Former Cellmate of Madeleine McCann Suspect Claims Convicted Pedophile Confessed to Finding and 'Abducting Child' in Portugal During Burglary Spree
Brueckner also hoped to get an early release.
Sept. 25 2024, Updated 1:48 p.m. ET
Christian Brueckner, the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, allegedly confessed to abducting a child from a Portuguese apartment, according to startling testimony from his former cellmate.
RadarOnline.com can reveal that the revelations were shared in a German courtroom, where Brueckner, 47, is currently on trial for unrelated sexual offenses.
Brueckner has yet to be charged over the three-year-old’s disappearance.
Laurentiu Codin, who was imprisoned with Brueckner, described how the convicted pedophile confided in him during their time together. According to Codin, Brueckner first asked him if he was in prison for child-related offenses, attempting to bond over shared crimes, The Sun reported.
During their conversations, Brueckner allegedly admitted to taking a child during a break-in in Portugal. "He told me that in Portugal, he had stolen there," Codin testified. "He was in an area of hotels where rich people live. And when he went to the hotel area, there was an open window somewhere. And he would have entered this window for money and gold. However, he did not find any money, but came across a child and took it with him."
In his younger years, Brueckner had been adopted by a German couple named Brigitte and Fritz Brueckner.
The court heard how Brueckner fled the scene once police arrived, leaving the area in his car with the child.
"About two hours later, the area was full of police and dogs and he had left from there,” Codin recalled.
This chilling confession mirrors the circumstances of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance in 2007, when she was last seen in her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal.
According to Codin, Brueckner admitted to abducting a child in Portugal.
Codin also shared Brueckner’s apparent obsession with forensic evidence, especially DNA.
“He asked me if the DNA from a child can be taken from bones under the ground,” Codin revealed, raising the grim possibility that Brueckner might have been concerned about the discovery of a buried body.
Investigators have long believed that Madeleine McCann is no longer alive, although they have not publicly stated why they hold this belief.
Christian Brueckner was a 'twisted loner' before he made international headlines for his crimes, according to a report.
Brueckner, according to Codin, frequently expressed fear of being caught, asking him whether a person could be traced by their hair or through any trace left while climbing over a balcony.
Codin testified that Brueckner was desperate to cover his tracks and even asked him to burn down his "box factory lair" after his release from prison.
In a search of Brueckner’s property, German authorities found data storage devices and hard drives, though their relevance to the case remains undisclosed.
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Codin further alleged that Brueckner boasted about destroying evidence, including setting a car on fire, though it was unclear which crime this referred to.
The testimony grew more disturbing as Codin described Brueckner’s repeated confessions about abusing young girls. Brueckner allegedly spoke about taking “tiny” young girls on a bus he owned, abusing them and sometimes letting them go. “He said that he had a bus and that he had taken the girls with it. He said he kept some of them, but not others, but he never said that he had killed them,” Codin said.
He stated that Brueckner often revisited these conversations, convinced that his cellmate shared similar tendencies. "He asked me every time if I was a pedophile. Every time we spoke, he came back to that. Brueckner said at the time: 'Tell me, you don't have to watch out for me,’” according to Codin.
This testimony comes as a potential breakthrough in the Madeleine McCann case, providing prosecutors with a second witness who claims Brueckner confessed to abducting a child.
Previously, the case against Brueckner relied heavily on testimony from Helge Busching, an ex-associate of Brueckner whose credibility has come under scrutiny during Brueckner’s current trial for rape and other sexual offenses.
Brueckner, who has a long history of sexual violence, was named as the prime suspect in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance in 2020, but he has never been formally charged in connection with the case. He denies any involvement in her abduction.
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