Who's Manfred Seyferth? Madeleine McCann suspect Brueckner's pal says 'evil psychopath' was obsessed with kids
A former partner in crime of Christian Brueckner has got candid about Brueckner, who is the prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case.
Manfred Seyferth revealed that Brueckner had been nicknamed 'The Climber' as he was very good at breaking into holiday apartments. Seyferth also described Brueckner as an "evil psychopath" and said that he is "capable of taking a small child", The Sun reported.
Seyferth believes that convicted pedophile Brueckner is indeed guilty of kidnapping Madeleine in Portugal. Madeleine had vanished at the age of 3 when she was on a vacation with her parents at a Portuguese resort in May 2007 and has not been seen since. Seyferth revealed that he knew that Brueckner had been robbing holidaymakers in the Portuguese resort the same year as Madeleine's disappearance.
The 64-year-old recalled some of their crime runs together and shared, "We called him 'The Climber' because of his skills. He was an expert at getting into apartments and hotel rooms. Christian was athletic and he was strong. I saw him many times climb up to first and second-floor apartments and break in."
"He would take watches, passports, money, and anything electronic that he could sell. He was a great burglar," Seyferth said. He insisted that Brueckner, 43, is a "bad, bad man. He is evil". "I never liked him and he is a psychopath. He is obsessed with small children and I didn’t like it," Seyferth continued. He added, "He always had a young girlfriend with him and I think he is easily capable of taking a small child." German prosecutors had identified Brueckner as the person responsible for Madeleine's kidnapping.
Last week, reports revealed that another friend, Helge Busching, spoke about why he believes Brueckner is guilty. While speaking to The Sun, he revealed that he had spoken to the authorities and told them that Brueckner had confessed to him about taking Madeleine. Busching was asked what he thought of Brueckner, to which he responded saying, "One word. Guilty. He is in the right place at the moment and hopefully, he will stay there a long time. I am not allowed to say anything about Brueckner but I hope he stays in jail."
Seyferth and Busching had been key witnesses in Brueckner's rape trial which took place last December. The two had reported him after they found a sickening video taken in Brueckner's apartment where he tortured and raped a 72-year-old American woman. Other footage showed a young teen tied to a wooden post while he sexually abused her. Seyferth said, "He is evil because of the things I saw on the video with the old woman and the girl. It wasn’t a young girl like Madeleine, she was older, maybe 15 years old and that was the usual age of his girlfriends."
In 2007, Seyferth lived in a caravan close to Brueckner's house, which was a couple of minutes drive from Praia da Luz. Seyferth reflected on that time and added, "I stole some diesel and some solar panels. I’m a thief but I don’t do anything else — not like Christian who is sick."
"After Maddie disappeared, I didn’t see him (Christian) for a few months until a hippy festival in Orgiva (in Spain) a year later. He turned up in a big American camper van and was with a young girl, she looked about 15 and he would have been double her age. I didn’t like it one bit so I had nothing to do with him," he revealed. "That’s why I think he may have something to do with Maddie. He broke in and saw her and because he likes young girls — he’s got lots of convictions — he took her," he continued.
Christian is currently appealing his rape conviction at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg and a verdict is expected on September 24.