A Scotland Yard officer from the investigation to find Madeleine McCann’s killer is to give evidence in defence of prime suspect Christian Brueckner in a shocking court twist.
Detective Constable Mark Draycott has been a key part of the Operation Grange investigation since British police took over from Portuguese investigators 13 years ago.
Draycott flew to the Greek capital Athens in 2017 to interview witness Helge Busching, 52, who claimed that Brueckner had confessed to killing Maddie.
Busching reportedly said Brueckner had admitted to snatching her from a hotel in Portugal in 2007 and told him she had not cried out.
The men reportedly talked about the case at a music festival in Spain, and Brueckner allegedly claimed that the girl “didn’t scream” when she was kidnapped.
![](https://ananova.news/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Newsflash-CopDefenceMaddie-02-1024x569.jpg)
Brueckner is not currently on trial as a suspect in the Maddie case and is instead facing charges in Braunschweig Regional Court for three rapes and two cases of sexual abuse of children.
Busching is a key witness in the current case and claims to have seen two shocking videos of Brueckner raping two victims who were tied to a bed.
Now Brueckner’s lawyers believe that Draycott, due to give evidence on 2nd May, could help demolish Busching’s credibility as a witness, reports German newspaper Bild.
They believe inconsistencies in what he told Draycott in 2017 and what he has told police in the current case could get Brueckner off.
Prosecutors have insisted the Met cop should only be questioned about the current charges, which do not include the McCann case.
Busching admits committing crimes with Brueckner in Portugal in the early 2000s before coming forward in 2020 to claim his associate had kidnapped Maddie, then aged three.
She disappeared from her family’s holiday villa in the Praia da Luz resort in May 2007.
![](https://ananova.news/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Newsflash-GermanSuspect-01-1024x576.jpg)
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
The Ananova page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.