The Mirror confronted the paedophile as he left court after being convicted of insulting guards at the prison where he’s serving his sentence – he remains the prime suspect in the disappearance
Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner leaves Lehrte District Court
Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner remained tight-lipped today when asked by The Mirror if he snatched the missing youngster.
German investigators believe the convicted paedophile abducted and killed Madeleine in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007. But they appear no nearer to charging Brueckner, who is nearing the end of a seven-year jail term for rape, with the crime.
The Mirror confronted him as he left court after being convicted of insulting guards at the prison where he is serving his sentence. Chilling video captures the moment pale-faced Brueckner appears to smirk when we asked: “Did you abduct Madeleine McCann?” Another reporter asked Brueckner if he killed Madeleine.
He was hauled before judges in Germany today after branding jail staff “a laughing stock”. He snapped at guards in Sehnde prison during a meeting to discuss whether he could be moved from solitary confinement.
Brueckner moaned he was being “tortured” and treated “inhumanely” during the March 2024 outburst. A female guard told the court Brueckner was “enraged” and told her to “shut your gob” before the meeting was halted.
Under German law it is illegal to insult prison officials.
Brueckner later penned an apology letter to the guards, saying he “woke up on the wrong side of the bed”. He is no longer being held in solitary confinement as he nears the end of a seven-year sentence for rape.
Brueckner was sentenced today to probation and told to pay court costs. If he commits another crime while on probation, he will be recalled to prison for one month. The exact length of his probation is yet to be decided.
Brueckner was brought to court in an unmarked prison van shortly after 9am.
Wearing a grey jacket, T-shirt, trousers and black shoes, he appeared more relaxed than in previous court appearances. He spoke only to confirm his name and nationality – leaving all other questions to his lawyer.
Prosecutors had been hoping Brueckner would be given a new prison term for the jail outburst.
The earliest date he can be released from Sehnde prison is September. But his lawyer told The Mirror a more realistic date, due to his inability to pay fines he still owes, is February next year.
Prosecutors investigating Madeleine’s disappearance have been under massive pressure to charge him over the 2007 case. He was dramatically named as the prime suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance in 2020.
Brueckner was living in an isolated farmhouse in Praia da Luz when she vanished from her parents’ holiday apartment in May 2007. But despite the lengthy police investigation, detectives appear to be no closer to charging him with Madeleine’s disappearance.
Brueckner was cleared last October of a string of sex crimes he was accused of carrying out in Portugal.
Prosecutors are awaiting the outcome of an appeal against those verdicts lodged in Germany’s Federal Court of Justice.