Madeleine McCann suspect plans new life on 'billionaire island'
Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner is planning to move to Germany's 'billionaire playground island' when he is released from jail.
The 48-year-old convicted rapist and paedophile is due to be freed from prison in September and previously boasted he plans to go into hiding. Now his lawyer Friedrich Fuelscher has claimed Brueckner plans to stay in Germany after his release - and has already chosen a new home. 'According to my information, he plans to settle in Schleswig-Holstein,' Fuelscher told Bild. And Brueckner has a very specific location in mind - the exclusive North Sea island of Sylt. 'Sylt has appealed to him in the past,' Fuelscher added.
Brueckner previously ran a cannabis dealing operation on the island and was handed a suspended sentence in 2011. He is due to complete his current seven-year rape sentence in Sehnde prison on September 17. His legal team thought he would have to stay behind bars for a further five months because he owed an outstanding €1,400 fine.
But German tabloid Bild claims an anonymous female donor has now paid the fine on Brückner's behalf — clearing the final obstacle to his release.
Despite a lengthy police investigation, detectives appear to be no closer to charging him over Madeleine's disappearance. He was cleared last October of a string of sex crimes he was accused of carrying out in Portugal.
Prosecutors are awaiting the outcome of an appeal against those verdicts lodged in Germany's Federal Court of Justice. Brueckner denies any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance.
German search teams spent three days hunting for evidence in Portugal earlier this month. Brueckner was living in a ramshackle farmhouse on the edge of Praia da Luz when Madeleine vanished from the holiday resort in May 2007.
Sylt is Germany's northernmost island, nestled in the North Sea just off Schleswig‑Holstein. It has been connected to the mainland by the Hindenburgdamm causeway since 1927.
In WW2 it was heavily fortified with concrete bunkers hidden beneath dunes, and some of this wreckage and relics dot the island's landscape today.
From the 1960s, Sylt reinvented itself into a jet‑set playground for rich movers and shakers, and it is still this way today.Affluent entrepreneurs, VIPs, celebrities, and models flock here for gourmet dining, designer boutiques, luxury spas, and even the famed 'Whisky Mile' in Kampen. It is also known for its dramatic sand dunes and vast 40 km beaches.
In recent years, however, the island has also become the stage for disturbing far‑right incidents.
A shocking video emerged showing patrons in a Sylt nightclub chanting a Nazi slogan - 'Germany for the Germans – foreigners out' - prompting a nationwide outrage. The scandal rocked Germany because this time, instead of far-right thugs and skinheads it was wealthy 'yuppies' orchestrating it.
Left‑wing protest groups pitched protest camps on the island against what they claimed was elite gentrification and far‑right infiltration.
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The Irish Sun
7 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Mystery female donor who paid £1,300 fine to free Madeleine McCann suspect Brueckner is former COP who investigated him
THE woman who has paid for the prime Madeleine McCann suspect's early release has been revealed as a cop who had been investigating the paedophile. The mystery donor Advertisement 6 The woman who has paid for Christian Brueckner's early release from jail has been revealed as a cop Credit: Dan Charity 6 Brueckner's release will have a major implication on the investigations into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann Credit: AFP Reports have now identified her as a former officer with the German FBI - known as the BKA - who claims to have been involved in wire-tapping his jail cell. She confirmed to respected Hamburg-based publication Convicted rapist Brueckner had only been able to pay off £210 of the total fine and faced being kept behind bars until January. Advertisement read more in Christian B That scenario would have granted cops four precious extra months to hunt down forensic evidence and finally charge him over Maddie's disappearance. As it is, the ex-cop's intervention undermined the same force she previously worked for - all as they The woman - who has not been publicly named - claims she worked in the field of 'Operative Technology Audio'. She says she was involved in bugging Brueckner's prison cell - allegations that emerged in court last year as the disturbed German was cleared of fresh rape charges. Advertisement Most read in The Sun The female fine-payer did confirm: 'I never had personal contact with Christian B.' And when confronted over the fine payment, the woman bizarrely told Spiegel it has been a 'misunderstanding' and she had tried in vain to