Paedo named official suspect in Maddie case
Brueckner becomes an arguido
THE paedophile accused of abducting Madeleine McCann has been named as an official suspect for the first time in Portugal yesterday.
Christian Brueckner’s lawyer Friedrich Fuelscher confirmed that his client is an “arguido”, meaning suspect.
Madeleine’s parents Gerry and Kate were initially made aguidos shortly after her disappearance in 2007.
It is thought Brueckner has been made a suspect as there is a strict 15-year time limit for a murder charge in Portugal, which is close to elapsing.
Mr Fuelscher said: “The step taken by the Portuguese authorities should not be overrated. Without knowing the Portuguese legal situation in detail, I assume that this measure is a procedural artifice to stop the statute of limitations threatening in a few days.” Brueckner, 45, was named in the summer of 2020 as prime suspect by German police after phone records placed him in Praia da Luz on the night Madeleine vanished.
But despite extensive inquiries he has never been charged. Recently the Portuguese have confirmed they will continue with their inquiries amid reports Scotland Yard’s Operation Grange investigation will be wound down in the autumn.
Meanwhile, Brueckner, who is serving a rape sentence at a high-security prison in Oldenburg, Northern Germany, is still to face charges for the rape of Irish national Hazel Behan in Portugal in 2004.
Madeleine, three, disappeared from a holiday apartment as her parents, from Rothley, Leics, ate a tapas meal nearby.
Their arguido tag was removed in 2009. There is no suspicion they had any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.