A former colleague of a new suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann claims the German national suggested he could be responsible for the long-missing girl’s death.
Madeleine or “Maddie” was 3 years old when she disappeared from a hotel room during a family vacation in Praia da Luz , Portugal, in May 2007. As CrimeOnline previously reported, authorities have determined that Christian Brueckner, who is now in prison in Germany, was near the resort and took a 30-minute phone call on the evening Maddie vanished from the hotel room while her parents were dining nearby on the same hotel property.
Brueckner, 43, is incarcerated on a conviction unrelated to Maddie’s disappearance, but has a criminal history involving sexual crimes against children. Authorities have said they believe the suspect was living in a camper van in Portugal when Maddie disappeared, but transferred possession of a different vehicle, a Jaguar, to another person the day after Maddie went missing.
Maddie, Inga und der mutmaßliche Täter Christian Brückner: #SPIEGELTV heute 23:25 Uhr, @RTLde #Maddiemccann #Inga pic.twitter.com/2o7I22rYoX
— SPIEGEL TV (@SPIEGELTV) June 8, 2020
Lenta Johlitz told The Mirror that she worked with Brueckner at a German pub in 2014, and that he made incriminating statements when co-workers raised the topic of Maddie’s disappearance.
“Once he was completely freaked out when we were sitting in the kiosk with friends and talking about the Maddie case. He wanted us to stop,” Johlitz told the British news outlet.
“He cried, ‘The child is now dead and now that’s a good thing. You can make a body disappear quickly’.”
Authorities in multiple countries are asking any potential witnesses to come forward with any information — including the person who called the suspect on the night Maddie McCann vanished.
The McCann family spokesperson Clarence Mitchell has also appealed for tips from the public.
“Anything, no matter how minor it may seem, anybody that was in the Algarve in May 2007, or just before that in fact, might have some vital piece of information that could still help the police to build a case against this man, if indeed he is involved,” the spokesperson reportedly said on RTE’s “Primetime” this week.
It is not yet known if investigators have questioned Brueckner in connection to the little girl’s disappearance.
CrimeOnline will provide further updates when more information is avaiable.
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