A man suspected of kidnapping Madeleine McCann allegedly confessed to abducting a young girl from her holiday apartment in Portugal, according to his former cellmate. Convicted pedophile Christian Brueckner, who is on trial in Braunschweig, Germany, for multiple sexual offenses, is accused of snatching and killing a three-year-old British girl in 2007.
Brueckner, 47, is facing five charges, including three counts of rape, all of which allegedly occurred in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. The reported attacks took place close to Praia da Luz, where Madeleine disappeared in May 2007. While Brueckner has not been charged in connection with Madeleine’s disappearance, his former cellmate, Laurentiu Codin, testified in court that Brueckner had admitted to abducting a child during his time in Portugal, the Mirror reported.
Codin, who was held in the same prison as Brueckner while they were both on remand, claimed that Brueckner had “confided” in him about the incident. “He told me that in Portugal, he had stolen there. He was in a region where there are hotels and rich people live,” Codin said. “He said there was somewhere with an open window. He was looking for money. He said he didn’t find any money but found a kid and took the child. He said that two hours later, there were police and dogs all over the place, so he then went away, out of the area.”
Codin further testified that Brueckner described taking the child in his car and leaving the scene as police began to search the area. He added that Brueckner asked him, “if the DNA from a child can be taken from bones under the ground.”
Brueckner, who was formally identified as a suspect in the McCann case in April 2022, has denied any involvement in her disappearance. German police stated in June 2020 that Madeleine was assumed dead.
During his testimony, Codin also claimed that Brueckner had spoken about other victims, saying that he had “taken someone, had sex with her but didn’t kill her.” When asked by the judge how old Brueckner’s victim was, Codin replied, “I don’t want to get it wrong, but it was very young, tiny. I mean young.”
Brueckner’s trial continues as he faces multiple charges of rape and sexual assault, all of which allegedly occurred in Portugal. He denies all charges against him. The case remains under investigation, with Brueckner’s alleged involvement in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance still unproven.
