The trial of Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner continued in Germany for eight months after he was accused of raping women and exposing himself to children.
A host of lawyers and various lively witnesses played their part in the Braunschweig regional court, reports the Mirror.
Despite the case being unlinked to Madeleine’s disappearance in 2007, due to the link between Braunschweig and Madeleine, heightened interest in the case was anticipated, reports the Mirror.
The 47-year-old was cleared of all charges in Germany on Tuesday morning.
Here, we take a look at seven moments from the long-running case that shocked the globe.
Christian Brueckner’s first court appearance
Photographers and TV crews captured the moment Brueckner was brought to Braunschweig regional court for the opening day of his trial.
It was a cold February day when the man police suspected of abducting and killing Madeleine McCann walked into courtroom 141.
He appeared frail and gaunt as he was led in handcuffs by three security guards to a desk alongside his lawyer, Friedrich Fuelscher.
Mr Fuelscher admitted Brueckner was in “poor health”, which he blamed on being held in solitary confinement for two years.
The German was also described as “stressed” due to appearing in front of the media after he was linked to a Madeleine case.
Brueckner – who was wearing a grey linen jacket, purple shirt, black trousers and brown suede shoes – sat at a table next to his legal team for the hearing, which lasted less than an hour.
He also declined to cover his face and instead shamelessly stared straight ahead as camera shutters clicked in court, refusing to look over at the journalists and members of the public packed into Court 141.
Opening speeches by prosecutor and Brueckner’s lawyer Friedrich Fuelscher
One week following Brueckner’s first appearance in court, prosecutor Ute Lindemann alleged that he’d raped an Irish holiday rep, a teenage schoolgirl and a pensioner in Portugal between 2000 and 2006.
She also claimed he exposed himself to a German girl on a Portuguese beach and again to an 11-year-old in a playground in 2017.
The accused displayed no emotion as the veteran prosecutor revealed sick details of the five alleged crimes.
In his opening statement the same day, Friedrich Fuelscher whined that his client was being persecuted by the media.
Many believed his speech was notable as it was the first time Madeleine’s name was mentioned in court.
He said Brueckner was under “worldwide media fire” over claims he “allegedly abducted and murdered Madeleine Beth McCann”.
Helge Busching evidence
In April, the individual who provoked the Madeleine McCann investigation gave evidence in the courtroom.
In 2020, Helge Busching, 53, revealed to British detectives that Brueckner said: “she didn’t scream” when they discussed the case in a Spanish bar.
This information led German and British police to name Brueckner as the prime suspect.
In his evidence in the unconnected trial, Busching told the court that his former friend “must be brought to justice”.
He also revealed he’d found a video camera in Brueckner’s house showing him raping and sexually assaulting two women.
Busching, who was friends with the paedophile in Praia da Luz in the early 2000s, branded him “really dangerous”.
He added: “He must be brought to justice and he must be punished. We were not good friends back then and we will certainly never be good friends in the future.”
He gave evidence alongside his lawyer and repeatedly argued with the judge and Brueckner’s legal team.
Scotland Yard detective reveals previously unknown details on Madeleine case
Det Con Mark Draycott became the first police officer to answer questions in court about Madeleine’s 2007 disappearance.
During his appearance in May, he told the court how the case exploded by a voicemail left on a Scotland Yard answer machine.
He has worked on Operation Grange, the £13 million probe into the Madeleine case since it was launched in 2011.
DC Draycott, 49, also confirmed that Helge Busching tipped off Scotland Yard in 2017. DC Draycott told the court in Braunschweig that the original tip was left on a Scotland Yard answer machine in May 2017.
“Back then we still had a public phone number which was publicised around the world,” he said.
“Members of the public could ring in information in relation to Operation Grange, the Madeleine McCann investigation. One of my jobs was to check answer phone messages. On May 18th I checked the answer phone and there was a message.
“It was from a male by the sound of his voice, he spoke good English and he asked to speak to David Edgar (private investigator). He said he had information and he left a Greek mobile number. I then rang this Greek mobile number and spoke to a male I now know to be Helge Lars Busching.
