Madeleine suspect feeling the strain of isolation as police await breakthrough
DETECTIVES investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann hope their prime suspect will crack after being moved to a prison dubbed “Germany’s Alcatraz”, it has been claimed.
Convicted paedophile Christian Brueckner, already in jail in Germany for other crimes, is said to have already been complaining about life in solitary confinement at Oldenburg prison, near Bremen.
It is claimed police working to solve the case want the 44-year-old kept in isolation “as long as possible”.
According to reports, Brueckner, who German investigators believe murdered Maddie in 2007, is in solitary confinement in Oldenburg prison “where he is begging to be moved to a different cell”.
Madeleine, from Rothley, disappeared aged three from her family’s rented holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007. A source told The Sun:
“Detectives think this move to a new, tougher prison will turn the screw on (Brueckner) and really put him under pressure. “Cops remain convinced that he is linked to the Maddie case and are confident he will eventually trip himself up and say something which will be important to the investigation.”
In June last year, the suspect denied killing Madeleine to his lawyer, Friedrich Fulscher.
It comes as relations between German and Portuguese investigators are said to be at their lowest since the case started.
The detective who led the initial bungled investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance made fresh slurs against her parents last week.
Goncalo Amaral falsely accused Kate and Gerry McCann, from Rothley, of being the “main culprits” for their daughter’s disappearance.
A source told The Sun: “The Portuguese team discounted Christian B years ago and think the Germans are miles off.” They added, in turn, the German teams repeatedly point to “mistakes” made by the original investigation.
It comes after reports Brueckner was not even questioned at the time of the child’s disappearance because he was not home when police officers called.
In 2007, he was living in the Algarve, not far from the resort the McCanns were staying at.
Brueckner returned to Germany soon after but was later found to have used a mobile phone close to the family’s holiday apartment the night Madeleine vanished.
Christian Brueckner, already in jail in Germany for other crimes, is said to have been complaining about life in solitary confinement