Madeleine suspect ‘will refuse to answer questions’

LAWYERS FOR the man suspected of murdering Madeleine McCann say he will refuse to answer questions because prosecutors must have proof he was involved in her disappearance, according to a report.

German investigators believe Christian Bruckner killed Madeleine soon after abducting her from a holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in May, 2007.

A newspaper said investigators are searching for a link connecting Bruckner to an incident involving a 10-year-old British girl in the same resort in 2005, the same year Bruckner raped a woman at a villa nearby. The paper said police were also aware of nine sexual assaults and three attempts against British girls aged from six to 12 who were holidaying in the area between 2004 and 2006.

Bruckner’s lawyer Friedrich Fulscher was quoted by The Times as saying: “Mr B is remaining silent on the allegation at this time on the advice of his defence counsel. This is quite common in criminal proceedings.”

Bruckner, 43, is in jail in Germany for drug dealing. He is appealing against a conviction for the 2005 rape.

Meanwhile, a former German police chief has admitted it was a “huge mistake” to notify Bruckner in 2013 that he was a person of interest in Madeleine’s disappearance.

Police in Braunschweig, Germany, sent Bruckner a summons seven years ago to appear for “questioning” in relation to the “missing persons case Madeleine McCann, a newspaper said. It may have allowed Bruckner to destroy evidence, experts told the German newspaper Der Spiegel.