“He referred to himself as Lars and he gave information in relation to the Madeleine McCann investigation.”
DC Draycott shared the shock information with German and Portuguese officials, which sparked a probe into Brueckner.
He was also part of a Scotland Yard team that jetted to Athens three months later to question Busching in top secrecy.
The interview was conducted in a hotel room in 2017 – after bugging equipment was brought in to check for listening devices.
Busching had been released from a Greek jail weeks earlier and was on parole at the time.
“We spoke to him over two days and he gave us information in relation to the Madeleine McCann case,” DC Draycott revealed.
Adding that: “He was scared, he had a distrust in the police. He was scared of giving a statement in such a high-profile case. He said he had a conversation with Christian at the Orgiva Festival in 2008. That conversation was in relation to Operation Grange. I can’t talk about that.”
Busching flew to London in February 2018 and gave a formal statement at Scotland Yard.
The detective was repeatedly questioned by Brueckner’s lawyers about the Madeleine McCann case.
However, DC Draycott said he had been ordered by his Scotland Yard superiors not to discuss the ongoing case.
He said he was approved by the Home Office and Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy to appear in court.
Hazel Behan evidence
Irish tour rep Hazel Behan caused various individuals to cry in court as she described the harrowing details of how she was raped in her Algarve apartment.
The victim dramatically looked at Brueckner in court in May and told the judges: “This man is the attacker.”
Hazel – who hails from Mullingar, Ireland, explained how the attacker’s distinctive blue eyes “bored into my skull” as he brutally raped her at knifepoint.
The 40-year-old was working in an Algarve resort when she was sexually assaulted by an intruder inside her apartment in June 2004.
She claimed her rapist was dressed in a pair of black tights, a black leotard and a mask with only his eyes exposed.
Hazel also revealed how she will ‘never forget his blue eyes’ and said she was certain Brueckner was the rapist.
At the end of her evidence, and with him sitting just feet away from her, she said: “I believe this man is the attacker.”
Hazel described Brueckner as “very aggressive and hateful” – and claimed the attack left her with lifelong injuries and PTSD.
She revealed to the court how she recognised Brueckner when she saw a photo of him years later.
The mum-of-three noticed chilling similarities between her attacker in Praia da Rocha and a rape he carried out in nearby Praia da Luz in 2005 when Brueckner was named as the prime suspect in Madeleine’s 2007 disappearance.
She contacted Scotland Yard soon after, in 2020.
Laurentiu Codin evidence
In August, Laurentiu Codin gave evidence against Brueckner, his former prison mate.
The Romanian-born ex-con claimed Brueckner confessed to kidnapping a girl from her Algarve holiday apartment.
He claimed the German confessed to an almost identical crime to Madeleine’s abduction, whilst the pair were on remand together in 2019.
“He told me that in Portugal, he had stolen there,” Codin said. “He said there was somewhere with an open window. He was looking for money.
“He said he didn’t find any money but found a kid and took the child. He said that two hours later, there were police and dogs all over the place, so he then went away, out of the area. I am just saying what he told me. He told me that a person was with him, who he had had an argument with, allegedly it was his woman.
“He said he took the child in Portugal in his car, and in the time when the police and dogs were at the house, he drove away and he was gone. He asked me if the DNA from a child can be taken from bones under the ground. I took it seriously.”
Later in his evidence, he added: “He asked if the dogs could track down and could smell where human remains could be found.” Codin, a locksmith, said Brueckner also confessed to abducting and raping young girls in the city of Hannover. Brueckner’s lawyer Friedrich Fuelscher dismissed him as a “fantasist”.
Brueckner speaks in court for the first time
On the penultimate day of the trial, Brueckner uttered his first words in court. The German had remained silent throughout his eight-month trial at Braunschweig regional court. But he finally spoke, albeit briefly, when given one last chance to defend himself.
Asked by Judge Ute Engemann if there was anything he wanted to say, Brueckner replied softly: “No, I would not like to.”
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