Girlfriend of suspect in Madeleine McCann case reveals major clue
The former girlfriend of the German sex offender authorities believe abducted Madeleine McCann has revealed a bombshell admission he once made to her.
Nakscije Miftari says the British three-year-old's disappearance was brought up during a party at their German apartment in 2014, prompting then boyfriend Christian Brueckner to fall silent.
"I remember he made no answer to the question," she told The Mail on Sunday in an exclusive interview.
Ms Miftari said she pressed Brueckner on Madeleine's disappearance after their guests had left, prompting him to open up.
"He said, 'I know about Maddie, I was near the hotel at the time. I was living in the area at the time. I am not going to say anything more. I am not a stupid guy, I am a businessman'," she recalled.
The admission is the first known instance Brueckner is believed to have confessed to have been in the area when Madeleine disappeared.
Madeleine vanished from her family's holiday rental at the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz, in Portugal’s Algarve region, in 2007 while her parents dined at a nearby restaurant.
Brueckner the sole suspect in McCann case
Last year German detectives identified Brueckner, 44, as their sole suspect in her disappearance but are yet to file any charges against him in relation to the case.
Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said last month his team was compiling as much evidence as possible before charging him, which they predict they will do in 2022.
Mr Wolters says police are “100 per cent convinced” Brueckner killed Madeleine however he said it is not known how she died.
Mr Wolters said among the evidence police have includes “circumstantial evidence” – a “confession” Brueckner made, and phone analysis which shows he was at the Ocean Club when the toddler vanished.
Brueckner, who is serving prison time in Germany for the rape of an elderly woman in 2005 in the same town as where Madeleine disappeared, has vehemently denied Mr Wolters' claims.
Ms Miftari's brief relationship with Brueckner, whom she met through visiting his kiosk, ended when she allegedly discovered child pornography on his phone and he subsequently assaulted her after she confronted him, she told The Mail on Sunday.
She claims Brueckner featured in some of the videos. Ms Miftari was just 17 when they first began dating.
Madeleine's parents Gerry and Kate McCann have reportedly been given hope of finding their daughter after Australian four-year-old Cleo Smith was discovered "alive and well" inside a locked house 18 days after vanishing from a WA campsite.
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