The known facts and the speculations featuring Brueckner, the prime suspect

[Brietta]

No, looking at it again she does seem to be referring to the week prior to Madeleine's disappearance. I humbly apologise for my mistake. How careless of me!

Whoever tried to burglarise Mrs Fenn either went for the wrong apartment or had no way of identifying empty apartments, it seems.

Take a note of the 2014 date here.  This is at a time when things were kicking off regarding Scotland Yard interest in the spate of burglaries in the Algarve at the time and the suspicions about Brueckner being flagged up by the local police in Germany 2013.

Apartment key theft cover-up by resort staff in Madeleine McCann case
KEYS to the holiday apartment from which Madeleine McCann was abducted were lost shortly before she vanished, it was claimed last night.
By JAMES MURRAY
00:00, Sun, Feb 9, 2014
However, police were not informed about the loss of potentially crucial evidence which could unlock the seven-year mystery.

A Sunday Express investigation in Portugal has revealed astonishing new information which, if proved, suggests the kidnap was well planned and executed using stolen keys.

Amid claims that Portuguese police are about to arrest three former workers at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz, based on information gathered by Scotland Yard, we tracked down a former maintenance worker at the complex whose revelations could change the direction of the international investigation.

The retired man, whose identity we have agreed to protect, said: “I have kept this to myself for long enough, so now it is right to tell people what happened.

“There was another maintenance worker at the Ocean Club who said he had lost a set of keys for the whole of block five.”

Kate and Gerry McCann, their twins Sean and Amelie and eldest daughter Madeleine, were staying in apartment 5a in the block, where there had been a spate of burglaries in the weeks before she vanished.

The former Ocean Club worker revealed: “I remember my colleague telling some of us the keys to that block had been lost.

“He told us about it in the week when the child was taken but I cannot remember the exact day. In the maintenance department we kept duplicates of all keys to the apartments.

“They were on a long cable and very clearly marked and we kept them in a safe.

“If there was a problem, a water leak, a gas leak, it was important for us to have entry to apartments if the owners or guests were out.

“When the man told us about the lost keys, he started crying. He was very upset. He was worried about losing his job, I think, and he did not want others to know about it.

“After the child disappeared, we all had to give statements to the police but I did not mention the keys had been lost because I did not think it was relevant.”

Shortly after Madeleine went missing, the world’s media descended on the Ocean Club and staff were told not to speak to journalists and to co-operate fully with police.

It was widely reported then that someone may have entered 5a through unlocked patio doors so people were not suggesting stolen duplicate keys could have been used to gain access through the front door.

The man said: “This has been on my mind for a long time and you are the first person I have told about it. I did not want to get the other man into trouble, I suppose.

"I didn’t really like the man and I didn’t want trouble from him. He was always doing nasty pranks. Once he put fibreglass in my work trousers which is not nice because it rubs against the skin and hurts.

“He was a young, confident man and I was a lot older than him and we just didn’t get on. In fact, he was the reason I left the job. After the little girl was taken, the atmosphere was really bad. It was not a good place to work.”

The Sunday Express has seen the statement the man gave to Portuguese police shortly after Madeleine was taken on the evening of May 3, 2007 ,and there is no mention of him stating keys had gone missing.

A Portuguese newspaper reported last week that police were particularly interested in a driver at the Ocean Club who dropped guests at the apartments after they arrived from Faro airport.

The man said: “On that night I was asked to do some driving because the man who was supposed to do the driving did not arrive at work. I remember ringing my wife and telling her I would be late home that night.”

Now that the man has come forward with new information he is likely to have to give a more detailed statement to police.

The Sunday Express tracked down the maintenance worker who allegedly lost the keys, 29-year-old Tiago da Silva, who lives a few miles from Luz in Lagos, a pretty coastal town.

When we put it to him that keys were lost, he paused momentarily before saying: “That is not the case. I can’t remember any keys going missing. The keys in maintenance were kept in a safe and nobody could get to them.”

However, his former colleague insisted: “I know what he told me at the time. The keys for all the blocks were kept on a cable and clearly marked.

