Madeleine McCann: German prisoner identified as suspect #30

[Lilly b]

Your guess is as good as mine.

I cannot for the life of me understand why Wolters said what he said -

"Maybe the judge will think that somebody who has raped more than one woman in the same place where Madeleine was taken would also be more likely to take and kill a young girl. It says something about his character..."

- without considering what he was revealing about the state of play as regards his primary investigation.

I can understand. A majority if criminals who become serial offenders, just keep going till they get caught, but also want a bigger rush than the previous one

 

[C.greek]

In 2020 Wolters said they had concrete evidence that CB killed madeleine, 2021 Wolters said they had enough to charge CB ,May of this year they are still working on the theory that CB took and killed Madeleine, yet it seems other lesser charges are a priority .Some like to speculate a conviction for the rape of HB is the key, what if he's not convicted ?

They are not working on the theory - they are working on strenghtening the case they will bring forward so as to be certain of a guilty charge.

I think the possibility of CB not being convicted of HB's brutal and sadistic rape is quite slim. Jmo

 

[C.greek]

Your guess is as good as mine.

I cannot for the life of me understand why Wolters said what he said -

"Maybe the judge will think that somebody who has raped more than one woman in the same place where Madeleine was taken would also be more likely to take and kill a young girl. It says something about his character..."

- without considering what he was revealing about the state of play as regards his primary investigation.

This appears to be out of context. If we had the times article perhaps it would make more sense

 

[C.greek]

And again back to the chat with panikspatz. We have seen excerpts of it... he might have well followed up his urge by actually confiding that he has done that before.... why do we think we have seen the whole evidence in respect to the chat?!

 

[tedtink]

DBM

 

[tedtink]

The link could be Das Buch? If it/they exist.
He could have kept a log of his multiple crimes. On investigation, one has been proven with conviction secured, with several more charges in the pipeline. If a written account of the murder of MM exists in amongst crimes that he has been convicted for/is subsequently convicted for, it makes it less likely that any account of MM in there is “fantasy”.

We have several GA fans in here that have no doubt read his book, anyone willing to share their opinions?

I agree.
If CB has written an account of exactly what happened to MM is in Das Buch, it could show similarities that HCW has been talking about, CB's MO.

CB may argue that it is fantasy, but IMO CB wrote it and kept it as his trophy and I think the prosecutors will argue that too.

We know that many sadists keep records of their crimes, writing's drawing's, or recording's and photographs as souvenirs and how these trophies have been used as evidence against murderers and violent criminals on many occasions.

JMO

 

[enquirer6]

This appears to be out of context. If we had the times article perhaps it would make more sense

Here is the article:

"The prime suspect for the abduction of Madeleine McCann is due to be charged with the rape of an Irish tour representative in 2004.

Christian Brückner is suspected of attacking Hazel Behan, then 20, in her apartment in Praia da Rocha on the Algarve, a 30-minute drive from where Madeleine was abducted.

German federal police, who are leading the inquiry into Brückner, hope to charge him with raping Behan “in the next three months”.

Behan, 37, who has waived her right to anonymity, contacted British police after reading in the news about a similar sex attack by Brückner.

His history emerged during an appeal for information by German detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine. German prosecutors claimed last year to have evidence that Brückner abducted and murdered three-year-old Madeleine, and are building a case towards charging him. She would have been 18 this month.

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Brückner is serving a seven-year term in a prison in Hanover for raping a 72-year-old American in Praia da Luz in 2005.

Hans Christian Wolters, the German prosecutor leading the inquiry, said: “The case against the suspect Christian B for the rape of Hazel Behan is in a good way, and it may be that we can charge him in the next three months. I am very hopeful for a charge on this case.

“We are building a picture of Christian B and the methods he uses to commit his crimes. There are parallels with the case of the American tourist who was raped, the attack on Hazel Behan, and the abduction and murder of Madeleine McCann. In each case the person has come into the person’s apartment or property by breaking and entering, often not through the door.”

