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MADELEINE McCann suspect Christian Brueckner grinned as he posed with two women he lured to stay at his filthy cottage.
One of the holidaymakers admitted in court yesterday she feared he might rape her at his remote lair in Portugal.
Christian Brueckner grinned as he posed with two women he took to stay at his cottage in 2003Bild
Brueckner pictured in court in Braunschweig, Germany, on April 5Dan CharityAndrea Barth, 49, told the trial in Braunschweig, Germany, how in 2003, at the age of 28, she went with her friend Yvonna Baumann to stay with Brueckner at his home.
She said Brueckner picked them up in an “incredibly dirty” car from the airport.
He warned the pair to stay out of his bedroom, before heading into the town, Barth said.
She told the court the cottage was covered in dirt, with a video camera and cassettes strewn across the floor.
After spending hours attempting to clear just a fraction of the squalor inside, she said she started to panic about what he might later do to her and her friend when he returned.
She said: “I hadn’t found out who he was etc, and then I started to say – something isn’t right here.
“There are no neighbours, no streets nearby, And I was afraid because I was not sure if he was then coming back with some men and that we would then be classic rape victims.”
Barth said she and Baumann armed themselves with kitchen knives before Brueckner returned drunk and went to sleep.
When he awoke early the next morning, they demanded he drop them in the city so they could stay at a hotel, Barth told the court.
Brueckner, already serving seven years for a 2019 conviction for rape, is on trial for a string of rape and indecent exposure claims.
On Wednesday, the court also heard how Brueckner was part of a paedophile ring that terrified his friends.
Nadia P, who used to live in Praia da Luz, said she heard about vile rape videos uncovered by Brueckner’s former pals at his house.
She told the court that Maddie witness Helge B told her about the tapes and a “video mafia” he thought was after him.
He claimed one tape showed Brueckner wearing a mask as he raped an elderly lady and a girl as young as 13.
Nadia P revealed Helge B fled Portugal after finding the footage as he was afraid a “video mafia” Brueckner was part of would come after him.
Dan CharityKEY WITNESS DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER
KEY witness Helge Busching has been diagnosed with cancer, the court heard — delivering a potential blow to the prospects of the Madeleine McCann case.
The 53-year-old reported Christian Brueckner to police after asking him about the missing youngster and being told: “She didn’t scream.”
But the court heard the witness, who gave evidence last week, was refusing treatment and might not have long left to live — raising the prospect the Madeleine case might not arrive in court in time.
Another key witness in the Madeleine investigation, Manfred Seyferth, has also been diagnosed with the disease.
Former Brueckner pal Michael Tatschl, 50, told Braunschweig Regional Court about Busching: “He says he does not have long according to his diagnosis.”
The prosecutors’ office said recorded testimonies could ultimately be read out if required.
Mr Busching has previously revealed British detectives flew to meet him and spent three days interviewing him about Madeleine’s disappearance.
He also told the court earlier this week that it was the “biggest failure” of his life not to report Brueckner sooner.
He found rape videos in Brueckner’s home in 2005 but did not reveal the horrors they showed.
Three-year-old Madeleine vanished on May 3, 2007, in Praia da Luz, Portugal.
Her parents had left her and her little brother and sister sleeping in their holiday apartment while they dined at a nearby tapas bar.
The witness said: “Helge Busching was afraid.
“He said he had to flee the country because he knew as soon as Brueckner came out of prison that he would know that he had broken into his house.
“Helge Busching was afraid because he thought that there was a video mafia and a porno mafia. That was his fear.”
Nadia P said when she became aware Brueckner had been linked to the Madeleine McCann case, she contacted the German FBI to reveal what she knew.
The three-year-old vanished on May 3, 2007, after her parents left her and her siblings sleeping in their apartment while they dined at a nearby tapas bar in Praia da Luz.
A former friend of Brueckner’s claimed he stole the toddler to sell her to a paedophile network, a witness has claimed.
Brueckner has denied all claims against him.
The trial continues.
PAKey dates in Madeleine McCann's disappearance
MADELEINE McCann vanished on May 3, 2007 - and cops believe Brueckner could have been behind her disappearance.
Almost 17 years on, no one has been charged in connection. These are the key dates:
May 3, 2007 – Kate McCann finds Madeleine missing at 10pm
May 14, 2007 – Property developer Robert Murat is named an “arguido” or formal suspect
August 31, 2007 – The McCanns launch libel action against Tal e Qual – a newspaper that claimed the couple killed Madeleine
September 7, 2007 – Kate and Gerry McCann are made “arguidos”
September 9, 2007– Madeleine’s parents return to England with their two-year-old twins
October 2, 2007– Lead detective Goncalo Amaral is taken off the case after criticising British police in a newspaper interview
July 21, 2009 – Portuguese police lift the “arguido” status of both Robert Murat and the McCanns
May 12, 2011 – On Madeleine’s eighth birthday, Scotland Yard launches a review into the case
April 25, 2012 – Scotland Yard officers say they believe Madeleine McCann is still alive
July 4, 2013 – Two years into a review of the case, Scotland Yard launched its own investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance
October 24, 2013– Portuguese police reopen their case after new lines of inquiry are found
November 27, 2013 – Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe called for British and Portuguese police to work together
October 28, 2015 – Scotland Yard reduces the number of officers working on Madeleine’s disappearance
March 11, 2017 – The Home Office grants Operation Grange an extra £85,000 to continue from April until September
September 28, 2017 – British police are granted £154,000 to keep the probe going until March 2018
November 2017 – Cops moved the search to Bulgaria
May 2018 – Another round of funding, thought to be in the region of £150,000 is granted
September 2018 – An extra six months of funding is requested from the Home Office
November 2018 – More funding, thought to be in the region of £150,000 is granted
November 2018 – UK police re-examine a theory Madeleine left the apartment to look for her parents
June 2019 – Another round of funding, believed to be £300,000 of government cash is granted
June 2019 – Portuguese police are probing a “new clue and suspect” after talks with British officers
June 2020 – New prime suspect revealed as a German paedo Christian Brueckner
April 2022 – Brueckner formally made an “arguido”
May 2023 – Police search remote Algarve reservoir Brueckner called his “little paradise”
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