German authorities have issued a new arrest warrant for Christian Brueckner for the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann 15 years ago. Police believe that Maddie is dead and they are “100% sure” that Brueckner is behind it.
Brueckner is already serving a sentence for a rape he committed in Portugal in 2005, and will be in prison until 2025. Prosecutors are concerned that he may be released before he stands trial for the McCann disappearance.
Apart from the McCann disappearance, Brueckner faces charges for two further rapes in Portugal, the rape of an Irish woman in 2004, the sexual abuse of ten-year old German girl in 2007 and another case of sexual abuse of an underage in 2017 in Portugal.
For his part, he claims that he is innocent.
"The prosecution are trying to trap me and hope that I will capitulate under the mental pressure," Brueckner has alleged.
He states that there was no DNA found and that German police are trying to break him psychologically.
However, Brueckner's ex-lawyer Serafim Vieira believes that the convict has psychopathic traits.
“I can’t say he didn’t have a psychopathic temperament - on the contrary," Vieira said in 2020.
The attorney has also gone on the record suggesting that Brueckner “could be behind the disappearance of Maddie."
Madeleine McCann disappeared in May 2007 just before her fourth birthday. This event sparked a worldwide search with the participation of British, German and Portuguese police. After years of investigation, German police declared that Brueckner was the main suspect. He had a criminal record and, according to mobile phone calls, was in the Praia da Luz area where the girl disappeared.