Madeleine McCann suspect confesses to cell mate

The man suspected of being responsible for the abduction of Madeleine McCann is reported to have confessed to the abduction whilst chatting with a cell mate.

The abduction, which took place 17 years ago in May, has remained an unsolved case, despite continuing media coverage.

German sex offender, Cristian Brueckner, has a history of sexual violence and in 2019 he was sentenced to seven years in prison for an attack on a woman in her 70´s, which he committed in Portugal over a decade before, in 2005. He is currently on trial for several sex offences, some of which place him in Portugal, in the area where the McCanns were staying, at the time of Madeleine´s abduction.

Brueckner´s former cell mate, 50-year-old Romanian, Laurentiu Codin, told Braunschweig Regional Court on Tuesday that Brueckner used to like to tell him stories about his past crimes when they were incarcerated together in 2020, and that he had apparently described the Madeleine McCann abduction during one such time.

Codin told the court that Brueckner had described entering a holiday apartment through a window, in a complex full of wealthy tourists in Portugal, with the intention of stealing some money or other valuables. But instead of finding money to rob, he explained to Codin that he had found a young child and had left with her instead. Codin says that Brueckner relayed the fact that he had stayed in the area initially, but that within two hours of him taking the child the holiday complex was swarming with police and service dogs, so it was then that he left, in a car with the girl, before the search spread into the surrounding area.

Codin then went on to tell the court that although Brueckner had admitted to abducting children for sexual purposes, he never confessed to killing any of them, and that he had also told him stories about sexual violence towards elderly women.

Codin explained to the judge that whilst describing his past crimes, Brueckner would often ask crime scene related questions about evidence, such as fingerprints and DNA, and how easily it would be to link him to the crimes. He also talked about the suspect´s desire to get a fraudulent passport and driver´s licence.

However, when the judge pressed Codin for more detailed information, despite reminding the Romanian national that he was under a legal obligation to answer all questions truthfully and in full, Codin refused to elaborate beyond basic details.

Christian Brueckner´s lawyer, Dr Friedrich Fulscher, requested that the court showed photos and video clips of various media footage and interviews with the McCanns, protesting that any witnesses against the suspect could have been influenced by media reports and that therefore such statements couldn´t be trusted.

Madeleine would have celebrated her 21st birthday in May this year.