Disturbing evidence found inside an abandoned factory bought by the man suspected of killing Madeleine McCann has been revealed for the first time.
Children’s clothes, toys, masks, chemicals and guns were all uncovered inside a factory bought by Christian Brueckner in 2008 in Neuwegersleben, central Germany.
The 47-year-old is nearing the end of a seven-year prison term in Germany for raping an American woman in the same Algarve region where three-year-old Maddie vanished two years later.
The findings came about after a dog ran on to the property in 2016 and alerted to a shallow grave.
Investigators then found Brueckner’s own dead dog buried, but underneath was a wallet with six USB sticks and two memory cards.
A full scale search of the premises was then launched, with 100 officers combing through the site to find any evidence to link him to Maddie’s disappearance in 2007, according to an investigation by The Sun and Channel 4.
Detectives uncovered a number of shocking pieces of evidence, including files containing Brueckner describing drugging a mum and daughter outside of a pre-school and abusing a four-year-old girl.
Weird finds
Unlicensed guns, ammunition, children’s toys and bikes were all uncovered inside the factory.
Police also found a case of pictures with girls aged four and five-years-old.
More than 75 swimming costumes belonging to children were also discovered.
Incriminating images
Photos show Brueckner at a key location of interest for detectives searching for Maddie.
He is seen posing naked in a mask at the Arade Dam, 35 miles from Praia da Luz, which was searched in 2023.
A sat nav also showed his pattern of movements around the site in the years after Maddie vanished.
Hard drive evidence
A hard drive of images were found hidden on a laptop inside the lair.
The photos are believed to be crucial in persuading investigators Maddie died shortly after her disappearance.
There were also records of Skype chats with other paedophiles, saying eh wanted to ‘capture something small and use it for days’.
Chemicals inside his car
A car matching the description of Brueckner’s vehicle in Germany was found inside the lair.
Pictures show bottles of substances inside the car – but officers destroyed them without testing what they were.
But investigators believe they could have been chloroform or ether.
In his stories found on the hard drive, Brueckner fantasised about using ether to kidnap victims.
Suitcase full of images
A metal suitcase containing images of young girls was discovered during the police search.
There was also a list of phone numbers and an address book found inside.
Brueckner was later convicted of an unconnected child abuse allegations.
Insurance document
This document proves for the first time Brueckner was at a festival in April 2008, where he allegedly all but confessed to killing Maddie.
Witness Helge B said Brueckner told him the young girl ‘didn’t scream’.
But the credibility of this has since been questioned.
The insurance document shows that he crashed his motorhome at the festival in Orgiva, Spain.
Source: metro.co.uk
