Madeleine McCann prime suspect case ‘on verge of collapsing’

Fears of another blow to the investigation to find out what happened to Madeleine McCann

The case against the prime suspect in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance is said to be at risk as a key witness threatens to ‘pull the plug’ on his statement.

Helge Busching, 48, a former friend of key suspect Christian Brueckner, 45, cooperated with police to provide evidence against his former friend - who he claims made a chilling confession to him a year after McCann was abducted.

Previously, Busching has spoken out about the convicted rapist claiming he spoke about taking Madeleine McCaan when he saw him at a music festival in Spain in 2008.

Busching alleges Brueckner made a disturbing confession about the abduction, and said the three-year-old ‘didn’t scream’ when she was kidnapped.

Christian Brueckner is the prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case and is currently serving a prison sentence in Germany for rape (Reuters)

He told the Police it was clear Brueckner had taken the child.

Now, as reported in The Sun, sources close to the case claim Busching might withdraw his evidence and refuse to uphold his claims in the courtroom.

A German source was quoted in The Sun: “Word is that Helge B is about to withdraw his evidence.

“He was paid a huge sum to repeat his statement in a German newspaper and now he’s pulling the plug.

“It just goes to show you what type of people you are dealing with — and their credibility as witnesses.”

The prosecutor in the case, Hans Christian Wolters told The Sun his statement would still hold significance, but he was unaware of his alleged change of mind.

Madeleine McCann disappeared in 2007 at the age of three whilst holidaying in Praia da Luz, Algarve, with parents Kate and Gerry McCann, both now 55.

Parents Kate and Gerry McCann still don’t know what happened to their daughter (Getty Images)

The unresolved investigation has spanned 16 years and authorities conducted a major search of a remote Algarve reservoir in May, as it was believed Brueckner had visited the remote location.

Brueckner has previous convictions for child sexual abuse, drug trafficking and is currently serving a prison sentence in Germany for raping a 72-year-old pensioner.

This article was amended on 18 September 2023. It originally stated that Madeleine had been abducted, but that has never been proved.