What's next for Maddie this year?by:
KAI FELDHAUS published on
January 04, 2021 - 2:51 PMLeicester -
For nearly six months, Kate and Gerry McCann, the parents of Maddie, then 3, who disappeared in 2007, have not spoken publicly.Now they returned to Facebook with New Year's greetings. The investigation into her missing daughter's case had "slowed down" in 2020 because of the pandemic, the parents write: "But they didn't stop. Hope, energy and determination to find Madeleine and reveal the truth remain unwavering."
What do the McCanns mean by that?
The fact is that in 2020, the Maddie case has made more progress than in the previous 13 years. It has been known since June that there is a new main suspect. The Braunschweig Public Prosecutor's Office assumes that Christian B. (44) kidnapped and murdered Maddie. Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters says there is "material evidence" for this , but apparently not enough (yet) to charge Christian B. with murder.
The fact is that since it became known that investigators consider Christian B. to be the perpetrator, not much has happened - at least publicly. Hundreds of clues are processed internally. In Hanover a small garden was searched, in Portugal several wells. Investigators from BKA, Scotland Yard and Policia Judicial also met there in the autumn for exchange and coordination.
The fact is that the investigation seems to be "slowed down" to the outside world, may be mainly due to the fact that the investigators have gained time. Since a rape conviction against Christian B. in 2019 became final in November, it is clear that B. will also spend the next seven years behind bars. Bringing the Maddie case to justice is no longer in a hurry: the suspect will not be able to dive and murder will not be time-barred.
What does Maddie's parents expect in the new year?It is to be assumed that there will not be an indictment in the Maddie case until the prosecution considers the burden of proof to be so overwhelming that it can be sure that Christian B. would be convicted. It is not yet.
More likely, B. will be charged this year for other crimes that have come to light during the Maddie investigation. Witnesses must be heard for this, presumably also abroad. This is currently difficult because of the current travel restrictions.
As soon as the Corona restrictions are relaxed, the investigation against Christian B. is likely to resume.
So that 2021 - as Kate and Gerry McCann wish for themselves and everyone else - will be "brighter and more positive."
https://www.bild.de/news/ausland/news-ausland/mccanns-melden-sich-zu-wort-das-erwartet-maddies-eltern-2021-74734818.bild.html
