Two accused of extortion in UK girl case
June 30, 2007 00:00:00
MADRID, June 29 (AP): An Italian man and Portuguese woman who allegedly tried to extort money from the parents of missing British 4-year-old Madeline McCann remained in custody in southern Spain Friday pending further questioning, a police spokeswoman said.
Police arrested the two in the exclusive Sotogrande district of San Roque town Thursday. A judge in the nearby town of Torremolinos has taken charge of the case and placed a secrecy order on investigations, meaning police will not be able to comment on developments, the spokeswoman said. She was speaking on condition of anonymity in line with police rules.
The detainees were only identified by their initials; D.C. for the Italian and A.D. for the Portuguese woman. Spain's daily El Mundo named the Italian as Danilo Chemello, born in the Italian town of Vicenza in 1946.