Asked whether that meant police believed Madeleine’s abductor entered the McCanns’ hotel apartment using the window, rather than the unlocked patio doors, Wolters said: “I can’t comment.” He added that he hoped to resolve the Madeleine case “by this year”.

Wolters said that if Brückner were convicted of raping Behan it could help take the Madeleine case over the threshold to bring him to trial."

The German legal system means that following any charge, Wolters will have to convince a judge that a full trial should be held, which would take place before five judges, probably in the district court in Braunschweig, a city in Lower Saxony known as Brunswick in English, where Brückner spent much of his life while in Germany.

He fled to Portugal as an 18-year-old to escape a two-year youth custody sentence for child sex offences, later returning.

“Maybe the judge will think that somebody who has raped more than one woman in the same place where Madeleine was taken would also be more likely to take and kill a young girl,” Wolters added. “It says something about his character.”

Again, my formatting buttons are not lit up and I can't use them. Sorry.

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[Betty_Boop88]

Again, my formatting buttons are not lit up and I can't use them. Sorry.

Sometimes you have to tap them a few times to get them to do what you want. Not sure what device you’re using to post but if on a phone, if you highlight the part of your post you want to format, you can use your phone’s own bold, italicise or underline and it’ll translate to here.

 

[C.greek]

Here is the article:

"The prime suspect for the abduction of Madeleine McCann is due to be charged with the rape of an Irish tour representative in 2004.

Christian Brückner is suspected of attacking Hazel Behan, then 20, in her apartment in Praia da Rocha on the Algarve, a 30-minute drive from where Madeleine was abducted.

German federal police, who are leading the inquiry into Brückner, hope to charge him with raping Behan “in the next three months”.

Behan, 37, who has waived her right to anonymity, contacted British police after reading in the news about a similar sex attack by Brückner.

His history emerged during an appeal for information by German detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine. German prosecutors claimed last year to have evidence that Brückner abducted and murdered three-year-old Madeleine, and are building a case towards charging him. She would have been 18 this month.

ADVERTISEMENT
Brückner is serving a seven-year term in a prison in Hanover for raping a 72-year-old American in Praia da Luz in 2005.

Hans Christian Wolters, the German prosecutor leading the inquiry, said: “The case against the suspect Christian B for the rape of Hazel Behan is in a good way, and it may be that we can charge him in the next three months. I am very hopeful for a charge on this case.

“We are building a picture of Christian B and the methods he uses to commit his crimes. There are parallels with the case of the American tourist who was raped, the attack on Hazel Behan, and the abduction and murder of Madeleine McCann. In each case the person has come into the person’s apartment or property by breaking and entering, often not through the door.”

Asked whether that meant police believed Madeleine’s abductor entered the McCanns’ hotel apartment using the window, rather than the unlocked patio doors, Wolters said: “I can’t comment.” He added that he hoped to resolve the Madeleine case “by this year”.

Wolters said that if Brückner were convicted of raping Behan it could help take the Madeleine case over the threshold to bring him to trial."

The German legal system means that following any charge, Wolters will have to convince a judge that a full trial should be held, which would take place before five judges, probably in the district court in Braunschweig, a city in Lower Saxony known as Brunswick in English, where Brückner spent much of his life while in Germany.

He fled to Portugal as an 18-year-old to escape a two-year youth custody sentence for child sex offences, later returning.

“Maybe the judge will think that somebody who has raped more than one woman in the same place where Madeleine was taken would also be more likely to take and kill a young girl,” Wolters added. “It says something about his character.”

Again, my formatting buttons are not lit up and I can't use them. Sorry.

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Thanks!

So everytime HCW says he can't comment, he means yes?

And further down

A German family based in the Algarve who knew Brückner said: “He would get drunk and boast about stealing from the holiday apartments. He would show off about it. ‘I stole this Rolex watch or I got this much money.’ He did it for the excitement as well as the money.”

