To answer that it has to be proven first an abduction took place
BY MARTIN FRICKER in Praia da Luz PORTUGUESE detectives tried to quiz Christian Brueckner shortly after Madeleine McCann vanished – but he was not in when they visited and it is not known if they returned.
The astonishing revelation that police may have given up probing the German fiend early on after getting no answer at his door came from Goncalo Amaral.
The disgraced ex-chief led the muchcriticised initial probe in 2007 and has been in a legal fight with Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry for nine years.
Amaral, 60, said: “I have been told by colleagues, who are retired like me, that they had come knocking on the door. That person was not at home.”
He said he was not aware if any more inquiries were made after the visit, which was made shortly after Madeleine vanished in Praia da Luz, aged three.
Amaral’s comments, in a TV interview on Portugal’s TVI, came after it emerged last week Brueckner told a judge he was a paedophile when he was in court in 2006, charged with petrol theft.
But officials in Portimao apparently failed to pass that on to the Policia Judiciaria – which Amaral was in charge of.
Lisbon-based Amaral said on TVI that police did not know Brueckner, 43, was a convicted paedophile. It is thought he was known to them through a theft conviction and living in Praia da Luz.
Amaral was removed as head of the probe in 2008 after criticising British police. And he falsely claimed in a 2009 book that Madeleine died accidentally and Kate and Gerry covered it up.
Rather than admitting in his latest interview mistakes were made, Amaral launched a fresh attack on the McCanns and the pals they were holidaying with.
The McCanns sued Amaral for defamation over his controversial book, The Truth Of The Lie, in the Portuguese courts and the battle is still rumbling on.
INTERVIEW Amaral on Portuguese TV
Amaral has made more than £350,000 from his book and a DVD spin-off.
He made similar claims in last year’s Netflix documentary about Madeleine’s disappearance.
And in Sunday’s interview, he claimed Brueckner – currently in jail in the German city Kiel on a drugs conviction, and fighting a second sentence for raping a 72-year-old woman – has been made a “scapegoat” as he is an “almost perfect suspect”. He alleges German authorities altered photos of the pervert’s VW Westfalia camper van.
Amaral handed the presenter what he claimed were photos of the vehicle taken last year, showing it had cartoon-style characters painted on the front and back, and a Portuguese number plate.
Amaral said: “I think it’s important to ask why the photo put out by the authorities of the van was altered.”
Asked if he thinks Brueckner is guilty, he replied: “To answer that it has to be proven first an abduction took place.”
During their libel case against Amaral, the McCanns spoke of the “devastation, anxiety and pain” that his claims caused.
Kate told a Lisbon court how, after hearing Amaral’s allegations, her son Sean, then nine, had asked her if she had hidden his sister’s body. She added she and Gerry had taken advice from a child psychologist on how to answer queries from Sean and his twin sister, Amelie.
Last week, the McCanns said they no longer have a spokesman and they insist they “will not be giving a running commentary on the investigation”.
Meanwhile, it emerged Brueckner owned two other vehicles, including a Mercedes van, when the tot vanished.
Police only flagged up a VW camper and Jaguar XJR when they made a new appeal earlier this month.
Last week, we revealed Brueckner was driving a blue Bedford van at the time, which was scrapped in 2009.
Pals said he was also using a 30ft Tiffin Allegro motor home in 2007.
But court files released yesterday show Brueckner was also the owner of a white Mercedes-Benz 205D van and a grey Opel Ascona.
The whereabouts of both vehicles is unknown and neither are thought to have been swept by forensic experts.
AMARAL WHEN ASKED IF BRUECKNER TOOK MADDIE