Madeleine McCann suspect Brueckner declared homeless as lawyer expresses concerns over convictions
Lawyer says fears are understandable given Brueckner’s past convictions as he is released under monitoring and housed in a Kiel-area hostel
Christian Brueckner, the man named by German authorities as the prime suspect in Madeleine McCann’s 2007 disappearance, has been declared homeless as his lawyer acknowledged concerns about his client’s decades-long history of child-sex and rape convictions.
The 48-year-old, who was released from Sehnde prison earlier this week after serving six years of a seven-year sentence for rape, reportedly refused to participate in rehabilitation programs, arguing he was wrongly convicted of the 2005 attack on a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz on Portugal’s Algarve coast. Brueckner’s lawyer, Friedrich Fulscher, said his client’s stance reflected a belief that the verdicts against him were unjust, and he indicated Brueckner had not cooperated with rehabilitation efforts.
“Certainly. Fear is often a very irrational feeling. But given Christian Brueckner’s past one can certainly find rational reasons for such concern,” Fulscher said. In earlier interviews, he described Brueckner as “not the sort of man you would like to look after your children,” and suggested society would have to live with the fact that Brueckner had served his sentence in full. He also said he had spoken with his client about the Madeleine case but had not seen evidence to link Brueckner to it.
German prosecutors have long kept Brueckner at the center of the McCann inquiry. Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters has said Brueckner is the case’s “number one suspect,” but acknowledged that the evidence at present was not strong enough to press charges. A review in July concluded that women could be at risk from him, while a forensic psychiatrist described Brueckner as reluctant to cooperate with rehabilitation and rated him as “99 percent on a scale of dangerousness” at a trial for unrelated sex crimes. Despite the disbelief aimed at him, authorities emphasize that the investigation remains active and Brueckner is the best-known link to the McCann timeline in 2007, when he was living in Praia da Luz and mobile data placed him near the resort on the night Madeleine disappeared.
As part of his release, Brueckner has been ordered to wear an ankle monitor for five years, report once a month to a probation office, and surrender his passport, though an identity card allows him to travel within Europe. Shortly after leaving Sehnde, where lawyer Fulscher met him, he was photographed driving toward Bremen and stopping at a McDonald’s for a meal, a typical stop captured by media observers.
Late Friday, German media reported that Brueckner is now living in a hostel in Neumünster, south of Kiel, in an area described as one where migrants live and where some residents reportedly do not read German media or know who he is. The Kiel Nachrichten, one of the local papers, said Brueckner’s location was shared in the interest of public safety and protection, a detail that prompted questions about why he would relocate so far from his earlier release site. A city spokesman for Neumünster confirmed Brueckner’s housing arrangement as part of an emergency response program but declined to disclose his exact address, citing security concerns. The city’s coverage noted that officials fear protests or rioting if Brueckner’s presence becomes widely known.
Sources close to the case said Brueckner has been watched by the German Federal Criminal Police Office (the BKA) and has traveled by train and shopped in Lidl without being recognized. The reports underscore the ongoing tension between public safety concerns and the secrecy surrounding Brueckner’s movements as investigators continue to evaluate whether new evidence could lead to charges in the Madeleine McCann case.
The McCann inquiry has long hinged on Brueckner’s alleged proximity to the hotel complex in Praia da Luz on the night Madeleine vanished. While witnesses have named Brueckner as a suspect, prosecutors have repeatedly cautioned that the evidence required to indict him has not yet come together. Brueckner has publicly denied involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance and has characterized himself as a scapegoat in media statements.
Brueckner’s legal status remains that of a suspect rather than a convicted defendant in the McCann case. He is scheduled to appear in court next month on separate matters related to behavior issues at Oldenburg prison, where he began serving the initial phase of his sentence. The ongoing questions about his past offenses, current housing, and proximity to other potential risks continue to shape how authorities monitor him while the McCann investigation continues to pace forward, albeit without a formal charge tied to the case.