Madeleine McCann prime suspect 'struggling with pressure of being accused of one of most infamous crimes'
7 December 2023, 15:13 | Updated: 7 December 2023, 16:33
The prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case, Christian Brueckner, is said to be struggling with the pressure of being accused of one of the world's most infamous crimes.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Brueckner, 46, is understood to have told friends he "struggles with the pressure" of being linked to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann - which is a case that remains unsolved to this day.
Madeleine was three years old when she went missing from her bed while on holiday in Portugal with her family in 2007.
He is also said to find it "unfair" that investigators have not yet shared any of their evidence against him with his legal team, with him maintaining his innocence privately to his lawyers.
"Christian B has regularly told pals he speaks to from prison how tough it is being the Madeleine suspect," a source told the Sun.
"It makes his lawyers furious if anyone ever asks how Christian B is doing.
Read more: Madeleine McCann suspect 'may have taken pictures of missing toddler and buried them underground'
"They reply, ‘how is he supposed to be doing?’ Like it’s a stupid question or something.
"It’s clear he is struggling with the pressure of being so firmly in the spotlight of the world - even if he is behind bars.
"He hates being suspected of one of the most famous crimes in the world. And his lawyers hate that he is constantly the subject of headlines.
"He is behind bars for crimes he has already been convicted of committing.
"But I think he forgets there is a family out there who has lost their little girl."
Brueckner's lawyers are said to have nicknamed the desperate hunt for evidence as the “fruitless search”.
“What a client says to his lawyer is protected in Germany in the same way as in the UK," a source told the publication.
“But [his solicitor Friedrich] Fülscher is not going to stand up in public for any client and say he's convinced of their innocence when they have told him something different.”
Brueckner is currently in jail in Oldenburg, in northern Germany, for raping an American pensioner in Portugal in 2005. He is serving a seven year sentence.
