Madeleine McCann prime suspect forced to look into judge’s eyes in German rape case
A JUDGE yesterday forced the prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case to let her look closely into his eyes — to see if they matched a rape victim’s description.
Ute Insa Engemann gave Christian Brueckner the order at the end of the day’s session at Braunschweig regional court in Germany.
It had heard former tour guide Hazel Behan, 40, from Dublin, tell how she was repeatedly raped by a masked attacker at her holiday apartment in Portugal in 2004.
Ms Behan, who waived anonymity, said she recognised Brueckner’s piercing blue eyes from photos when he was linked to Madeleine’s disappearance nearby in 2007.
When asked how she was able to identify Brückner by his eyes alone, she said: “When you spend time in this situation and there is nothing else you can see on this human, it is the only thing which you can remember, they bored into my skull and I will never forget it.”
She added that his bright blue eyes were completely illuminated against the black mask and skin-tight clothing he wore.
“They were just so blue… everything was so dark… so they just worked like lights, they were so bright, and I just know them.”
She said she was convinced that her rapist was Christian Brückner, the man who German investigators believe abducted and killed 3-year-old Maddie from her family’s holiday apartment in Portugal in 2007.
At the end of today’s court session, presiding judge Ute Insa Engemann said to Christian Brückner, 47, “Mr Brückner, come to the front so we can look at your eyes.”
Brueckner, 47, is accused of sex crimes uncovered in that investigation. He denies the claims. Trial continues.