Friday, June 28th:
*Trial continues (Day 25) (@ 9am CET) – Germany/Portugal -
Hazel Behan (20 @ time/now 40) (in her home, June 16, 2004, Praia de Rocha on the Algarve coast, 10 miles from Praia de Luz, Portimao, Portugal) -
*Christian Stefan Brückner (Bruekner) (27 @ time of 1st crime (2004)/45/now 47)
charged (Oct. 11, 2022) with sexual assault (suspect held a knife & brutally raped her. The accused then tied & gagged the woman to a table & raped her again. He then whipped the victim on the back with a whip he had brought with him & finally forcibly performed oral sex with the victim. The accused filmed large parts of the events with a video camera he had brought with him). Braunschweig Regional District Court
Germany/Portugal –
*Charged (Oct. 11, 2022) & arrest warrant reinstated 11/18/22 - a
14 year old teenager (unknown victim) (on tape: assaulted/hit the naked girl with a whip. Said to have brutally forced the girl to have oral sex. The accused also videotaped this act). Took place between Dec. 28, 2000 to April 8, 2006 on the Praia da Luz, Algarve coast, Portugal.
Germany/Portugal -
*Charged (Oct. 11, 2022) & arrest warrant reinstated 11/18/22 -
an elderly woman 70-80 yrs old (unknown victim) a Tour Rep (tied up & raped the victim in her holiday apt. He then hit the victim several times with a whip. The accused is said to have recorded the entire event with a video camera). Took place around the same time (between Dec. 28, 2000 to April 8, 2006) on the Praia de Luz, Algarve coast, Portugal.
Germany/Portugal –
*Charged (Oct. 11, 2022) & arrest warrant reinstated 11/18/22 -
10 year old German girl (Joana E.) (wearing only shoes & otherwise naked. He grabbed the child's wrist & began to perform masturbation movements on his naked penis). On Salema (Zalema) beach, near Praia de Luz, Portugal, April 7, 2007).
Germany/Portugal –
*Charged (Oct. 11, 2022) & arrest warrant reinstated 11/18/22 –
Ines VP (
11 year old Portuguese girl) (pulled down his trousers & underpants & made masturbation movements on his naked penis in order to sexually arouse himself, until the frightened girl ran to her father for help. The suspect was arrested on the spot by the Portuguese police). Exposed himself in playpark, São Bartolomeu de Messines, June 11, 2017).
Trial began on February 16, 2024. (And continued on Feb. 23rd, Mar. 1st & 14th, Apr. 2nd, 10th, 12th, 17th, 19th, 24th & 26th, May 2nd, 15th, 166th, 17th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 28th, 29th & June 4th & 5th).
Next Trial dates: June 28, July 5, August 5, 15, 16, Sept. 5, 26, 27, Oct. 2, 7, 8, 21 & Oct. 22, 2024. (Expected to last up to 8 months, it was 3 months).
Presiding Judge Dr. Engemann. Lead Prosecutor Ute Lindermann. Defense attorneys Dr. Friedrich Fülscher, Philipp Marquort, Dennis Bock & Atilla Aykac.
Brueckner is currently serving a 7 year sentence for the 2005 rape on a pensioner; was sentenced in 2019. Release in 2026.
For Summary of events in trial so far – see post #329, page 17, thread #4.
Case info & charges & Brueckner info from June 1, 2020 thru Jan. 18, 2024 & Trial Day 1-23 (Feb. 16 thru June 5) reference post #53 here:\https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...rimes-praia-de-rocha-portugal-4.714269/page-3
June 6, 2024 Thursday, Day 24: Gov’t witness: Another BKA official (no name given) about questioning Manfred S. in Greece.
*The legal team defending Brueckner is attempting to have a key piece of evidence thrown out of court, arguing that investigators broke international law in obtaining it. German police were handed Brueckner's hard-drive by an unnamed female witness in Portugal containing sickening cartoons allegedly penned by Brueckner. Now his defense team is demanding that the Regional Court of Braunschweig does not officially admit the hard-drive as evidence.
Trial continues on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.
For more info see posts #89 here:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...rimes-praia-de-rocha-portugal-4.714269/page-5
*June 21, 2024 Update: Defense wants arrest warrant lifted. "For an arrest warrant to be upheld, there must be a strong suspicion of the offence," said defense lawyer Dr Friedrich Fülscher. "Since the essential evidence has been collected & it has not been established that any of the charges are true, the arrest warrant can no longer be upheld." Defence attorney Philipp Marqort said there are no grounds to justify the current arrest warrant keeping Brueckner behind bars. 'The prerequisite for an arrest warrant under Section 112 of the German Code of Criminal Procedure is an urgent suspicion of an offence.' 'The urgent suspicion of an offence requires two elements to be examined by the competent detention court: on the one hand, an objectively substantiated assessment of the probability of the accused committing the offence and, on the other hand, a prognosis of the probability of conviction. But here both criteria are not met.' Now that all of the main witnesses have been heard, as the case begins winding down, the defence says what has been presented so far has been weak, claiming there is no evidence demonstrating the necessary 'probability' that Brueckner committed the offence. The court must now decide whether the arrest warrant will be cancelled. "If this is the case, the defendant will be acquitted unless the public prosecutor pulls another rabbit out of the hat," says lawyer Fülscher. "Otherwise, we know where we have to start with further motions for evidence.”
*June 24, 2024: Limited hearing this week because of illness, a few hours on Friday, June 28, 2024 to meet procedures. A deep taking of evidence is not expected on the day. At most, a note or a certificate is read out, then the paths of all those involved separate again. Negotiations will continue as of July 5, 2024. That would be the last appointment before the summer break that lasts a month. The trial against Christian B. will only continue on August 5, 2024.