Defendant in the Maddie McConnell case in Germany

A suspect has been charged in Germany at the request of Portuguese justice as part of an investigation into the disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann, who caused an international outcry nearly fifteen years ago, the Portuguese site in Portimao (southern) announced on Thursday evening. .

The suspect, who could not be identified, was charged on Wednesday, the prosecution said in a statement.

But German officials have identified the German repeat pedophile “Christian B” as the main suspect, as the twist says there is evidence of Kutty Madi’s murder since 2020.

The man is currently serving a prison sentence for raping a 72 – year – old American man in 2005 in southern Portugal.

Madeleine McCann, also known as Maddie, was on vacation with a group of her parents and friends at the seaside resort of Priya da Luce in southern Portugal shortly before her fourth birthday on May 3, 2007.

Her disappearance led to an exceptional international campaign in an attempt to locate her. Photos of little Maddie with popped light brown hair and big clear eyes have gone viral.

After 14 months of contentious investigations, particularly marked by the parents’ accusation, before they were released, the Portuguese police closed the case in 2008 and reopened the file five years later.

“The file was reopened after new elements appeared,” a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office told AFP, noting that “the investigation is continuing” in collaboration with English and German authorities.

But by June 2020 the case had accelerated abruptly, with the Brunswick Attorney’s Office confirming that the girl was dead and that its suspicion was related to a 43 – year – old man who was later remanded in custody. , In northern Germany, for another matter.

According to German investigators, he was living at the time of the incident, a few kilometers away from the hotel where the child went missing, Priya da Loos. In custody, “Christian b.” He had to be kept in solitary confinement to prevent being attacked by fellow inmates, which we later learned from the same source.

After the media coverage of Madeleine’s disappearance spread everywhere, her parents remained silent for years, wanting to come out only if there was a major turnaround in the affair.