Suspect ‘admits being nearby when Madeleine disappeared’
THE PRIME suspect for the kidnap and murder of Madeleine McCann admitted being near her family’s holiday apartment when she vanished, an ex-girlfriend has claimed.
Nakscije Miftari said paedophile Christian Brueckner told her he was “living in the area” of the Algarve flat where Madeleine was staying with parents Gerry and Kate McCann.
She said Brueckner – in jail for raping a pensioner – appeared uncomfortable when anyone discussed the British three-year-old’s disappearance.
Her account of life with the 44-yearold German comes as a former friend claimed the suspect knew how to “make a body disappear quickly”.
German prosecutors believe the sex predator snatched Madeleine from Praia da Luz in May 2007, but are struggling to gather evidence to charge him. But Ms Miftari, 25, is the first witness to place her former lover near the crime scene. She said he went silent when friends discussed the case at a party at their flat in northern Germany.
She said: “After they went, I asked him about it and he said, ‘I know about Madeleine, I was near the hotel at the time. I was living in the area. I am not going to say anything more. I am not a stupid guy, I am a businessman’.”
Ms Miftari said Brueckner seemed kind when she first met him, aged 17, at his kiosk in Braunschweig, eight years ago. But she left him after discovering he had child porn featuring blonde girls. She found vile images – some featuring him – on his phone and laptop. But he punched her when she confronted him. She added: “I fell down the stairs and was unconscious for about 10 minutes.”
Police raided the flat and found 391 child porn pics and 68 videos – including clips of Brueckner abusing an exgirlfriend’s daughter, five, in a park.
He got a 15-month prison term for attacking the child, and seven-and-ahalf years for the 2005 rape of an American pensioner in Praia da Luz.
Meanwhile, Gunter Bartl, who also lived in Praia da Luz said his friend would become “nervous and defensive” when Madeleine was mentioned.
The estate agent, 58, said Brueckner told him: “If you like to catch a child and take it away, you will never find it again.” Mr Bartl added: “He is capable of kidnapping Madeleine. He’d do anything for money. Christian handled drugs and stolen things and tried going into hotels where rich people stayed.”