“He said he had lost the keys to block five. He told me in the same week when the little girl went missing. I am sure of this.

“From my memory I think they were replaced with duplicate keys for the apartments which were held at reception. I remember all this very clearly. He did not want us to tell people about it, so we didn’t say anything.”

Scotland Yard officers have made about 20 trips to Portugal for their investigation, Operation Grange, into Madeleine’s disappearance when she was approaching her fourth birthday.

Portuguese detectives have carried out inquiries on behalf of the Yard team, which has not been allowed to pursue investigations on the ground.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/458798/Apartment-key-theft-cover-up-by-resort-staff-in-Madeleine-McCann-case

[G-Unit]

What empty flat?  Mrs. Fenn's flat wasn't empty.  5a was empty the week before so no point in breaking into that one as there won't have been anything of value in there.  A week later there was.

It has been suggested than an Ocean Club employee was letting Brueckner know when apartments were empty. In the Fenn case it either wasn't Brueckner or he didn't get any such information.

The Gordons were in 5A from 21st-28th April, and went out to eat each evening taking their small children with them.
https://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/PAUL_GORDON.htm

[G-Unit]

Take a note of the 2014 date here.  This is at a time when things were kicking off regarding Scotland Yard interest in the spate of burglaries in the Algarve at the time and the suspicions about Brueckner being flagged up by the local police in Germany 2013.

Apartment key theft cover-up by resort staff in Madeleine McCann case
KEYS to the holiday apartment from which Madeleine McCann was abducted were lost shortly before she vanished, it was claimed last night.
By JAMES MURRAY
00:00, Sun, Feb 9, 2014
However, police were not informed about the loss of potentially crucial evidence which could unlock the seven-year mystery.

A Sunday Express investigation in Portugal has revealed astonishing new information which, if proved, suggests the kidnap was well planned and executed using stolen keys.

Amid claims that Portuguese police are about to arrest three former workers at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz, based on information gathered by Scotland Yard, we tracked down a former maintenance worker at the complex whose revelations could change the direction of the international investigation.

The retired man, whose identity we have agreed to protect, said: “I have kept this to myself for long enough, so now it is right to tell people what happened.

“There was another maintenance worker at the Ocean Club who said he had lost a set of keys for the whole of block five.”

Kate and Gerry McCann, their twins Sean and Amelie and eldest daughter Madeleine, were staying in apartment 5a in the block, where there had been a spate of burglaries in the weeks before she vanished.

The former Ocean Club worker revealed: “I remember my colleague telling some of us the keys to that block had been lost.

“He told us about it in the week when the child was taken but I cannot remember the exact day. In the maintenance department we kept duplicates of all keys to the apartments.

“They were on a long cable and very clearly marked and we kept them in a safe.

“If there was a problem, a water leak, a gas leak, it was important for us to have entry to apartments if the owners or guests were out.

“When the man told us about the lost keys, he started crying. He was very upset. He was worried about losing his job, I think, and he did not want others to know about it.

“After the child disappeared, we all had to give statements to the police but I did not mention the keys had been lost because I did not think it was relevant.”

Shortly after Madeleine went missing, the world’s media descended on the Ocean Club and staff were told not to speak to journalists and to co-operate fully with police.

It was widely reported then that someone may have entered 5a through unlocked patio doors so people were not suggesting stolen duplicate keys could have been used to gain access through the front door.

The man said: “This has been on my mind for a long time and you are the first person I have told about it. I did not want to get the other man into trouble, I suppose.

"I didn’t really like the man and I didn’t want trouble from him. He was always doing nasty pranks. Once he put fibreglass in my work trousers which is not nice because it rubs against the skin and hurts.

“He was a young, confident man and I was a lot older than him and we just didn’t get on. In fact, he was the reason I left the job. After the little girl was taken, the atmosphere was really bad. It was not a good place to work.”

The Sunday Express has seen the statement the man gave to Portuguese police shortly after Madeleine was taken on the evening of May 3, 2007 ,and there is no mention of him stating keys had gone missing.

