Kate and Gerry's heartbreaking wish after Christian Brueckner named as prime suspect in Maddy case

As chief Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner is cleared of charges in an unrelated rape trial, the Mirror looks at Kate and Gerry's heartbreaking wish after learning German police had turned their attention to the convicted sex offender

Madeleine McCann's parents once uttered a heartbreaking wish after Christian Brueckner was named as suspect number one in their daughter's disappearance.

Kate and Gerry, who've never given up hope of finding Maddy alive, were delivered yet another fresh blow today after convicted rapist Brueckner was cleared in an unrelated rape trial in Germany. Brueckner, who remained mostly silent throughout his trial, had stood accused of raping women and exposing himself to children in the Algarve between the years 2000 and 2017, in allegations unrelated to Madeleine's case.

He denied the charges he faced and previously denied any involvement in the disappearance of Madeleine. The sex offender, who is currently serving a seven-year prison term for raping an American pensioner in Praia da Luz, may now walk free as early as next year.

Detectives appear to be no closer to proving Brueckner, 47, was behind Madeleine's disappearance, despite claiming to have proof that she is dead. A 'not guilty' will now see Madeleine investigators under additional pressure to charge Brueckner, who was named as the chief suspect in the case back in 2020.

After first learning that Brueckner was suspected of abducting their daughter, Kate and Gerry issued a public statement expressing their wish for 'peace'. They shared: "All we have ever wanted is to find her, uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice. We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive, but whatever the outcome may be, we need to know as we need to find peace."

Following today's verdict, a source close to Kate and Gerry gave the following two-sentence response: "They will not be commenting on Brueckner. They have never commented on him."

For Kate and Gerry, it's been a long wait for answers, with the question of what happened to their daughter that night remaining an agonising mystery. Madeleine was just three years old when she vanished during a family holiday in Praia da Luz back in May 2007.

To this day, the case remains unsolved, however, Brueckner is currently regarded as the prime suspect by German police, who have recovered evidence related to Madeleine inside his campervan. The convict had been living in the Portuguese resort at the time of the little girl's disappearance.

Appearing in court, Det Con Mark Draycott - who has worked on Operation Grange since it was first launched in 2011 - answered questions about the youngster's disappearance. He advised that Brueckner's former friend, Helge Busching, who knew him during his time in the Algarve in the mid-2000s, had given officers a tip-off in May 2017. Busching alleged that the German told him 'she did not scream' during a conversation about Maddie.

DC Draycott said: "Back then we still had a public phone number which was publicised around the world," "Members of the public could ring in information in relation to Operation Grange, the Madeleine McCann investigation. One of my jobs was to check the answer phone messages. On May 18, 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."

Meanwhile, in June, German senior detective Titus Stampa, told the court how emails found on Brueckner's Hotmail account connected him to Madeleine's case. Referring to it as the 'murder' account, Stampa advised that he didn't have clearance to discuss these emails as they were 'related to the killing'.

The court also heard from Brueckner's former cellmate Laurentiu Codin, who claimed the convict had 'confessed' to abducting a child during his time in Portugal. Codin, 50, said: "He told me that in Portugal, he had stolen there. He was in a region where there are hotels and rich people live. He said there was somewhere with an open window, he told me this.

"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. 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."

If you've been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or by calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999

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