Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner has ‘confessed to taking a child in Portugal’ as cellmate drops court bombshell

MADELEINE McCann suspect Christian Brueckner confessed to an inmate that he kidnapped a child from a Portuguese apartment, a sensational court heard today.

The 47-year-old pedophile Brueckner is said to have confided his past after asking his cellmate Laurentiu C. whether he was “also” behind bars for child crimes.

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The drifter then confessed that he had taken “a child” during a burglary in Portugal – and begged the fraudster to burn down his hideout if he was released from prison.

Shockingly, Laurentiu C raised the prospect of a funeral for Maddie – he said the rapist had asked him “if the…” DNA of a child can be taken from bones underground”.

The witness told the Braunschweig regional court: “He said he stole in Portugal.

“He told me that he had stolen in Portugal.

“He was in an area of Hotels where rich people live. And when he went into the hotel area, there was an open window somewhere, he told me.

“And he would have entered that window Money and gold. However, he didn’t find any money, but instead came across a child and took him with him.

“About two hours later the area was full of police And dogs and he had gone away from there.

“He left the area. He then said that there was another person with him with whom he had argued and that they had broken up.

“And he said he took the child to Portugal and drove away while the place was full of police and dogs.

“He drove off in the car and was gone. He asked me if you could take DNA from a child.”

Laurentiu C added: “He asked me if a child’s DNA could be taken from bones underground.”

This comes after Maddie’s investigators previously stated that they strongly believed the toddler was dead, but did not say why they believed that.

Laurentiu C. also claimed that Brueckner appeared to be panicking about the possibility of leaving evidence at a crime scene – he asked whether a person could be tracked by their hair – or whether they could leave a mark while climbing over a balcony.

He claimed in court that the ill Brueckner had asked him to burn down his hiding place in the box factory after his release from prison – believing that he would never be released.

German FBI agents later searched the property and found a number of data storage devices and hard drives – although their exact relevance to the case was not disclosed.

Laurentiu C. also claimed that Brückner had bragged about covering his tracks by burning a car – although he did not specify in court what the crime was.

He said: “He told me that he was there in Portugal with another person and that he set a car on fire or hired someone else to set a car on fire in Portugal.”

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Madeleine McCann’s disappearance

MADELEINE McCann disappeared on May 3, 2007 – and police believe Brueckner may be behind her disappearance.

Almost 17 years later, no one has been charged in this connection. These are the most important dates

May 3, 2007 – Kate McCann finds Madeleine missing at 10 p.m

May 14, 2007 – Real estate developer Robert Murat is referred to as an “arguido,” or official suspect

August 31st 2007 – The McCanns file a defamation lawsuit against Tal e Qual – a newspaper that claims the couple killed Madeleine

September 7, 2007 – Kate and Gerry McCann become “Arguidos”

September 9, 2007– Madeleine’s parents return to England with their two-year-old twins

October 2, 2007– Lead investigator Goncalo Amaral is dismissed from the case after criticizing British police in a newspaper interview

July 21, 2009 – Portuguese police revoke the “arguido” status of Robert Murat and the McCanns

May 12, 2011 – On Madeleine’s eighth birthday, Scotland Yard launches a review of the case

April 25, 2012 – Scotland Yard officials say they believe Madeleine McCann is still alive

July 4, 2013 – Two years after reviewing the case, Scotland Yard opened its own investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance

October 24, 2013– Portuguese police reopen their case after new lines of investigation were found

November 27, 2013 – Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe called for British and Portuguese police to work together

October 28, 2015 – Scotland Yard reduces the number of officers working on Madeleine’s disappearance

March 11, 2017 – The Home Office is granting Operation Grange an extra £85,000 to continue from April to September

September 28, 2017 – British police are granted £154,000 to continue investigations until March 2018

November 2017 – The police have moved the search to Bulgaria

May 2018 – A further round of funding in the region of £150,000 will be granted

September 2018 – Additional funding for six months is requested from the Ministry of the Interior

November 2018 – Additional funding estimated at £150,000 will be awarded

November 2018 – British police are re-examining a theory. Madeleine left the apartment to look for her parents

June 2019 – A further round of funding estimated at £300,000 in government money will be awarded

June 2019 – Portuguese police are investigating a “new lead and suspect” after discussions with British officials

June 2020 – New main suspect revealed as German pedophile Christian Brückner

April 2022 – Brückner officially made an “Arguido”

May 2023 – Police search remote reservoir in the Algarve. Brückner called his “little paradise”

The witness also claimed Brueckner told him he abused “tiny” young girls on a “bus” he owned after kidnapping them.

He told the court: “There was talk of a girl, I don’t know if what he said was true or not.

“He said he had a bus and gave her a ride. He said he kept some of them but not others, but he never said he killed them.

“We’re talking about girls, not boys. Not everything at once, always individually. He told me about two. He said he kidnapped someone, had sex with her, but didn’t kill her.”

When asked by the judge how old his victim was, Laurentiu C said: “I don’t want to misunderstand, but she was very young, tiny. I mean young.

“Every time we were together he talked about it because he was convinced I was a pedophile.”

He added: “He would always ask me if I was a pedophile. Every time we talked he would come back to it. Brückner said at the time: ‘Tell me you don’t have to look after me’.”

“He told me all these things in the hope that I was a pedophile too.”

The witness claimed in court that the German had confided in him while they were both in custody in the same prison.

At the time, the criminals were in prison together in 2020 after Brueckner was publicly named the main suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance in 2007.

The testimony represents a huge development in the Maddie case and shows that prosecutors in Germany now have a second person who observed Brückner’s confessions.

Previously, they had apparently only relied on the account of ex-drifter Helge Busching – whose credibility was damaged in the current trial against Brückner for rape and sexual offenses.

Brueckner was previously confronted with Maddie’s images in court for the first time when they were shown on large screens as part of exhibitions.

Convicted pedophile and rapist Christain Brueckner has been named as the main suspect in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance in 2020, although he was never formally charged.

He is on trial for a series of rapes and sexual offenses unrelated to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, which he denies.

The process continues.

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