So there is a link from witness statements about his knowledge of the apartments

And even further down

Wolters said that his investigators had been contacted by more than 1,000 tourists, largely British, since going public with their new suspect, who have provided photographs and videos taken in Praia da Luz in May 2007.
Police hope to spot either Brückner or his vehicles, a VW T3 Westfalia camper van and a 1993 Jaguar XJR6.
“We have not finished going through all that material and that is one reason why the investigation is ongoing,” Wolters said. “We are looking for his vehicles and of course looking for him in those images.”

So also they are going through photos to spot him/the car/van... maybe they have already that piece of circumstantial evidence

And most importantly, why charge when they might not get for certain a guilty verdict? Just because we are impatient?

HCW "We are sure that Madeleine is dead and that Christian B is the murderer of her. We think he was alone and we have only one suspect. There are still clues we are investigating. We don’t have any financial constraints like the British. We will carry on with the inquiry until there is nothing left that we can do.”

A nice article- no clickbaits

Jmo

 

[C.greek]

Dbm

 

[Betty_Boop88]

"We are sure that Madeleine is dead and that Christian B is the murderer of her. We think he was alone and we have only one suspect. There are still clues we are investigating. We don’t have any financial constraints like the British. We will carry on with the inquiry until there is nothing left that we can do.”

A nice article, as you say, @C.greek. Some nice direct quotes.

 

[tedtink]

A nice article, as you say, @C.greek. Some nice direct quotes.

Yep, great article, no fodder or rehash.

 

[enquirer6]

Here is the article:

"The prime suspect for the abduction of Madeleine McCann is due to be charged with the rape of an Irish tour representative in 2004.

Christian Brückner is suspected of attacking Hazel Behan, then 20, in her apartment in Praia da Rocha on the Algarve, a 30-minute drive from where Madeleine was abducted.

German federal police, who are leading the inquiry into Brückner, hope to charge him with raping Behan “in the next three months”.

Behan, 37, who has waived her right to anonymity, contacted British police after reading in the news about a similar sex attack by Brückner.

His history emerged during an appeal for information by German detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine. German prosecutors claimed last year to have evidence that Brückner abducted and murdered three-year-old Madeleine, and are building a case towards charging him. She would have been 18 this month.

ADVERTISEMENT
Brückner is serving a seven-year term in a prison in Hanover for raping a 72-year-old American in Praia da Luz in 2005.

Hans Christian Wolters, the German prosecutor leading the inquiry, said: “The case against the suspect Christian B for the rape of Hazel Behan is in a good way, and it may be that we can charge him in the next three months. I am very hopeful for a charge on this case.

“We are building a picture of Christian B and the methods he uses to commit his crimes. There are parallels with the case of the American tourist who was raped, the attack on Hazel Behan, and the abduction and murder of Madeleine McCann. In each case the person has come into the person’s apartment or property by breaking and entering, often not through the door.”

Asked whether that meant police believed Madeleine’s abductor entered the McCanns’ hotel apartment using the window, rather than the unlocked patio doors, Wolters said: “I can’t comment.” He added that he hoped to resolve the Madeleine case “by this year”.

Wolters said that if Brückner were convicted of raping Behan it could help take the Madeleine case over the threshold to bring him to trial."

The German legal system means that following any charge, Wolters will have to convince a judge that a full trial should be held, which would take place before five judges, probably in the district court in Braunschweig, a city in Lower Saxony known as Brunswick in English, where Brückner spent much of his life while in Germany.

He fled to Portugal as an 18-year-old to escape a two-year youth custody sentence for child sex offences, later returning.

“Maybe the judge will think that somebody who has raped more than one woman in the same place where Madeleine was taken would also be more likely to take and kill a young girl,” Wolters added. “It says something about his character.”

Again, my formatting buttons are not lit up and I can't use them. Sorry.

ADVERTISEMENT

Sometimes you have to tap them a few times to get them to do what you want. Not sure what device you’re using to post but if on a phone, if you highlight the part of your post you want to format, you can use your phone’s own bold, italicise or underline and it’ll translate to here.

b

Thanks!

So everytime HCW says he can't comment, he means yes?

