German suspect in Madeleine McCann disappearance is released after
serving time in unrelated case
[September 17, 2025]
By DANIEL NIEMANN and MARKUS SCHREIBER
SEHNDE, Germany (AP) — A German national who is under investigation in
the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann 18 years ago was
released from prison Wednesday after serving his sentence in an
unrelated case, police said.
The man, who has been identified by media as Christian Brückner, had
been serving a seven-year sentence that stemmed from his 2019 conviction
for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal.
A car accompanied by several police vans drove out of the prison at
Sehnde, near Hannover, in northern Germany, on Wednesday morning. Police
confirmed that the man had left.
In June 2020, German prosecutors said the man was being investigated on
suspicion of murder in connection with McCann’s disappearance on May 3,
2007, from an apartment complex in the Portuguese resort of Praia da
Luz. They said they assumed the girl was dead.
Police have since carried out more searches in Portugal. But the
suspect, who has denied any involvement in her disappearance, has not
been charged in the case. The investigation is not affected by his
release. He also remains a suspect in an investigation into McCann’s
disappearance being conducted by Britain’s Metropolitan Police, who say
he refused their request for an interview.
His lawyer, Friedrich Fülscher, has said charges would have been filed
against his client long ago if there had been sufficient evidence.
The 48-year-old spent many years in Portugal, including in the Algarve
resort of Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.
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Police officers try to stop a British photographer as he takes
pictures inside a car leaving a prison, carrying Christian B., a
suspect in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine
McCann, in Sehnde, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP
Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Investigators in the U.K., Portugal and Germany are still piecing
together what happened on the night 3-year-old Madeleine
disappeared. She was in the same room as her brother and sister —
2-year-old twins — while their parents, Kate and Gerry, had dinner
with friends at a nearby restaurant.
The suspect was tried last year over several unrelated sexual
offenses he was alleged to have committed in Portugal between 2000
and 2017 and was acquitted in October. The presiding judge said the
evidence was insufficient for a conviction, that the court heard
from unreliable witnesses and that some had been influenced by media
reports on the defendant.
The state court in Hildesheim has said it cannot legally disclose
whether he will have to fulfill any conditions after his release.
But Fülscher confirmed to regional public broadcaster NDR that his
client will be required to wear an electronic foot tag, report
regularly to probation services and give up his passport. German
weekly Der Spiegel first reported on that decision, without naming
sources.
He still faces an Oct. 27 court date in Oldenburg in northwestern
Germany in a case in which he is accused of insulting a prison
employee. A district court in the city sentenced him to six weeks in
prison for that, but the defense has appealed.
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