A Portuguese newspaper reported last week that police were particularly interested in a driver at the Ocean Club who dropped guests at the apartments after they arrived from Faro airport.

The man said: “On that night I was asked to do some driving because the man who was supposed to do the driving did not arrive at work. I remember ringing my wife and telling her I would be late home that night.”

Now that the man has come forward with new information he is likely to have to give a more detailed statement to police.

The Sunday Express tracked down the maintenance worker who allegedly lost the keys, 29-year-old Tiago da Silva, who lives a few miles from Luz in Lagos, a pretty coastal town.

When we put it to him that keys were lost, he paused momentarily before saying: “That is not the case. I can’t remember any keys going missing. The keys in maintenance were kept in a safe and nobody could get to them.”

However, his former colleague insisted: “I know what he told me at the time. The keys for all the blocks were kept on a cable and clearly marked.

“He said he had lost the keys to block five. He told me in the same week when the little girl went missing. I am sure of this.

“From my memory I think they were replaced with duplicate keys for the apartments which were held at reception. I remember all this very clearly. He did not want us to tell people about it, so we didn’t say anything.”

Scotland Yard officers have made about 20 trips to Portugal for their investigation, Operation Grange, into Madeleine’s disappearance when she was approaching her fourth birthday.

Portuguese detectives have carried out inquiries on behalf of the Yard team, which has not been allowed to pursue investigations on the ground.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/458798/Apartment-key-theft-cover-up-by-resort-staff-in-Madeleine-McCann-case

The Ocean Club wouldn't have had a key to Mrs Fenn's apartment, of course, as she didn't let it out to their holidaymakers. She was a permanent resident.

[Eleanor]

It has been suggested than an Ocean Club employee was letting Brueckner know when apartments were empty. In the Fenn case it either wasn't Brueckner or he didn't get any such information.

The Gordons were in 5A from 21st-28th April, and went out to eat each evening taking their small children with them.
https://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/PAUL_GORDON.htm

Thank you for that information.  Thank goodness The Gordons took their children with them.  At least for them.

[Venturi Swirl]

It has been suggested than an Ocean Club employee was letting Brueckner know when apartments were empty. In the Fenn case it either wasn't Brueckner or he didn't get any such information.

The Gordons were in 5A from 21st-28th April, and went out to eat each evening taking their small children with them.
https://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/PAUL_GORDON.htm

I doubt Bruckner only acted on tip offs from others, what makes you think he did? 

[Brietta]

It has been suggested than an Ocean Club employee was letting Brueckner know when apartments were empty. In the Fenn case it either wasn't Brueckner or he didn't get any such information.

The Gordons were in 5A from 21st-28th April, and went out to eat each evening taking their small children with them.
https://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/PAUL_GORDON.htm

Apparently at least one burglar on the rampage through Luz t the time didn't bother too much whether the occupants were at home within the premises or not.

Madeleine McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner 'is linked to 25 burglaries' in Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz where youngster vanished, court papers reveal
Police linked 25 burglaries on Praia da Luz holiday homes to Christian Brueckner
Cash, cameras and mobile phones were the typical items taken during the raids
Most of the burglary victims were from the UK, court papers have now revealed
By GERARD COUZENS and LUKE MAY FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 17:33, 30 August 2020

Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner has been linked to 25 burglaries in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz where the youngster vanished, court papers have revealed. 

Police hunting the intruder who raped an American OAP in Praia da Luz looked at an astonishing 25 burglaries in just eight months they suspected could also have been committed by the man unmasked years later as the German paedophile.

Most of the burglary victims were from the UK.

And court documents show up to three break-ins analysed by police trying to solve the horrific September 2005 rape Brueckner carried out took place in one 24 hour period on holiday homes occupied by British tourists.

Cash, cameras and mobile phones were the typical items taken in the raids, which often occurred when occupants were out but at times happened when holidaymakers were in other parts of the properties targeted.

The list of unsolved burglaries emerged as a man described as a former friend of Brueckner's confirmed the convicted sex offender had broken into hotel rooms and holiday flats on the Algarve.

