German authorities are sure that a German man, currently in jail there, is responsible for the murder of the young child.
Madeleine McCann was only three when she went missing from Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007. She was asleep with the kids of other doctors her parents had gone on a vacation with at their rental. Her parents and other adults had been outside the accommodation when someone brazenly kidnapped her and 13 years later a prime suspect has been named by German prosecutors.
Madeleine or Maddie's parents, Kate and Gerry, had new hope that they would get justice for what happened to their child but it seems that their hopes may be dashed. German authorities are sure that pedophile Christian Brueckner, 43, who is in jail in Germany, killed the child. They also claim that they have evidence that she's dead but they said that there are chances he won't face the charges for her murder. At the time of Maddie's disappearance, Christian lived in a camper van in the Algarve.
German investigator Hans Christian Wolters told a German newspaper, "You have to be realistic that the investigation may not lead to a charge for the murder of Madeleine. It could be stopped if we fail to find the missing evidence. But we are still convinced of the guilt of the accused and hope for further promising investigative approaches."
Christian is currently in Kiel serving a sentence for drug dealing but he could get parole, as per Mirror UK. He is also facing more charges for attacking a pensioner in Praia da Luz in 2005 though he has appealed this in the European Court of Human Rights claiming he was wrongly charged. If he wins, he could be freed sooner. It is feared that if he is released he would escape to a country from where extradition won't be possible.
His lawyers are using a technicality claiming that he was not extradited from Portugal for the 2005 crime in June 2017, so he should be freed. A panel of five judges at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg has heard the appeal and will be announcing their judgment soon, as per Mirror UK.
Kate and Gerry, of Rothley, Leics, said after the appeal, “We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive. All we have ever wanted is to find her, uncover the truth, and bring those responsible to justice."
Wolters said recently that German investigators intend to wrap up the case "within months". "Of course we have an interest in keeping our suspect in custody," Wolters said, according to The Sun. "This gives us access to interrogations in the event of an indictment. We have no endeavors to drag this out unnecessarily. We'll draw a line at some point and see," he added.
The German investigator had also said that Maddie's parents were sent a letter informing them that their daughter was dead but the parents deny receiving one. In a statement, Kate and Gerry McCann said the "unsubstantiated stories" had "caused unnecessary anxiety to friends and family and once again disrupted our lives".
"The widely reported news that we have a received a letter from the German authorities that states there is evidence or proof that Madeleine is dead is FALSE," they wrote, per Sky News. "As we have stated many times before, we will not give a running commentary on the investigation - that is the job of the law enforcement agencies and we will support them in any way requested. Furthermore, we do not have a family spokesperson nor are we actively paying any lawyers," the statement read.
There were claims that Wolters had told the parents that she was dead but refused to mention the evidence that proves so. He reportedly said that revealing the evidence to Kate and Gerry would jeopardize the investigation into the German suspect.
Maddie's parents still wait for answers from authorities, who are investigating the pedophile in relation to the disappearance of other children as well.
References:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/madeleine-mccann-parents-face-more-22254386
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/breaking-madeleine-mccann-suspect-demands-22363968
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12124392/madeleine-mccann-german-cops-drop-investigation/
