Germans tell parents that Madeleine ‘is dead’ but hold back evidence
THE prosecutor in the Madeleine McCann investigation has written to her parents to confirm his belief that she has been murdered – but he refuses to explain why he says that.
Hans Christian Wolters is leading the inquiry into the involvement in the case of Christian Brueckner, who is named as the main suspect in the girl’s disappearance in May 2007.
Mr Wolters, from his office in the German city of Braunschweig, said there has been an exchange of information with Scotland Yard and Portugal – but he admitted “not every detail has been passed on”.
He said: “We have re-established contact with the McCann family in writing.We consider it is going to be very hard for the family when we tell them we assume Madeleine is dead. But we can’t say why.”
Answers
Gerry and Kate McCann, both 52, are being kept updated as the probe into Brueckner, 43, continues.
Mr Wolters explained: “The parents have been told the German police has evidence that she is dead but we have not told them the details.
“I sympathise with the parents but if we reveal more details to them it might jeopardise the investigation.
“I know it would be of relief to the parents to know how she died but it would hamper the investigation if we give away too much information.
“This is a murder case, not a missing person’s case. We’ve been quite clear throughout that we are investigating a murder and we have the evidence for that.
“We can understand the pain of the parents and they want relief but it is better for them that we have a successful conclusion to the case.
“The British police have been informed Madeleine is dead but they don’t have all the evidence we have.
“I don’t think the McCanns have been informed of all the details but they know the results.
“We have not yet interviewed the suspect formally as we don’t want him to be aware of the details of our
Madeleine, left, was at a holiday flat in Portugal in 2007. German police suspect Christian Brueckner, right
investigation. To reveal too many details too early would hamper ongoing investigations.”
The McCanns Portuguese lawyer Rogerio Alves is to meet with detectives on the Algarve this week.
But it now appears the German authorities will not reveal anything further just yet.
Mr Alves said: “I will try to find out what information they have that can support the reopening of the file here.
“I want to find out if there are new leads for them to chase.
“I want to know what is being done. What I hope is that everybody helps to find the truth instead of hiding information, or keeping information to themselves.”
Madeleine, of Rothley, Leics, was three when she vanished from her family’s holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz.
Mr Wolters said his investigation is covering the time Brueckner lived in Portugal from 1995 to 2007.
He is currently serving a jail sentence in Germany for drug-dealing and was convicted last year of raping a 72-year-old American woman in 2005 in Praia da Luz.