The pal, identified only as Manfred S, told German broadcaster RTL Brueckner had bragged to him about the break-ins when they roamed the Algarve together as small-time crooks.

He also revealed he had discovered a video camera with footage of the sex offender raping his elderly victim at her Praia da Luz holiday home, along with a video of a younger woman tied to a wooden beam in another house.

Manfred S told RTL he took the footage to police because he was so disturbed at what he saw and the video eventually led to Brueckner's conviction for the rape.

The German drifter, who lived in a ramshackle cottage a 15-minute drive from the holiday apartment Madeleine McCann went missing from on May 3 2007, received a seven-year prison sentence late last year after being found guilty of the sex attack in his homeland.

Portuguese detectives compiled a list of 25 unsolved break-ins in Praia da Luz in the first eight months of the year of the September 2 2005 rape in a bid to catch the sex offender when he was still at large.

A police report included in the court files, detailing a review of the crimes, says: 'An analysis of the break-ins that have occurred since the start of 2005, right up to the date of the sex offence, has taken place.

'The possibility the sex offender could be related to the home burglaries is not something that can be excluded.

'However it has not been possible to obtain any evidence linking the crimes, given that the identity of the person or people behind the burglaries remains unknown.' The sequence of break-ins is also laid out in the files, showing the first Praia da Luz crime occurred on January 11 and the victims were a British model and her producer partner.

he intruder crept into the property while they were in their living room and took a £3,600 laptop and a Samsung mobile as well as cash, credit cards, sunglasses and a British passport.

Two teenage students from Loughborough in Leicester, aged 18 and 16, were targeted just over two months later while they were out.

They came back home to find cash and credit cards had been stolen.

The court files show three Brit holidaymakers were the victims of almost identical break-ins on the evenings of August 6 and 7, less than a month before the American OAP was raped in the same holiday resort.

The burglaries occurred while the tourists were out for the night, with the intruder forcing entry at two of the properties before stealing valuables including cash, cameras, a watch and computer equipment.

There were no witnesses to the spate of crimes and no DNA profiles are believed to have been obtained by police at the time.

He admitted to a judge he was a convicted sex offender when he was held for the diesel theft, but the key information was never passed on to police investigating Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

The German drifter was linked last month by Portuguese TV to a 2007 burglary in Gale, a 45-minute drive east of Praia da Luz, that led to a family's £90,000 life savings being taken.

RTP investigative reporter Sandra Felgueiras claimed he had been working with a female accomplice who tipped him off so he could break into properties in the Algarve in copycat raids to the one investigators believe resulted in Madeleine's abduction.

Brueckner was declared the prime suspect in the Madeleine case in June.

He is currently in Germany's Kiel Prison for drugs offences and is due to start a seven-year sentence for the 2005 Praia da Luz rape.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8679197/Madeleine-McCann-prime-suspect-Christian-Brueckner-linked-25-burglaries-Praia-da-Luz.html

[Brietta]

The Ocean Club wouldn't have had a key to Mrs Fenn's apartment, of course, as she didn't let it out to their holidaymakers. She was a permanent resident.

You posted
"In the weeks before Madeleine disappeared Mrs Fenn scared off an intruder who had apparently let himself into her apartment with a key."
http://miscarriageofjustice.co/index.php?topic=12294.msg674342#msg674342

[Brietta]

It occurred to the detectives investigating the vicious rape in 2005 which took place in a villa in close proximity to the McCann holiday apartment that there could be link to the spate of burglaries taking place.

One has to wonder why in 2007 when Madeleine vanished the Portuguese investigators neither bothered with burglaries - burglars - or the assaults taking place around and in Luz.

At least they tried in 2005 even if they were unsuccessful at the time but I think history tells us they were certainly on the right track.



Portuguese detectives compiled a list of 25 unsolved break-ins in Praia da Luz in the first eight months of the year of the September 2 2005 rape in a bid to catch the sex offender when he was still at large.

A police report included in the court files, detailing a review of the crimes, says: 'An analysis of the break-ins that have occurred since the start of 2005, right up to the date of the sex offence, has taken place.

