Madeleine McCann Suspect Could Be Released This Year After Mystery Donor Pays Fine

The suspect in the death of Madeleine McCann could be released from prison early after an anonymous individual paid off an outstanding fine for him. 

Citing the German news agency dpa, the Associated Press reported Monday, June 23, that Christian Brueckner, who is currently behind bars for a separate crime while under investigation for the British toddler’s 2007 death, could be released in mid-September instead of January 2026.

In April 2022, Brueckner was formally named as a suspect in the child’s death. 

Madeleine was 3 years old when her family, parents Kate and Gerry McCann and 2-year-old twin siblings, left their home in the U.K. for a vacation in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

As Kate and Gerry dined at a nearby restaurant with friends about 130 feet away, they left the children asleep in the apartment they were staying in. They would check in on their kids periodically throughout the night.

It was around 10 p.m. when Kate noticed a window was open and Madeleine missing from her bed. 

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Her parents were initially named as suspects before Brueckner. 

According to court documents previously obtained by PEOPLE, in December 2019, Brueckner received a seven-year sentence for raping a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal in 2005.

While appealing that sentence, he was linked to Madeleine’s case, but was serving a 21-month sentence in Germany for dealing drugs, the Times of London reported.

Brueckner’s outstanding fine that was recently paid was in connection with earlier cases against him related to forgery and bodily harm, the weekly Der Spiegel reported, per the AP. 

The identity of the person who paid was not disclosed. However, the German outlet reportedly said the individual was a former employee of Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office.

Additionally, the person reportedly tried to get the money back after learning what the payment was for.

A spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office said that if the payment was made accidentally, they could “investigate whether a refund is possible.”

Madeleine was never found, and her body was never recovered.

Ahead of her 14th birthday in 2007, her parents shared that they still hope to one day be reunited with their eldest child, and that they buy her presents each year for birthdays and Christmas. 

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“I think every kind of event that we do, whether it be a birthday or a family occasion or even an achievement or something, that is kind of when you really feel her absence,” said Kate.

“So, we are marking the anniversary,” said Gerry. “I think it’s been good for the general public to hear police say there’s no evidence that she’s dead, and that there is still an active investigation, and there is still hope. So certainly from my point of view, somebody knows what’s happened.”