MADELEINE McCann suspect Christian Brueckner has confessed to an inmate that he kidnapped a child from a Portuguese apartment, a court sensationally heard today.

The 47-year-old pedophile Brueckner is said to have confided his past after asking his cellmate Laurentiu C. whether he was “also” behind bars for child crimes.

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The drifter then confessed to taking “a child” during a burglary in Portugal – and begged the conman to burn down his hideout if he was released from prison.

Shockingly, Laurentiu C raised the prospect of Maddie’s funeral – he said the rapist asked him “if the …” DNA of a child can be taken from bones underground.”

The witness told the Braunschweig Regional Court: “He said he had stolen in Portugal.

“He told me he had stolen in Portugal.

“He was in an area of Hotels where rich people live. And when he went into the hotel area, there was an open window somewhere, he told me.

“And he would have entered this window Money and gold. However, he did not find any money, but came across a child and took it with him.

“About two hours later, the area was full of police And Dogs and he had gone away from there.

“He left the area. Then he said that there was another person with him with whom he had argued and that they had separated.

“And he said he took the child to Portugal and left while the place was full of police and dogs.

“He drove off in his car and was gone. He asked me if you could take DNA from a child.”

Laurentiu C added: “He asked me if a child’s DNA can be extracted from bones underground.”

This comes after Maddie’s investigators previously stated that they firmly believe the toddler is dead, but did not say why they believe that.

Laurentiu C. also claimed that Brueckner appeared to have panicked about possibly leaving evidence at a crime scene – he asked if a person could be tracked by their hair – or if they could leave a trail by climbing over a balcony.

He claimed in court that the sick Brueckner had asked him to burn down his hiding place in the crate factory after his release from prison – believing that he would never be released.

German FBI agents later searched the property and found a number of data storage devices and hard drives – but their exact relevance to the case was not disclosed.

Laurentiu C. also claimed that Brückner had boasted about covering his tracks by burning a car – although he did not specify in court what the crime was.

He said: “He told me that he was there in Portugal with another person and that he set a car on fire or hired someone else to set a car on fire in Portugal.”

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Madeleine McCann’s disappearance

MADELEINE McCann disappeared on May 3, 2007 – and police believe Brueckner may be behind her disappearance.

Almost 17 years later, no one has been charged in this connection. These are the most important dates

May 3, 2007 – Kate McCann finds Madeleine missing at 10pm

14 May 2007 – Real estate developer Robert Murat is referred to as an “arguido” or official suspect

31.August 2007 – The McCanns file a libel suit against Tal e Qual – a newspaper that claims the couple killed Madeleine

7 September 2007 – Kate and Gerry McCann become “Arguidos”

9 September 2007– Madeleine’s parents return to England with their two-year-old twins

October 2, 2007– Lead investigator Goncalo Amaral is dismissed from the case after criticising the British police in a newspaper interview

July 21, 2009 – Portuguese police lift the “arguido” status of Robert Murat and the McCanns

12 May 2011 – On Madeleine’s eighth birthday, Scotland Yard launches an investigation into the case

25 April 2012 – Scotland Yard officials say they believe Madeleine McCann is still alive

July 4, 2013 – Two years after examining the case, Scotland Yard launched its own investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance

24 October 2013– Portuguese police reopen their case after new lines of investigation were found

27 November 2013 – Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe called for cooperation between British and Portuguese police

28 October 2015 – Scotland Yard reduces the number of officers working on Madeleine’s disappearance

11 March 2017 – The Home Office grants Operation Grange an additional £85,000 to continue from April to September

28 September 2017 – British police are granted £154,000 to continue the investigation until March 2018

November 2017 – The police have moved the search to Bulgaria

May 2018 – A further round of funding in the region of £150,000 will be granted

September 2018 – Additional funding for six months is requested from the Ministry of the Interior

November 2018 – An estimated £150,000 in additional funding will be awarded

November 2018 – British police are re-examining a theory. Madeleine left the apartment to look for her parents

June 2019 – A further round of funding estimated at £300,000 in government money will be granted

June 2019 – Portuguese police are following a “new lead and suspect” after talks with British officials

June 2020 – New main suspect identified as German paedophile Christian Brückner

April 2022 – Brückner officially made an “Arguido”

May 2023 – Police search remote reservoir in the Algarve. Brückner called his “little paradise”

The witness also claimed that Brueckner told him he abused “tiny” young girls on a “bus” he owned after kidnapping them.

He told the court: “There was talk of a girl, I don’t know if what he said is true or not.

“He said he had a bus and he took them with him. He said he kept some of them but not others, but he never said he killed them.

“We’re talking about girls, not boys. Not all at once, one at a time. He told me about two. He said he kidnapped someone, had sex with her, but didn’t kill her.”

When asked by the judge how old his victim was, Laurentiu C said: “I don’t want to misunderstand, but she was very young, tiny. I mean young.

“Every time we were together he talked about it because he was convinced that I was a pedophile.”

He added: “He always asked me if I was a paedophile. Every time we talked, he came back to it. Brückner said at the time: ‘Tell me you don’t have to look after me.'”

“He told me all these things in the hope that I was a pedophile too.”

The witness claimed in court that the German had confided in him when they were both in custody in the same prison.

Back then, in 2020, the criminals were in prison together after Brueckner was publicly named the main suspect in connection with Madeleine’s disappearance in 2007.

The testimony represents a huge boost in the Maddie case and shows that prosecutors in Germany now have a second person who observed Brückner’s confessions.

Previously, they had apparently relied only on the account of ex-drifter Helge Busching – whose credibility was damaged in the current trial against Brückner for rape and sexual offenses.

Previously, Brueckner was confronted with pictures of Maddie for the first time in court when they were shown on large screens as part of exhibitions.

Convicted paedophile and rapist Christain Brueckner was named as the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in 2020, although he was never formally charged.

He is on trial for a series of rapes and sexual offences that have nothing to do with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, which he denies.

The process continues.

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