you think that's so strongly then just closed the damn borders he can't be
01:02:44
that far in the same interview he referred to our Cena as a [ __ ] and a [ __ ] multiple times prompting the
01:02:53
interviewer to interject when the 16th anniversary of Hui Pedro's disappearance approached filmmaker Claudia Clemente
01:03:06
she used social media to spread awareness about the unsolved case fearing the conviction of Afonso - might
01:03:13
have misled the Portuguese people into thinking the investigation was over with the help of a team of audio-visual and
01:03:21
communications professionals she created a 90-second online video campaign in which two presenters
01:03:28
reminisce about a range of special occasions typically spent with family stating those were years filled with the
01:03:37
news surprises and a laughter they then posed the question do you remember these
01:03:44
last years with your son the screen fades to black before Philomena Teixeira appears and remarks whilst the blinking
01:03:53
back tears I don't today my son Pedro turns 27 I haven't seen him since he was 11 I'll
01:04:02
never give up looking for him according to the campaign by 2014 more than 3 million children had been abducted
01:04:13
around the world for sexual exploitation the video concludes with the following request if you have any information that
01:04:23
may help us locate Hoopa drew please let us know it is never too late to help it was Filomena's son who disappeared
01:04:32
but it could have been yours by 2017 Philomena had retired due to disability and kept busy by taking care
01:04:44
of her daughter exploring various therapies and continuing to search for her son she kept Hui Pedro's bedroom
01:04:53
exactly as he had left it in 1998 complete with his space themed quilt cover neat display of toy cars and
01:05:01
action figures video game console and a poster of American actress Sandra Bullock hanging behind the door the only
01:05:09
things Philomena added were some images of saints illuminated by lamps a crucifix and a Bible saying I'm waiting
01:05:19
for him to come back to tell us what he wants to change that year on the 19th anniversary of her son's disappearance
01:05:28
Philomena posted an appeal on Facebook imploring the public to continue looking for him she said that while her family
01:05:38
had adapted to their new reality the tragedy had caused her to become isolated and uncertain of who to trust
01:05:45
she wrote Hui Pedro you know deep down I still believe in miracles otherwise I would not be alive and I wait for you
01:05:56
with open arms for a tired hug do not forget please promise me you will not forget him and if anything happens
01:06:05
to me keep fighting to know what happened to him that's all I have left this despair of longing that only those
01:06:14
who were mothers feel please do not forget it never give up in 2018 a video of a homeless Portuguese
01:06:28
man circulating on social media caught the attention of national news outlets the bearded man was lean with tanned
01:06:37
skin had too dark hair and eyes and tube or other striking similarities to we Pedro he said his name was Pedro and
01:06:46
that he was 30 years old which roughly matched the age who Pedro would have been at the time however he was born and
01:06:55
raised in Almada a city located in southern Portugal approximately 350 kilometres south of la
01:07:02
serda the video was shared thousands of times and sent to the Teixeira mendonça family Manuel noted the men in the
01:07:12
footage shared some physical characteristics to his son including large front teeth but also noticed
01:07:19
obvious differences such as the shape of his ears the video was sent to the authorities
01:07:26
for further analysis and the judicial police managed to identify the individual it was not who I paid you but
01:07:34
a man called Pedro de bello in January 2019 Filomena was interviewed by Portuguese
01:07:44
television host Cristina Ferreira during which she discussed how the search for her son had sent her into the dark world
01:07:52
of pedophilia she said she had cried so much that she had no more tears left but
01:07:59
made it clear that she did not mourn for her son as she believed he was alive in
01:08:05
response to her doctor's recommendation to place a memorial stone in Hawaii Pedro's bedroom Philomena said you want
01:08:14
me to put a grave in my son's room my son is missing not that many continued to suspect that
01:08:24
Afonso dish was involved in hoipe Dru's disappearance with the general belief being that he took the child to sex
01:08:31
workers to lose his virginity in preparation for selling him to a pedophile ring there is evidence to
01:08:39
prove the Wunderland club had roots in Portugal with at least one member living in the country at the time the group was
01:08:45
exposed Philomena believes dish may have been a victim of blackmail who was forced to play a role in her son's
01:08:53
disappearance but remained silent out of fear that Teixeira Mendonca family and the Portuguese public remained hopeful
01:09:03
that - will one day break his silence and reveal the truth with Manuel urging him to imagine what it would be like to
01:09:11
live without his own child for so many years on Hui Pedro's thirty second - birthday Philomena wrote a message that
01:09:20
read son I remember you in a mixture of emotions joy and sadness joy because I had you and you were part of me sadness
01:09:34
because they took you and I did not have the opportunity to see you grow from the
01:09:39
age of eleven on this day I hope you will remember how much you have made me happy I do not want to think I will
01:09:48
never see you again today is your day January 28 2019 V await your arrival kiss and hug mother
01:10:14
[Music] you