The prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case has claimed he became the focus of the investigation after a former friend alleged he made a chilling comment about the case, according to reports. German prisoner Christian Brueckner was first named in connection with the unsolved mystery in the summer of 2020, and officially named as a suspect last year. His yellow and white VW T3 Westfalia campervan was reportedly identified as having been near to the Praia da Luz resort in Portugal where the young girl went missing on May 3, 2007. Three-year-old Madeleine disappeared from the bed of her holiday apartment while her parents and family friends dined 180 feet away. The Metropolitan Police took over the investigation, Operation Grange, in 2011 but they hit dead ends. There has not been another significant suspect in the case since 2007 until Brueckner. Brueckner is in prison in Germany for the rape of a woman in Praia da Luz in 2005, and is suspected of further rapes and child sexual abuse committed in the area between 2000 and 2017. During his time in prison, he is said to have written several letters in a bid to clear his name and complain about his treatment in prison. According to a letter seen by the Daily Mail, Brueckner claimed he became a key suspect after his former friend told police he said “yes, she did not scream” when talking about the case around one year after Madeleine disappeared. According to the newspaper, Brueckner said the claim is "not even worthy of comment.” He said he was then hunted by police after his friend made the allegation to police. The Daily Mail said Brueckner refers to a statement made to the police by Helge Busching - who reportedly contacted police in 2017 saying he had information on the case. He wrote: “The following sentences from the ‘witness’ Helge B in 2017 were responsible for all the public hunting and hatred against me by the German authorities.” Then Brueckner relates an alleged conversation at a festival in Spain in 2008, one year after Madeleine disappeared. He quotes Busching as having said: “(Seyferth another witness) was also there as well and Michael (Tatschl another witness), Manfred, Christian and I then started talking about Portugal. "It was then Christian made a comment about the missing girl. Christian asked me if I was still going to Portugal, I replied; ‘I’m no longer going to Portugal because there are too many problems there, Portugal has too many police for me on account of the missing child. "It is indeed strange that she disappeared without a trace. Christian replied:’’Yes, she did not scream.’’ Brueckner’s lawyer Friedrich Fulschertold the newspaper: “It remains to be seen whether this conversation took place at all as we have other witnesses who said it didn’t.” Brueckner claims that the last time he had a conversation with Busching was in 2007 about a drug deal between them. Busching was arrested in 2017 while trying to smuggle migrants from Greece to Italy. It is claimed that he gave the statement to the police after his arrest. Read More What happened to Madeleine McCann? Sixteen years and countless heartbreaks as Madeleine McCann’s family wait for answers Madeleine McCann evidence will be hard to find after 16 years, expert warns Madeleine McCann case: Timeline of the missing child’s disappearance Sixteen years and countless heartbreaks: Where are Madeleine McCann’s family now? Who is Christian Brueckner? Madeleine McCann suspect and the accusations against him

University of Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders on Tuesday condemned death threats reportedly made against a Colorado State University player who was involved in a play that injured a Colorado star over the weekend.

Bill Richardson, a two-term Democratic governor of New Mexico and a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who dedicated his post-political career to working to free Americans detained overseas, has died

EVANSVILLE, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 10, 2023--

Loved ones are remembering a slain Baltimore tech entrepreneur for her compassion and dedication to helping others

'Padam Padam' is the first single to be released from Kylie Minogue’s upcoming sixteenth studio album 'Tension'

