This was published 3 years ago
Madeleine McCann investigators ‘are 100% sure’ of killer’s identity
By Patrick Sawer
Rome: Prosecutors investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann say they are 100 per cent certain she was murdered by a sex offender whom they already hold in custody.
The German authorities say they have the evidence to charge convicted sex offender Christian Brueckner and hope to conclude their investigation next year.
Christian Brueckner, the prime suspect in the disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine McCann.
Hans Christian Wolters, the prosecutor in charge of the case, said: “We’re confident we have the man who took and killed her. It is now possible that we could charge. We have that evidence now.”
The team is “100 per cent convinced” McCann was murdered by Brueckner, he told the Mirror.
But Wolters said that with Brueckner currently serving seven years in a German jail for raping a pensioner in Praia da Luz, Portugal, his team are taking their time to build as strong a case as possible against him before bringing charges.
“It’s not just about charging him – we want to charge him with the best body of evidence possible,” he said. “When we still have questions, it would be nonsense to charge rather than wait for the answers that could strengthen our position.
“That’s why we said we’ll investigate as long as there are leads or information for us to pursue.
“I’m not saying that what we have is insufficient now.
“But he’s in prison, so we don’t have this pressure on us. We have time on our hands.”
However, Wolters and his team now admit they have no proof Madeleine is dead - despite authorities in Braunschweig, northern Germany, having told her parents Kate and Gerry McCann last year that they had “evidence” she is no longer alive.
Madeleine vanished from her family’s holiday flat at the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz in 2007, days before her fourth birthday. The McCanns, of Rothley, Leicestershire, have said they “hang on to the hope, however small, that we will see Madeleine again”.
Brueckner denies being involved in Madeleine’s disappearance and has refused to speak to police or prosecutors.
The Telegraph, London
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