Christian Brueckner, the prime suspect in the disappearance of toddler Madeleine McCann, is once again a free man.
The convicted offender walked out of a German prison on Wednesday, September 17, after serving a seven-year prison sentence for an unrelated crime.
Ahead of his release, a senior detective revealed new evidence and theories about Christian and his string of crimes.
“He’s got a criminal record longer than a telephone directory,” said one man, identified as Ken.
Christian Brueckner was released from a German prison after serving a seven-year prison sentence for attacking an American woman
Image credits: Alexander Koerner/Getty Images
Trigger warning: this article contains graphic details that may be distressing to some.
Christian was sentenced to seven years in prison for brutally attacking a 72-year-old American woman, Diana Menkes, in part of Portugal’s Algarve region where Madeleine went missing in 2007.
Madeleine was three years old when she vanished from her bed while holidaying in Portugal with her parents.
Her disappearance remains one of the world’s most haunting mysteries to date.
Image credits: Find Madeleine
Christian’s disturbing criminal past was exposed in a new ITV documentary Madeleine McCann: Searching For The Prime Suspect.
The chilling documentary follows criminologist Dr Graham Hill, a former senior Met detective who was dispatched to Portugal during the early days of the investigation.
Madeleine McCann disappearance during her family’s holiday in Portugal remains one of the world’s most haunting mysteries to date
Image credits: Netflix
The suspect was born Chrisitan Fischer in Bavaria, Germany, and was raised by a troubled mother, who eventually gave him and his two brothers up for adoption.
Chrisitan got his current surname after they were adopted by Brigitte and Fritz Brueckner, who would physically mistreat him.
The future predator committed his first crime, a burglary, at the age of 15 and was convicted.
Chrisitan was first caught inappropriately touching a child after being placed in a children’s home as a teenager
Image credits: 48 Hours
A couple of years later, his adoptive parents placed him in a children’s home, where he began inappropriately touching kids.
Thomas Hertel was in the same children’s home in Wurzburg, Germany, when he and Christian were teens in the 1990s.
Image credits: ITV
“He did a lot of nonsense. He thieved things, he burgled, he broke into places. And if you said something to him, he flipped out,” Thomas told the Mirror earlier this year.
“He was the king in that place and he would not let himself be told anything – he had the most cigarettes and money,” he added.
Image credits: Find Madeleine
After being caught inappropriately touching a 9-year-old, a then-17-year-old Chrisitan was sentenced to two years in prison for “se**** ab*** of a child, attempted se**** ab*** of a child and performing se**** acts in front of a child,” the documentary said.
Between 1995 and 2007, it is believed Christian was living in Portugal’s Algarve region and would rob hotels as well as sell narcotics.
Image credits: ITV
Dieter Fehlinger, the father of Christian’s ex-girlfriend, told criminologist Graham about seeing the inside of the convict’s camper van on one occasion.
“He said to me there was a hiding place inside, 50kg of marij**** would fit in easily, he built it,” Dieter said in the documentary.
“And then he said, it was ‘so big that you could hide a small child inside,’” he added.
Dieter Fehlinger, the father of Christian’s ex-girlfriend, spoke about him in the chilling documentary Madeleine McCann: Searching For The Prime Suspect
Image credits: James Manning/PA Images
Christian is a “dangerous man,” according to Helge Busching, who used to commit nefarious activities like steal solar panels and diesel with him.
Helge claimed he is “100%” sure of the Christian’s involvement in her disappearance and recalled a conversation they both had at a festival in Spain about a year after Madeleine disappeared.
Image credits: Netflix
Image credits: Find Madeleine
Image credits: ITV
“I told him I don’t understand how somebody can rob little children from a hotel,” Helge recalled.
He then quoted Christian’s answer: “She was not screaming.”
“He can say ‘I am innocent.’ I know what he was doing, I saw it with my proper eyes. I know he’s a dangerous man,” Helge added.