A British police officer involved in the Madeleine McCann disappearance case has been summoned to testify in Germany as part of the defense team for Christian Brueckner, the prime suspect in her kidnapping. Detective Mark Draycott, who was a key investigator in the case, will be traveling to Germany to answer questions about Helge Busching’s witness testimony.
Busching, a former friend of Brueckner, has claimed that Brueckner confessed to him that Madeleine “didn’t scream” after he took her from her hotel room in Praia de Luz back in 2007. Busching also claims to have seen videos of Brueckner committing sexual assault, but has since lost the evidence. Despite reporting his suspicions on a hotline about Maddie McCann, he says he was never questioned further.
Brueckner’s defense lawyers believe they can discredit Busching due to inconsistencies in his testimony. Draycott, who took the statement from Busching back in 2017, has worked on Operation Grange, the British investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance, since 2011.
The prosecution has insisted that Draycott can’t be asked questions regarding the McCann case. However, a private investigator hired by the family to look into Madeleine’s disappearance, Dave Edgar, has also been requested to testify.
Madeleine went missing from a hotel room in Praia de Luz in 2007, aged three. She was asleep in a room shared with her younger siblings, Sean and Amelie, while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, dined with their friends in a nearby restaurant. When they realized that Madeleine was missing from her room, they alerted the authorities.
Brueckner has responded to the claims, saying: “We were not good friends then and we will certainly never be good friends in the future.”
Kate and Gerry McCann have welcomed the news that Brueckner is a suspect in their daughter’s disappearance. They have said that they have not given up hope that Madeleine is still alive and that they will be reunited with her.
