Madeleine McCann: police officer in kidnapping case to defend prime suspect Christian Brueckner

Publish date: 2024-06-11

A police officer who was involved in the Madeleine McCann case has been summoned to defend Christian Brueckner, who is the German authorities’ prime suspect in her kidnapping. 

Brueckner is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in Praia de Luz in 2005 and is on trial for the rape and assault of two other women. 

WATCH: We delve into the past of the missing toddler and where the case has got to so far

Detective Mark Draycott was one of the key investigators into Madeleine’s disappearance and will be travelling to Germany as part of the defence team to answer questions about Helge Busching’s witness testimony. According to reports, the suspect’s defence lawyers believe they can discredit the witness due to inconsistencies in his testimony. 

Helge claims to be a former friend of Brueckner, who testified that the convicted rapist had confessed to him that Madeleine “didn’t scream” after he took her from her hotel room in Praia de Luz back in 2007. Helge also claimed that he saw videos of Brueckner committing sexual assault after taking them from Brueckner’s room, but has since lost the evidence. 

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He further claimed that despite reporting it on a hotline about Maddie McCann, he was never questioned further about his suspicions. Mark was the officer who took the statement from the witness back in 2017, having worked on ‘Operation Grange’ since 2011. However, the prosecution has insisted that Mark can’t be asked questions regarding the McCann case. A private investigator hired by the family to look into Madeleine’s disappearance, Dave Edgar, has also been requested to testify. 

Brueckner has responded to the claims, saying: “We were not good friends then and we will certainly never be good friends in the future.”

Madeleine went missing from a hotel room in Praia de Luz in 2007, aged three. She was asleep in a room shared with her younger siblings, Sean and Amelie, while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, dined with their friends in a nearby restaurant before they realised that Madeleine was missing from her room and alerted the authorities.

Kate and Gerry commented on the news that Brueckner was a suspect back in 2022 in a statement on their website. They wrote: "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. 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.” 

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