The prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case could be free to walk in just days – as police face a race against time to charge the German national over the Brit toddler’s disappearance.
Prosecutors have accused 48-year-old Christian Brueckner of murdering the three-year-old in Portugal in 2007. But the suspect, who is already behind bars, is now seeking early release from a 2019 jail term after he was acquitted of unrelated charges last year. Investigators fear he could walk free in just two weeks, with key witnesses in the Madeleine case being called in to secret meetings to prepare for the possibility of charges being brought against Brueckner.
A source told The Sun: “Normally a move like his bid for an early release would be laughed out of court. But everyone is very nervous after what happened with his rape trial last year.
“The court was surprisingly favourable to him. Brueckner’s lawyers know they need to go for this now, in case an appeal against his acquittal is allowed. That will create a new arrest warrant and he’ll be stuck behind bars.”
The source went added the Madeleine prosecutors are “nervous” once the suspect is freed he will “disappear and likely never be seen again”, which would be a “disaster” for parents Kate and Gerry.
It comes after a German court cleared Brueckner of unrelated rape and sex abuse offences in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. However, in 2019, he was jailed to seven years in jail for the 2005 rape of an American woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal. That sentence will come to and in September, which is currently keeping him in jail.
He could face a retrial after a court is considering whether to appeal against the acquittal. However, his lawyers are trying to get him released before the appeal decision is confirmed.
Despite it normally being considered to have no chance, prosecutors are “nervous” at the court’s potential decision. If the court frees Brueckner, Madeleine lawyers will appeal against the decision and that could delay a release by months.
If that appeal is rejected by the court, they will have to charge Brueckner over missing Madeleine, who vanished on May 3, 2007 in Pria da Luz. This would see a new arrest warrant being used, which would keep him behind bars.
The Mirror has previously reported how Brueckner is considering fleeing Europe and changing his appearance on his release from jail. The convicted sex offender is in talks with his defence team to move to a foreign country which doesn’t have an extradition treaty with Germany or Britain, where the Met are still probing Madeleine’s disappearance.
In an exclusive interview at his office, Philipp Marquort, who is one of Brueckner’s lawyers, said: “Sometimes he wants to stay here in Germany, sometimes he wants to leave Europe. If I were him I would leave Europe and look for a state which doesn’t extradite to Europe or Great Britain, maybe like Suriname.”
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