Mccann suspect refuses to answer questions
Madeleine Mccann’s parents said they “welcome the news” that Portuguese police have identified German pedophile Christian Brueckner as a formal suspect in her disappearance and still hope to be reunited with her one day.
Kate and Gerry Mccann said in a statement: “We welcome the news that the Portuguese authorities have declared a German man an arguido in relation to the disappearance of our beloved daughter Madeleine.
“This reflects progress in the investigation, being conducted by the Portuguese, German and British authorities. We are kept informed of developments by the Metropolitan Police.”
The German pedophile believed to have murdered Madeleine Mccann refused to answer questions in his first interrogation since Portuguese police identified him as a formal suspect.
Brueckner was repeatedly asked where he was on the night the Madeleine went missing while on a family holiday in the Algarve 15 years ago.
The 44-year-old rapist, currently in a German prison, was handed a legal document stating he was an arguido, or suspect, in the child’s disappearance in Praia da Luz. However, Portuguese police sources say Brueckner refused to respond to questions.
One of the legal grounds for making him a suspect include claims he confessed to a friend that he had snatched Madeleine. Phone records are also thought to place him in the resort on the night she vanished.
Portuguese prosecutors were facing a tight deadline because the country’s statute of limitation rules prevent someone from being prosecuted for certain crimes 15 years after they were committed.
Because the sentence for abduction and murder carries a sentence greater than 10 years, Brueckner could not be prosecuted after May 3, the 15th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance.
Now that he is an arguido, there is no time limit to how long he is considered a suspect. The Portuguese authorities insisted the decision to say they had a formal suspect was not connected to charging rules.
Brueckner was identified as the possible murderer by German prosecutors in June 2020, but has not been charged.
The Mccanns said: “It is important to note the arguido has not yet been charged with any specific crime related to Madeleine’s disappearance.
“Even though the possibility may be slim, we have not given up hope that Madeleine is still alive and we will be reunited with her.”
Jim Gamble, the former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre who worked as part of the U.K. side of the investigation into the child’s disappearance, said he believes charges will now follow.
Describing his “gut feeling” Brueckner was the “best fit,” he told BBC Breakfast: “You have proximity, you have opportunity, and you have a profile with regards to an offender that absolutely fits in a way that no others have. This is all positive.”
Sources close to the case said they expected no new developments until results were obtained from forensic analysis of samples taken from a Volkswagen van Brueckner was known to drive and sleep in while in the Algarve.