Madeleine McCann's parents believe Christian Brueckner probe is 'beyond bizarre' as he hasn’t been questioned
Parents of the missing Madeleine McCann believe that a German investigation into the prime suspect is "beyond bizarre" as he has not been questioned yet. The chief investigator, Hans Christian Wolters, handling Madeleine's case who went missing in 2004, has said that he is sure that the suspect Christian Brueckner is responsible for the murder. Wolters added that the lack of evidence, in this case, had very much stood in the way and prevented them from charging Brueckner, but he was "very confident" that it won't be long until they can prove he's the culprit and will be charged accordingly.
“If you knew the evidence we had you would come to the same conclusion as I do but I can’t give you details because we don’t want the accused to know what we have on him - these are tactical considerations,” Wolters had said in a TV interview, while also adding: “I can’t promise, I can’t guarantee that we have enough to bring a charge but I’m very confident because what we have so far doesn’t allow any other conclusion at all.”
The McCann's cease to understand the reason that's stopping investigators from quizzing Brueckner. Mirror reported friends revealed Kate and Gerry’s concerns days after prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters spoke of evidence he has against Christian Brueckner. “Any police force or prosecuting chief should not be boasting... but should be remaining silent as in the case of the Met Police," the friend said. "They should... not be suggesting that members of the public would be reaching the same conclusion as they do about the suspect if they knew the evidence they had. It is beyond bizarre and not very helpful to the investigation."
A week before Wolters's interview, the detective had said that they were taking extra care before filing charges due to strict double jeopardy German laws. "If we file charges and he is acquitted, then the case is dead forever. In Germany, once you have been acquitted, you cannot be charged again, at least only in very exceptional cases."
Madeleine went missing in 2004 when she was just a couple of months shy of turning four years old from a holiday apartment in Praia da Cruz in Portugal where she was vacationing with her parents and twin siblings. The suspect Brueckner, a convicted pedophile, is currently in a German prison for trafficking in the northern German city of Kiel. He was also convicted in the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in 2005 and awarded seven years in jail, at a court in Brunswick, Lower Saxony. The woman was sexually assaulted at the same resort from where Madeleine was kidnapped. He's also being investigated over the rape of a holiday rep in another resort, Praia da Rocha in 2004.
The outlet reported that German cops tipped off Brueckner about him being a suspect in Madeleine's disappearance in 2013 by asking him in writing to come in to be interviewed. However, he's never being questioned by the authorities in Braunschweig where Wolters is based. The friend of the McCanns added, "If Mr. Wolters has got any significant evidence we cannot understand why the key suspect is not being questioned.
"If the prosecutors are intent that Brueckner is a genuine person of interest to be questioned and possibly charged over Madeleine’s disappearance, why has this action not been taken?" the friend asked before adding, "If they think he is a red herring and had no involvement they should say so, instead of playing games, because the real culprit could be out there and escaping any scrutiny.”