'The possibility the sex offender could be related to the home burglaries is not something that can be excluded.

'However it has not been possible to obtain any evidence linking the crimes, given that the identity of the person or people behind the burglaries remains unknown.' The sequence of break-ins is also laid out in the files, showing the first Praia da Luz crime occurred on January 11 and the victims were a British model and her producer partner.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8679197/Madeleine-McCann-prime-suspect-Christian-Brueckner-linked-25-burglaries-Praia-da-Luz.html

[Brietta]

I doubt Bruckner only acted on tip offs from others, what makes you think he did?

I agree.
I think he was very much a loose cannon on occasion.  But it seems there was someone with him on at least one occasion when he was committing a sex crime.

The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann 'had an accomplice' during an alleged child sex crime in Portugal, according to witnesses.

Christian Brueckner was seen with a blond man the night he was arrested for allegedly exposing himself to four children, aged eight to 12, in a park in 2017.

The German, 43, had been spotted ahead of the incident with a male companion of similar height as they attended a festival in the village of Messines, according to police sources.

The pair then went to the children's play area where Brueckner is said to have hidden under a slide with his trousers round his knees.

An off-duty female police woman is thought to have challenged him before trying to keep the situation under control as four parents tried to rush toward him.

A source said: 'She called for back-up. Witnesses said a second man fled the scene.'

But the alleged incident never made it to trial and was archived.

It is thought that the descriptions of Brueckner and his companion are similar to those involved in Madeline's disappearance in 2007.

Witnesses outside the McCann's rental apartment in Praia da Luz had reported seeing two blond men in the area hours before the three-year-old was abducted.

One is said to have had blue eyes, like Brueckner, while the other had green eyes.

Brueckner was declared as the prime suspect in the Madeline case in June.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8652867/Madeleine-McCann-prime-suspect-Christian-Brueckner-accomplice-witness-says.html

[Wonderfulspam]

"Witnesses outside the McCann's rental apartment in Praia da Luz had reported seeing two blond men in the area hours before the three-year-old was abducted.

One is said to have had blue eyes, like Brueckner, while the other had green eyes."


They got close enough to them that they were able to see their eye colour??!!

Yeah, alright then, if you say so.

[barrier]

"Witnesses outside the McCann's rental apartment in Praia da Luz had reported seeing two blond men in the area hours before the three-year-old was abducted.

One is said to have had blue eyes, like Brueckner, while the other had green eyes."


They got close enough to them that they were able to see their eye colour??!!

Yeah, alright then, if you say so.

Its in the brit press, its bound to be right.

[G-Unit]

"Witnesses outside the McCann's rental apartment in Praia da Luz had reported seeing two blond men in the area hours before the three-year-old was abducted.

One is said to have had blue eyes, like Brueckner, while the other had green eyes."


They got close enough to them that they were able to see their eye colour??!!

Yeah, alright then, if you say so.

No-one has reported seeing eye colour as far as I know.

[jassi]

No-one has reported seeing eye colour as far as I know.

Yeah, but your average tabloid-reader doesn't know that.

As long as it's not anti-McCann, media can pretty much publish what they like without risk of challenge from anyone - and they do

[Mr Gray]

Yeah, but your average tabloid-reader doesn't know that.

As long as it's not anti-McCann, media can pretty much publish what they like without risk of challenge from anyone - and they do

It's laughable how sceptics think.
They can't publish anything anti McCann because there's no real evidence to imolicate them.  That's all... No involvement of the Illuminati necessary lol... It's quite simple

[Venturi Swirl]

No-one has reported seeing eye colour as far as I know.

Maddie suspect Christian Brückner was ‘dealing drugs at teenage parties’ in Portugal
David Brown, Praia da Luz
Sunday June 07 2020, 12.00pm, The Times
Madeleine McCann
A witness said Christian Brückner sold drugs at teenage parties around the village of Barão de São João, close to where Madeleine McCann disappeared
A witness said Christian Brückner sold drugs at teenage parties around the village of Barão de São João, close to where Madeleine McCann disappeared
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A convicted paedophile who is the key suspect in the abduction of Madeleine McCann allegedly used drugs to coerce children into sex in the months before she disappeared.