reverse the payment. She reportedly believed the fine was due to Brueckner insulting a police officer, something she said "wasn't justified". Madeleine McCann: the secret evidence on prime suspect Christian B | Sun Documentary When she learned that the penalties were actually to do with a number of infractions, including bodily harm, 'it was already too late,' she said. Advertisement Spiegel reports it has been able to verify she transferred £1,300 to an account of the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office at the Comdirect bank. It cleared a 2016 Helmstedt District Court fine for drunkenness in traffic and forgery of documents and a 2017 Braunschweig court levy for assault. Brueckner will now walk free when his sentence for raping an American woman, 72, in Praia da Luz, in 2005, ends. He has been named publicly as the prime suspect over the May 3, 2007 disappearance of Maddie, of Rothley, Leics., since 2020 but has never been charged. Advertisement He has used letters to deny the claims but has refused to answer police questions or provide an alibi. His phone was in Praia da Luz on the night Madeleine vanished and made a 30-minute call from the area. 6 Young Maddie vanished on May 3, 2007 in Portugal Credit: Alamy 6 Brueckner appeared in court earlier this year over verbal assaults on prison guards Credit: Rob Pattinson Advertisement His Jaguar was re-registered into a name the day after the disappearance. A Sun investigation this year revealed bombshell new evidence - including Brueckner's obsession with snatching and abusing small, young, blonde girls. We also placed him at key police locations of interest, including a lake where cops dug for evidence, And we showed evidence he was at the scene of an al-but-confession when he allegedly said Maddie 'did not scream,' in 2008. Advertisement Our probe - aired on Channel 4 - revealed the existence of a hard-drive and laptop containing crucial picture evidence on the case. Police maintain they have physical evidence Maddie is dead - but no forensic links. German police have recently stressed the value UK authorities could provide by getting involved in the case again before Brueckner's release. He has refused to rule out leaving Germany and insisted he will go to ground on his release. Advertisement If he travelled to a non-extradition country all hopes for McCann justice could disappear with him. Timeline of Maddie's disappearance May 3, 2007 Madeleine McCann disappears from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, sparking a January 15, 2016 Neighbour reports a possible 'grave' at Brueckner's abandoned factory in East Germany. Cops find disturbing February 16, 2016 Christian Brueckner is convicted for abusing a girl of five in a park after images found on his laptop. He was sentenced to 15-months behind bars but was already on the run by then. May 3, 2017 Around this time, He reports an alleged confession by Christian Brueckner. September 27, 2018 On-the-run Christian Brueckner is arrested over outstanding drugs claims in Italy. He is extradited to Germany the following year. December 16, 2019 Christian Brueckner was convicted, in Germany, for the 2005 rape of an American woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, after his DNA was matched to a hair found on her bed. He was sentenced to seven years behind bars. June 4, 2020 German prosecutors reveal to the world they have a suspect in custody under investigation for the abduction of Madeleine McCann. For the first time they claim German media later name him as June 23, 2023 In his first interview, witness Helge B alleges to German newspaper Bild that Christian Brueckner all-but-confessed the Madeleine abduction to him, by allegedly saying 'she didn't scream' as they talked about the case, at a music festival, in Spain. February 16, 2024 Brueckner goes on trial accused of none-McCann allegations of rape and sex assault, in Braunschweig, Germany. Prosecutors hope for a conviction to keep him behind bars permanently and lead to McCann charges. October 8, 2024 Prosecutors launch an appeal, however. Decision pending. September 17, 2025 Date on which Prosecutors require an arrest warrant for a retrial over claims from last year - or over the McCann case. June 1, 2025 Police order a renewed search for clues in Praia Da Luz on the Algarve in Portugal. It lasts for just three days. 6 Brueckner is serving time in jail after being convicted of rape Credit: Rex Features 6 Police tirelessly dug for new clues in Portugal two weeks ago Credit: Dan Charity
Irish Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Wife 'butchered husband by slicing off parts of his body and feeding him to dog'
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The 42
3 days ago
- The 42
Ex-PL referee David Coote charged by English FA over comments about Jurgen Klopp
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