A team of detectives believe they can build a strong enough case for the Crown Prosecution Service to authorise charges before the 20th anniversary of Maddie’s disappearance next year
A team of Scotland Yard detectives have been working on the Madeleine McCann case for six months in an attempt to charge Christian Brueckner in the UK, a source has said.
It is understood they have officially requested evidence from the German police after Brueckner, who has always denied any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance, was released from prison last September.
They are said to believe they can build a strong enough case for the Crown Prosecution Service to authorise charges before the 20th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance next year.
But the German constitution prevents the extradition of its citizens to non-EU countries, meaning that unless he goes abroad, Brueckner will not be sent to the UK for trial.
A source said: “The team needs to get to the level of charging him, this is not about requesting he be sent for an interview, so it is a high threshold.
“The work has been on-going for six months and it appears they are trying to corroborate what has already been discovered by the German police.
“It’s understood they have formally requested material from the German authorities and are working their way through it.” The case is being led by a Deputy Assistant Commissioner, the source said.
If Brueckner can’t be brought to the UK, the Met is reportedly committed to ensuring that he still faces charges in Germany or in Portugal, where the alleged crime took place. Brueckner was living a mile away from the Praia da Luz complex where Madeleine, three, went missing in 2007.
He was named as the prime suspect in her disappearance six years ago, but charges were not brought before he was released from a German prison last year. Brueckner was jailed for seven years for raping a US pensioner in the same Algarve resort where the youngster went missing.
A small team of specialist Met detectives has been working on building a file of evidence on suspected abduction and murder though the probe is still classified as a missing persons case.
Lawyer Bernhard Schmeilzl, of Graf & Partners LLP, a firm specialising in Anglo-German legal matters, told the Daily Mirror: “Theoretically the Met can charge him but they can’t get hold of him as long as he’s in Germany.
“It’s in the German constitution so it’s simply impossible. But they could extradite him to Portugal as an EU country so I am sure the police and prosecutors from all three countries are having discussions amongst themselves.”
Circumstantial evidence linking Brueckner to the crime include the fact his mobile phone was recorded close to the apartment where Madeleine disappeared from. He has previous convictions for child abuse, and his name was given to both the German and British police by a witness in 2008.
They told detectives that Brueckner had told them a year after Madeleine vanished that she “didn’t scream” when she was taken. But it is understood police have so far been unable to find any forensic evidence to support the case. Brueckner has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley confirmed last year that his force was looking into whether it would be possible to extradite Brueckner to the UK.
At the time, he said: “One of the reasons we are involved is that murder is in many situations extraterritorial and potentially a murder of a British subject can in certain circumstances be charged in the UK. There’s lots of maybes, so at the moment we are taking stock with the Germans and Portuguese.”
Last year, Brueckner was tried in Braunschweig on three further rape charges and two counts of child abuse. During that trial, a psychological expert described him as belonging to the “absolute top league of dangerous offenders but he was acquitted of all charges.”
Madeleine, from Rothley, Leicestershire, was on holiday with her family at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz, in Portugal’s Algarve when she disappeared on 3 May 2007.
Her whereabouts remain unknown. Brueckner has never been charged over her disappearance. Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry joined a prayer vigil in Leicestershire on the 19th anniversary of her disappearance on Sunday.
It was the first time that the couple had been pictured with their twins – Sean and Amelie – in public as well-wishers gathered in their home town. Kate and Gerry said in a statement posted online: “The search goes on to find her, to achieve some justice, to make the world that bit safer.”
A Met spokesperson said: “The Met’s investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has been active since 2011. A dedicated team continues to examine the events of the evening of 3 May 2007 in Praia da Luz, while supporting and updating Madeleine’s family.
“As part of ongoing enquiries, we remain in close working discussion with policing colleagues in Germany and Portugal. We will continue to pursue any viable lines of enquiry.”
