Case against Madeleine suspect 'crumbling as witness threatens to pull plug'

14 September 2023 , 21:44

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The case against the prime suspect in the Maddie disappearance appears to be close to collapse.

The parents of Maddie McCann could be about to suffer fresh heartache tonight as the case against the case’s prime suspect appears to be close to collapse.

German prosecutors said in 2020 they believe Madeleine is dead and their suspect, convicted child sex fiend Christian Brueckner, was likely responsible. Earlier this year there were renewed efforts to link him to the death of the British girl last seen alive at age three in 2007. However, sources this evening have suggested key witness Helge Busching is threatening to not help the prosecution and the case could fall apart as a result.

A German source told The Sun : “Word is Busching is about to withdraw his evidence. He was paid a huge sum to repeat his statement in a German newspaper and now he’s pulling the plug. It just goes to show you what type of people you are dealing with - and their credibility as witnesses.”

Busching previously said he saw Brueckner at a music festival in Spain in 2008 where they discussed the Madeleine McCann case and the suspect allegedly told him "she didn't scream". He told German outlet : “He asked me: ‘Don't you go to Portugal anymore and do business there?’

Maddie McCann vanished in 2007, aged three (PA)

The search for Madeleine has taken years (Getty Images)

Earlier this summer investigators spent three days searching the surrounding area of the Arade dam and reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz and uncovered a "number of items" which could be linked to the case. Police were spotted removing what appeared to be large brown evidence bags from the search site.

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In July it was reported Brueckner, who is currently in a German prison serving a sentence for rape, owned a kit for breaking into people's homes, according to cops working on the case. He is thought to have owned a "lock picking kit" which could twist the cogs and open any security door.

He is said to have boasted about owning the tools to a pal, which could derail the long-held theory that little Madeleine's abductor clambered through a window before snatching her from her room in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

German police and prosecutors were excited and "electrified" by the discovery, they said. Brueckner has consistently denied any involvement in the abduction.

Antony Clements-Thrower