AS I uncovered bombshell new evidence for our Channel 4 documentary on the Madeleine McCann prime suspect, I quickly realised how hard it would be for the world to see – and to accept.
The heartbreaking reality is that there may be much worse to come – evidence that German police are still holding onto that they believe may point to how, why and when the British toddler died.
When the horrific details about adorable vanished-Madeleine are finally revealed, the world needs to brace itself – it will defy all laws of logic and decency.
But for now, it is crucial to understand the urgency of the situation we face.
Prime suspect Christian Brueckner – a highly-dangerous convicted rapist and paedophile – will walk free on September 17.
If that happens, he can be expected to leave Germany and travel to a country with a non-extradition treaty – taking with him all hopes of charges ever being brought before a court on the McCann case.
After months of trailing Brueckner, I could imagine nothing more terrifying than seeing him released back into society.
Not only have I combed over his past offences with sickening details of his depravity, but I have seen first hand the haul of circumstantial evidence against him.
After sitting on this information for months, it is frankly a relief to finally share it with the world in our dossier. The dossier contains evidence that deserves to be considered by a court.
It divides into two camps – first is evidence linking directly to the McCann case.
We have documents showing Brueckner WAS at the location where he spoke with a witness, allegedly confessing, “she didn’t scream” as they discussed Madeleine’s disappearance.
We can tie him to a key Maddie location that was searched by 100 cops in Portugal in 2023.
I looked Maddie suspect Christian Brueckner in the eyes in court and discovered the haunting reason he should NEVER be free
And we know of the existence of an 80gb hard drive and laptop containing images from Portugal – which is closely linked to cops’ belief that Maddie is in fact dead.
But secondly – and far more abhorrent – is the information we have found taking us inside Brueckner’s psyche, evidence in his own words that shows his obsession with snatching small children.
In sickening stories, he describes using kidnap chemical ether to trap a mum and small blonde toddler outside a pre-school before bundling them into a car.
He wrote: “When she came to the car with her little daughter in her hand and opened the back door, I was already standing behind the two of them, holding a rag soaked in ether.
“I forcefully pushed it into the woman’s face. At first, she fought hard, but I held her tight. The girl sat in the car and watched me with wide, horrified eyes.
As you watch the evidence unfold, as you see and hear his sick fantasies and creepy pictures, ask yourself: ‘What on Earth is this man really capable of?’
“When everything was done and the two bodies were hidden in the darkness, I got my van, loaded up my prey and drove away.
“I jump in and pick up the shaking bundle. Big, scared eyes look at me. I carry her out of the car, close the doors and walk her into the house.
“After I closed this door too, I thought to myself: Welcome to paradise.”
‘Chilling similarities’
Another story bears even more chilling similarities to Maddie, where Brueckner wrote: “A very small girl enters the room. She’s definitely not older than five.
“Blonde, long hair tied in pigtails bounces cheekily back and forth as she comes towards me.
“This is maid Annelie, she is four years old. I feel like I’m in paradise right now.”
In online messages, we uncovered that Brueckner bragged to another sicko that he really wanted to “capture something small and use it for days”.
He even threatened it wouldn’t matter “if the evidence is destroyed afterwards” and gleefully added: “I’ll make a lot of films… hehe.”
Such was the depravity of what he said – he panicked that he’d appalled the other paedophile he was chatting to.
Guns, children’s swimming costumes and toys and pictures of young girls kept in a metal case were all uncovered during police searches of Brueckner’s remote East German hideaway.