And further down

A German family based in the Algarve who knew Brückner said: “He would get drunk and boast about stealing from the holiday apartments. He would show off about it. ‘I stole this Rolex watch or I got this much money.’ He did it for the excitement as well as the money.”

So there is a link from witness statements about his knowledge of the apartments

And even further down

Wolters said that his investigators had been contacted by more than 1,000 tourists, largely British, since going public with their new suspect, who have provided photographs and videos taken in Praia da Luz in May 2007.
Police hope to spot either Brückner or his vehicles, a VW T3 Westfalia camper van and a 1993 Jaguar XJR6.
“We have not finished going through all that material and that is one reason why the investigation is ongoing,” Wolters said. “We are looking for his vehicles and of course looking for him in those images.”

So also they are going through photos to spot him/the car/van... maybe they have already that piece of circumstantial evidence

And most importantly, why charge when they might not get for certain a guilty verdict? Just because we are impatient?

HCW "We are sure that Madeleine is dead and that Christian B is the murderer of her. We think he was alone and we have only one suspect. There are still clues we are investigating. We don’t have any financial constraints like the British. We will carry on with the inquiry until there is nothing left that we can do.”

A nice article- no clickbaits

Jmo

Sometimes you have to tap them a few times to get them to do what you want. Not sure what device you’re using to post but if on a phone, if you highlight the part of your post you want to format, you can use your phone’s own bold, italicise or underline and it’ll translate to here.

Thanks, Betty.

The problem seems to be with the browser, I was using (edge) but I have reverted to chrome and, as you will gather, buttons are back in full working order again.

 

[Betty_Boop88]

b


Thanks, Betty.

The problem seems to be with the browser, I was using (edge) but I have reverted to chrome and, as you will gather, buttons are back in full working order again.

Glad you got sorted. There have been plenty of teething problems since the update.

 

[Chiatos]

The link between the crimes could be: CB chatting about the crime-to-be and then carrying it out.
Pre-crime chats for the other rapings might have been discovered.

 

[G-Unit]

Can anyone tell me where to find the rule that German Prosecutors need permission from the German Courts as to what they can say publicly? I've seen it referred to, but don't know where to find evidence of it. Thanks in anticipation.

 

[mrjitty]

Can anyone tell me where to find the rule that German Prosecutors need permission from the German Courts as to what they can say publicly? I've seen it referred to, but don't know where to find evidence of it. Thanks in anticipation.

We are discussing whether the suspect can be named pre-arrest and pre-charge, and whether the prosecutor can express views on guilt pre-charge.

I know in the UK, the official policing guidelines require that suspects are not named pre-charge, other than in exceptional circumstances. This is reflected in reporting (see the arrest of the EPL footballer amidst rape allegations a couple of weeks ago). This is to avoid the suggestion that the accused is guilty without judicial oversight, and disclosure of the evidence.

Germany is different because though charges have not been laid, there is already a judicial process. My understanding is, the Court allowed a public appeal, where the subject was not fully named (he was named by foreign media).

 

[G-Unit]

Thank you for the reply, mr jitty. So you don't know that the court's permission was sought, it's just your impression that it was.

 

[Lilly b]

Thank you for the reply, mr jitty. So you don't know that the court's permission was sought, it's just your impression that it was.

Does this help at all

That's why Section 8.1 of the German press codex (the nonbinding but usually followed rules for ethical journalism) recommends to not publish the names of criminals (alleged or not) except for some special situations (for example, when the criminal is already a person of public interest or when the police asks the population for help).
Or did you mean more to do with the courts etc

 

[enquirer6]

Does this help at all

That's why Section 8.1 of the German press codex (the nonbinding but usually followed rules for ethical journalism) recommends to not publish the names of criminals (alleged or not) except for some special situations (for example, when the criminal is already a person of public interest or when the police asks the population for help).
Or did you mean more to do with the courts etc

Thanks, Lily. CB is very much a person of public interest and, as someone currently serving a long prison sentence for a brutal rape, and with a string of other convictions, no reputation to defend.

I note, also, that the prohibition is discretionary, not compulsory.