Comedian Ed Gamble has opened up about battling his “obsessive” tendencies and the “evil” bathroom scales while discussing losing weight. The stand-up comic and panel show regular lost seven stone in weight in his early twenties, and is now releasing a memoir about his relationship with food titled Glutton: The Multi-Course Life of a Very Greedy Boy. In a new interview with The Times, the comic – who hosts comedy food podcast Off Menu with fellow comedian James Acaster – opened up about the ways losing weight changed his life. “After losing weight, I got more obsessed with my image. You do feel different, wondering, ‘Oh, maybe I’m attractive now.’” Gamble, 37, said that he had developed a fixation on fitness after losing weight, and currently took part in the “cult” of CrossFit. However, the Great British Menu judge – who has Type 1 diabetes – had to watch his more obsessive tendencies when he first began to lose weight after he dropped to 12 stone. At this point, Gamble was weighing himself every day. “That’s not a weight I operate well at,” he recalled. “It means I don’t have a social life; I’m always exercising and thinking about what I eat. “At that point, my mum said, ‘You don’t need to keep doing this. Build in having fun again.’” Gamble said that while had weighing scales in his bathroom at the time, he saw them as “evil”. “You’ve put on 2lb. So what? Stop looking. Go with how you feel,” he said. Growing up as a “posh little boy”, Gamble often used food to prove that he was “like the grown-ups”. Speaking to The Independent in August, Ed Gamble recalled first eating poached salmon when he was three or four years old. “I think it would be easy to serve child me in a restaurant,” he said. “I think you’d think I was weird, possibly, because I’d be sat bold upright at the table, sort of like a mini [food critic] Jay Rayner, just demanding everything.” Glutton: The Multi-Course Life of a Very Greedy Boy is released on 26 October. For anyone struggling with the issues raised in this article, eating disorder charity Beat’s helpline is available 365 days a year on 0808 801 0677. NCFED offers information, resources and counselling for those suffering from eating disorders, as well as their support networks. Visit eating-disorders.org.uk or call 0845 838 2040 Read More Should plus-size travellers be asked to take weight-loss drugs for flights? It’s plane crazy Paloma Faith on her heartbreak and being a single mum: ‘Our relationship ended because we had those children – it was worth it’ Weight-loss jabs linked to ‘severe’ stomach problems – study Some people are born with a ‘talent for happiness’ – so what’s their secret? Presenter Louise Minchin: Menopause conversations are no longer taboo – but we need to keep going Israel-Hamas conflict: How to talk to teenagers about distressing news stories

A Donald Trump-supporting New York billionaire says that he wants to buy embattled CNN from Warner Bros. Discovery. Grocery mogul John Catsimatidis told The New York Post that he would “go run the place tomorrow morning and all I’d want is $1 per year.” The news network has been hit by falling ratings and earlier this week under-fire CEO Chris Licht, who attempted to drag CNN to the right, was fired after a searing profile in The Atlantic. Greek-born Mr Catsimatidis, 74, refused to tell the newspaper how much he would be willing to offer for CNN. “It’s up to the investment bankers to come up with the numbers,” he said, as he suggested that finance to complete the deal would not be an issue. “We could always bring partners in, but I want to run the place,” he continued. “We are capable of putting down a substantial amount of money.” And he added: “I’d go run the place tomorrow morning, and all I’d want is $1 per year and a piece of the upside.” Mr Catsimatidis, who has a reported personal wealth of more than $4bn, is already in the media business having bought New York’s WABC radio station for $12.5m in 2019. “Whoever is running that company (CNN) is wrong,” Mr Catsimatidis said, telling the newspaper the network should not have fired Mr Licht, who supported the controversial Donald Trump town hall. “If the network is getting half a million (viewers) a night and they have Trump on and they get 3 million (viewers), to fire the CEO for getting that many people…” he said. But he insisted that if took over CNN he would continue to try and ensure that Republicans got equal coverage to Democrats. “I want the truth, not opinions. If people say there’s two truths, let’s voice both truths and let the viewers decide.” Read More How Chris Licht’s botched effort to drag CNN to the right ended with his own stunning downfall CNN CEO Chris Licht out days after devastating expose CNN’s own media reporter turns on embattled CEO The folly of trusting Trump claims two more victims. Why do they do it?

Army Gen. Mark Milley delivered a full-throated defense of democracy and not-so-subtle swipes at former President Donald Trump during a packed ceremony as he closed out his four, often tumultuous years as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Israel renewed its operation at Gaza's largest hospital Thursday, targeting what it maintains is a Hamas command centre concealed in a complex sheltering...

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