The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann appeared to smirk as he emerged from court yesterday, as journalists asked him if he abducted and killed the British three-year-old.
Christian Brueckner was confronted by reporters as he left the court in Lehrte, Germany, after being convicted of insulting guards at the prison where he is serving a seven-year sentence for rape.
Brueckner is under investigation on suspicion of abduction and murder in the McCann case but has denied any involvement in the girl’s 2007 disappearance.
While German investigators made the unusual move of naming the convicted paedophile as a suspect in the case, he has not been charged.
The 47-year-old’s prison term is set to end with his release this September – much earlier than prosecutors had hoped for after he was acquitted of unrelated sexual offences in court last October following a trial.
He was hauled before judges yesterday after branding prison staff ‘a laughing stock’ and telling a female guard to ‘shut your gob’. Insulting prison officials is an offence in Germany.
Brueckner complained he was being ‘tortured’ and was treated ‘inhumanely’ during the outburst, which occurred during a March 2024 meeting discussing whether he could be moved from solitary confinement, The Mirror reports.
He was reportedly described by a guard as ‘enraged’ during the interaction, and later wrote a letter of apology to the prison staff saying he ‘woke up on the wrong side of the bed’.
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Video and pictures of Christian Brueckner emerging from court yesterday appeared to show him smirking. Reporters could be heard asking ‘Did you abduct Madeleine McCann?’
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Madeleine McCann went missing on May 3, 2007, aged three. She has never been found
He was sentenced to probation – the length of which is yet to be determined – and told to pay court costs.
If he commits another crime while on probation he will be recalled to prison for a month, though prosecutors had reportedly hoped for him to receive a new prison term for the crime.
As he walked from court into a prison van yesterday, escorted by two officers, journalists could be heard asking him ‘were you involved in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann?’ and if he killed the toddler.
The convicted rapist is no longer being held in solitary confinement as he nears the end of his sentence.
With Brueckner’s release looming, pressure is mounting on prosecutors to charge him following explosive revelations in a Channel 4 documentary and evidence found in a former factory, which authorities believe may link him to Maddie’s abduction.
The materials, unearthed at a disused box factory in Germany, include a vile catalogue of depraved documents, children’s clothing, small bikes, and more than 75 swimsuits and toys believed to belong to young girls.
Some were reportedly buried beneath the body of Brueckner’s dead dog, which was exhumed during the police search.
‘The clock is against the case here and investigators do not want to see Brueckner walk free,’ a source told The Sun.
‘Their best option could be intervention from UK cops but they have to be prepared to take it on. There are 20,000 pages of Madeleine evidence and the Germans are ready to translate the lot.’
So far, Brueckner has not been charged in connection with Madeleine’s disappearance.
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Prime suspect Christian Brueckner arrives in court in Braunschweig, Germany, in October
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Prosecutors insist Madeleine is dead but are yet to disclose evidence supporting this theory
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A metal suitcase discovered by German police in 2016. It reportedly contained photos of girls
He has repeatedly denied any involvement, claiming that the accusations are baseless.
In 2016, officers discovered up to 8,000 files at the site, including USB sticks and hard drives containing what are alleged to be disturbing images and graphic stories of child abduction.
One document reportedly described drugging a mother and daughter outside a pre-school and abusing a four-year-old blonde girl — a chilling echo of the real-life tragedy that unfolded in Portugal in 2007.
A laptop and satellite navigation system seized from the same location are also said to have traced Brueckner’s movements around the Arade Dam, just 35 miles from Praia da Luz.
Photos later emerged of Brueckner posing nude at the dam, having scrawled a crude mask over his own face — a bizarre and deeply sinister image that added to growing suspicions around him.
While no forensic proof has yet been uncovered linking Brueckner definitively to Madeleine’s disappearance, German prosecutors have said they are convinced she is dead, and that Brueckner is responsible.
‘We have strong evidence that Madeleine McCann is dead and that our suspect killed her,’ German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters told 60 Minutes Australia in 2020.
‘We don’t have the body and no parts of the body, but we have enough evidence to say our suspect killed Madeleine McCann.’
This position remains unchanged, The Sun confirmed this week.
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Bottles and substances found inside a Jaguar matching the description of Brueckner’s vehicle
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Among the items found in the bolthole in Neuwegersleben were 75 child’s swimming costumes
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This laptop was reported to have been handed to German police and allegedly contains information that could link Brueckner to Madeleine’s disappearance
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Police recovered three black-market guns and ammunition – alongside bottles of substances suspected to be chloroform or ether, both of which can cause unconsciousness
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An insurance document reportedly proves for the first time Brueckner was at a festival in March 2008 where he allegedly all but confessed to killing Madeleine
A Channel 4 documentary out earlier this month features disturbing new details, including accounts from informants and previously unreleased police evidence – fuelling renewed calls for British police to step up their own efforts.
One disturbing detail allegedly supporting the case against him is an insurance claim signed by Brueckner that placed him in Orgiva, Spain, in March 2008 – coinciding with a hippy festival where, according to an informant, he confessed to knowing what happened to Madeleine.
Helge Busching, a former acquaintance of Brueckner, told German authorities: ‘Christian asked me if I was still going to Portugal. I replied: “I’m no longer going to Portugal because there are too many problems there… on account of the missing child. It is indeed strange that she disappeared without a trace.”‘
Christian is said to have replied: ‘Yes, she did not scream.’
Brueckner has dismissed Busching’s testimony as ‘not even worthy of comment’, but prosecutors say his insurance claim supports Busching’s timeline and Brueckner’s presence at the event.
The discovery of chemicals believed to be chloroform or ether, unlicensed firearms, and Skype chats with fellow paedophiles, have further painted a harrowing picture of a man who ‘changed at night’, according to witnesses interviewed in the documentary.
The Metropolitan Police were present during a 2023 search of the Arade Dam, where material was recovered and sent to Germany. The Met has said it remains open to any new evidence.
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A photograph thought to show Christian Brueckner at the Arade Dam – a key location in the Madeleine McCann investigation which Portuguese police searched in 2023
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German police unearthed the disturbing cache of materials at a former box-making factory owned by Bruecker (pictured in 2020)
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Plastic boxes, electronics and a bathtub dumped outside Brueckner’s run-down bolthole
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Brueckner is likely to walk free from prison later this year unless prosecutors are able to conclusively charge him
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Kate and Gerry McCann, Madeleine’s parents, hold pyjamas similar to those of their daughter during a press conference in June 2007
A spokesperson for the force said: ‘We continue to support Madeleine’s family to understand what happened on the evening of 3 May, 2007 in Praia da Luz. This includes working with our colleagues in Germany and Portugal. Our thoughts remain with the family.’
Despite their commitment, Operation Grange, the unit set up to investigate Madeleine’s case, has had its funding cut again, receiving £108,000 this year, down from £192,000 previously. The case has now cost UK taxpayers almost £13.5 million over 18 years.
This month marks both the 18th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance and what would have been her 22nd birthday.
In a statement, Kate and Gerry McCann said: ‘As we arrive at the 18th anniversary of Madeleine’s abduction, we’d like to thank our faithful supporters once again for standing by us and never forgetting about Madeleine.
‘The years appear to be passing even more quickly and whilst we have no significant news to share, our determination to ‘leave no stone unturned’ is unwavering. We will do our utmost to achieve this.
‘May is also Madeleine’s birthday – her 22nd this year. No matter how near or far she is, she continues to be right here with us, every day, but especially on her special day. We continue to celebrate her as the very beautiful and unique person she is. We miss her.’
