Belgium reopens 1996 cold case over possible link to Madeleine McCann suspect

Belgium has reopened an investigation into the 1996 murder of a German teenager because of a possible link with the Madeline McCann suspect.

The German man suspected of kidnapping and murdering British girl Madeleine McCann could be linked to the murder of a fourth child, a Belgian investigator says, with the suspect now in an isolation cell in prison.

Belgium has reopened the investigation into the 1996 murder of German teenager Carola Titze as authorities reconsider the case.

Carola, 16, was found dead with her body mutilated in July 1996 in a resort town on the Belgian coast.

A spokesperson for the public prosecutor’s office in Bruges said it was “indeed reopening the file relating to this murder”, without giving further details.

Carola Titze was found dead with her body mutilated in the resort town of De Haan (le Coq) on the Belgian coast. Picture: BELGA/AFP

At the time, Carola was on holiday with her parents and the investigation turned to a German suspect in his early 20s.

The man had bragged to her about his criminal past, according to the Belgian media, but he was never found.

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Paul Gevaert, the now retired investigator in charge of the Titze case, said there was “certainly a connection to be made”.

“The description (of Christian B) fits,” Mr Gevaert told Belgian newspaper De Standaard.

German police suspect Christian B, who is currently serving a prison sentence, abducted and killed Maddie after phone records placed him near the scene Picture: Bild/ Supplied

Madeleine McCann disappeared in Praia da Luz, Portugal on May 3, 2007. Picture: Handout/Metropolitan Police/AFP

German police last week announced they were investigating Christian B, a 43-year-old from Germany, over the disappearance of three-year-old Maddie from the Portuguese holiday resort of Praia da Luz in 2007.

Officers described him as a “murder suspect” who may have killed the young girl.

He has a history of previous sex offences including child abuse and rape.

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After Christian B was identified as the McCann suspect, German police said they would also investigate if there was a link between him and the case of another missing child in Germany.

Five-year-old Inga Gehricke, from the town of Schoenebeck in Saxony-Anhalt, disappeared without a trace in 2015 while on an outing with her family in the woods.

Christian B could also be linked to the disappearance of schoolboy Rene Hasee in 1996, prosecutors say.

Rene, from Elsdorf in Germany, vanished on June 21, 1996 while on holiday with his family in Aljezur – just 40.2 kilometres from Praia da Luz, in the Algarve.

He ran ahead during a family walk on the beach to go in the sea. After losing sight of him they never saw him again and were left with just his clothes lying on the beach.

Detectives believe the suspect was regularly living in the Algarve from 1995.

Inga Gehricke has been missing since May 2, 2015. Picture: Polizei Sachsen-Anhalt via AP

Six-year-old Rene disappeared in Aljezur on June 21, 1996. Picture: Supplied

Christian B is currently serving out a jail term for drug trafficking at Kiel prison in the north of Germany and is refusing to speak about the McCann case, one of his lawyers told German television.

“Christian B is not making any statements on the case for the moment and we ask you to understand that as his defence, we won’t either,” Friedrich Fuelscher told rolling news channel NTV.

He has been moved into an isolation cell for his safety, according to Claus Christian Claussen, the regional justice minister of Schleswig-Holstein state.

He is not allowed to leave his cell unless accompanied by guards and not at the same time as other detainees to avoid attacks against him, the minister told the regional parliament.

Christian B is currently an inmate at the Kiel prison in the north of Germany. Picture: Morris MacMatzen/Getty Images

He is serving time on other charges. Picture: Morris MacMatzen/Getty Images

Lawyers who had been charged with his defence have quit their mandate without giving a reason.

They have been replaced by a new team who have threatened lawsuits against their client’s acquaintances who described him as aggressive and suspicious.

Madeleine went missing from her family’s holiday apartment on May 3, 2007, a few days before her fourth birthday, as her parents dined with friends at a nearby tapas bar.

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Her disappearance sparked one of the biggest searches of its kind in recent years.

Despite a wide range of suspects and theories about what happened, no one has ever been convicted over her kidnapping and no trace of her has been found.

– With wires