Christian Brückner is said to have sold marijuana at parties for young teenagers close to the Portuguese holiday apartment where Madeleine was staying in May 2007.

Following Madeleine’s disappearance the German drifter moved to a remote village 40 miles away where he used a different name.


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Before Madeleine’s disappearance Brückner, now 43, sold drugs accompanied by another man, according to a witness. Both men were assumed to be British as they always spoke English.

A witness said he sold drugs at parties held for teenagers in the forests around the village of Barão de São João, five miles north of Praia da Luz where Madeleine was abducted.

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The village has a large German population and is regarded by locals as a “hippy commune” where marijuana is openly smoked. Villagers have confirmed that Brückner was a regular visitor.

The woman said that Brückner used the drug to coerce girls into sex. The Times has not been able to independently verify the witness’s claims.

“That was an exchange of favors,”she told TVI news. “He gave “greens” [marijuana] and in return they gave sex because . . . there was no [other] way to pay.

His accomplice was so similar in appearance that she thought they might be brothers.


Brückner was often seen with another man, both described as tall and fair
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“They were both tall, both were blond, one had green eyes, the other had blue eyes,” she said. “I thought the two of them were English [but] now they are saying that he was German. I always thought they were English, because I heard them speak in English.”

The woman said she does not believe Brückner is involved with Madeleine’s abduction but last saw him shortly before the British youngster’s disappearance.

Police believe Brückner was living an “itinerant lifestyle” sleeping in his VW campervan or staying at the homes of people he befriended after being released from a Portuguese prison five months before Madeleine’s abduction.

British and German police have released photographs of a home where Brückner was known to stay which was rented by a German family three miles from Barão de São João.

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The suspect and another man also stayed in a luxury villa owned by German woman six miles from the village. The current owner of the villa, which is run as a luxury Airbnb, said he had not been contacted by police.

Detectives have said that they believe Brückner was breaking into hotel rooms to steal valuables and was drug dealing.

Shortly after Madeleine’s disappearance Brückner arrived in the remote Portuguese village of Foral, 40 miles east of Praia da Luz. Angie Dawes, a British woman, told the Sun on Sunday that he began working as a waiter at a local restaurant owned by a German family.

Her father allowed him to park his camper van in their drive and use their home for showers. Ms Dawes said he insisted on being called Chris.

“Even though he was polite, on every occasion he was weird,” said Ms Dawes, 45. “He would just stare at me in a sleazy way for a minute or two without saying a word and not release his gaze. Later that summer he just disappeared one day never to be seen again.”


Madeleine McCannn disappeared in May 2007 from a resort near to where Brückner was staying
EPA
He also parked his camper at a rented villa in Foral which was used by a German woman for a rehabilitation programme for troubled teenagers.

Lia Silva, the villa’s landlord, told the Mail on Sunday that the German tenant and her young daughter abandoned the villa in 2009, leaving behind syringes and bricks of hashish in a shoebox. Neither Ms Dawe or Ms Silva have been interviewed by police.

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Brückner returned to Germany in late 2007 but made regular trips back to the Algarve. In 2015 he sold the VW T3 Westfalia camper van to the German owner of a scrapyard three miles from Foral.

Brückner had arrived in Portugual in 1995 after fleeing a jail sentence in Germany for the sexual abuse of children. He lived in a rented farmhouse on the outskirts of Praia da Luz.

Witnesses have described seeing a man matching Brückner’s description monitoring the Ocean Club complex where the McCann family was staying in the days before Madeleine’s abduction. Some witnesses believe he may have had an accomplice who was driving a van similar to his VW camper.

He fled to Portugal again 2016 while facing prosecution in Germany for sexually abusing a child. He was extradited in June 2017 and spent 15 months in jail.

Brückner was convicted in Germany last year of the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old American woman after breaking into her villa about half a mile from the McCann’s holiday apartment.