Smirk and silence... suspect is asked if he killed Madeleine

MADELEINE McCann suspect Christian Brueckner remained silent yesterday when asked if he snatched the missing girl.

- By Martin Fricker

German investigators believe the convicted paedophile abducted and killed Madeleine aged three in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007.

But they appear no nearer to charging Brueckner, who is nearing the end of a seven-year jail term for unrelated rape, with the crime.

Confronted as he left court after being convicted of insulting guards at the prison where he is serving his sentence, chilling video captures the moment Brueckner appears to smirk when he was asked: “Did you abduct Madeleine McCann?”

Another reporter asked Brueckner, 48, if he killed Madeleine.

He was hauled before judges in Germany yesterday after branding jail staff “a laughing stock”.

He snapped at guards in Sehnde prison during a meeting to discuss whether he could be moved from solitary confinement.

Brueckner said he was being “tortured” and treated “inhumanely” during the March 2024 outburst.