The new evidence that complicates Christian Brueckner in the Madeleine McCann case

Investigators say they have found “shocking evidence” that could ultimately lead to the truth about what happened on the night of May 3, 2007, when little Madeleine McCann was reported missing after being abducted from the hotel room in southern Portugal where he vacationed with his parents - Gerry and Kate McCann - and his two younger brothers.

The new evidence would confirm that Christian Brueckner - the main suspect of committing the abduction and then murdering the three-year-old girl - was responsible for her disappearance.

Last night, the Portuguese authorities confirmed that Brueckner had been declared a “formal suspect”. That measure would pave the way for the 45-year-old man to be transferred from Germany - where he is currently imprisoned on charges of rape and drugs - to Portugal, for formal questioning.

According to Telegraph, Brueckner, a convicted pedophile, lived in a mobile home near the Praia da Luz holiday resort in Portugal when Madeleine disappeared in 2007. He drove a Jaguar and stood out for maintaining an ostentatious lifestyle.

In 2005, he broke into the home of a 72-year-old woman living in Praia da Luz and subjected her to sadistic rape. After fleeing, he became a homeless man residing in an RV, a distinctive VW with white and yellow.

The newspaper states that this vehicle - it is believed to have been loaned to him - is now essential for the police to build their case against him for Madeleine's disappearance. He was seen in the area around Praia da Luz at the time he disappeared.

The Jaguar has also become key in the case against them. He had German license plates and was registered in his name. But the day after Madeleine's disappearance, on May 3, 2007, Brueckner contacted the vehicle licensing authorities in Germany and re-registered the car under the name of an acquaintance.

It caught the attention of the authorities in 2017

The first time Brueckner drew the attention of the authorities to Madeleine's disappearance was in 2017, after she allegedly told a friend that she “knew everything” about what had happened to her. The notice is said to have aroused the interest of the Metropolitan Police in Brueckner.

Police eventually caught Brueckner for the 2005 rape in 2018, arrested him in Italy for skipping parole, and extradited him to Germany to face trial. He was sentenced at the end of 2019 to seven years in prison.

Telegraph indicates that in May 2020, further progress was made in the case against him when telephone records on the night of Madeleine's disappearance placed Brueckner in the tourist center of Praia da Luz.

Mobile phone records show that he received a 30-minute call while he was in town, which lasted from 7:32 PM to 8:02 PM.

Madeleine disappeared about an hour later. The next day, Brueckner re-registered the Jaguar.

In 2008, records show that he returned to court, this time implicated for drug offences in Germany.

Last year, German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolter said that investigators have enough evidence to bring charges against Brueckner, but that they “first want to strengthen their position”. He told the Mirror that the team was “100 percent convinced” that the British girl was killed by Brueckner.

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