Madeleine McCann latest – Chief suspect Christian B ‘has network of pals who’ll provide alibi for night Maddie vanished’
THE Madeleine McCann prime suspect has a “number of people” willing to provide an alibi, a source has said.
Convicted rapist Christian B was named by German prosecutors in 2020 but they have yet to build a case against the 44-year-old.
Three-year-old Madeleine vanished from her bed while on holiday with her parents and family friends at a resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal in 2007.
A new witness claims to have been with him around that time and also insists he was calm while she was with him.
She also claims they were stopped by police who reported no suspicious activity.
But now The Sun can reveal she is one of “multiple witnesses” who Christian B will turn to if quizzed again over the Maddie case.
Read our Madeleine McCann live blog for the latest updates...
‘NUMBER of people willing to provide an alibi’ (Continued...)
“He has denied from day one that he is involved in any way with Maddie’s disappearance,” a source said.
“That’s why his legal team have always worked on one thing - building a case which substantiates this claim.
"They are now satisfied that there are a number of people who will support his story that he was nowhere near the resort the night Maddie went missing.
“One woman has already said she will give a statement on this. And more witnesses will follow."
The source explained "these people aren't interested in covering up" for Christian B.
“They simply don’t want to see the wrong person convicted and for Maddie’s true abductor to remain at large. That’s why they will speak up.”
Christian B has a ‘NUMBER of people willing to provide an alibi for the day toddler vanished’
Convicted rapist Christian B was named by German prosecutors in 2020 but they have yet to build a case against the 44-year-old.
Three-year-old Madeleine vanished from her bed while on holiday with her parents and family friends at a resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal in 2007.
A new witness claims to have been with him around that time and also insists the was calm while she was with him.
She also claims they were stopped by police who reported no suspicious activity.
But now The Sun can reveal she is one of “multiple witnesses” who Christian B will turn to if quizzed again over the Maddie case.
How old would Madeleine McCann be now?
Madeleine would have turned 18 on May 12, 2021.
In April 2012, UK cops released a computer generated image of Madeleine showing what she would look like aged nine.
In 2019 updated age progression images were uploaded on social media but Kate and Gerry said the images of Madeleine are bogus.
Kate and Gerry warned the new fake images were neither "commissioned nor endorsed" by them or Scotland Yard’s Operation Grange team.
Where is prime suspect Christian B now?
Christian B was identified as the prime suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance in June 2020.
He is serving a seven-year sentence in prison for raping a 72-year-old American woman in the Algarve in 2005.
Police officers are also investigating Christian B’s alleged involvement in three other cases.
The first of the three offences is the rape of Irish woman Hazel Behan in Praia da Rocha on the Algarve in 2004.
He is now locked up at Oldenburg prison near Bremen where he has been reportedly kept in solitary confinement.
Suspect set to be charged with the rape of a woman in 2004
MADELEINE McCann suspect Christian B is set to be charged with the rape of a woman in 2004 in the Algarve.
German officials have announced the sex offender, 45, will be charged with brutally attacking Irish tour rep Hazel Behan three years before the British toddler disappeared.
Miss Behan, who was 20 at the time of the attack, came forward in June 2020 after reading about his previous convictions.
Read the article in full here.
What other cases has Christian B been linked to?
Christian B has been linked with the disappearances of several children over the past 25 years, including that of a six-year-old boy in Portugal in 1996 and a five-year-old girl in Germany in 2015.
Authorities in Belgium have also linked him to the murder of missing 16-year-old Carola Titze, who disappeared while on holiday in De Haan on July 5, 1996.
Her severely mutilated body was discovered among the sand dunes on July 11.
Christian B has also been associated with the missing person’s case of Inga Gehricke.
The child disappeared during a family outing in Saxony-Anhalt on May 2, 2015.
The father of missing six-year-old René Hasee, who disappeared on June 21, 1996 while on vacation with his family in Aljezur, Portugal - roughly 40km from Praia da Luz - has also claimed his son's case has been reopened by police.
Christian B has also been linked with the disappearance of Jair Soares, a seven-year-old who vanished in August 1995.
Meanwhile, Peggy Knobloch's disappearance has also been linked back to the German paedo, after she went missing in May 2001.
Prosecutors slam claims case is ‘crumbling over Christian B’s alibi’
PROSECUTORS have rebuffed claims the case against Madeleine McCann suspect Christian B is set to crumble after British investigators allegedly found he has an alibi.
A team led by an ex-detective claim to have discovered the sex predator, 44, was “30 minutes away” from the resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal, when Madeleine disappeared.
But the new probe led by former Surrey Police detective Mark Williams-Thomas, is said to show an alibi for B “stacks up”.
But German authorities have dismissed the claims.
Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters told the : “If I had an alibi and was accused of this, I would say it. But I have heard no such claims from [Christian B] or his lawyer.”Read more here.
Huge stumbling block
Investigators have hit a major stumbling block in building a case against their prime suspect.
They spoke to a new witness who claims to have been with Christian B just before and after the three-year-old vanished.
She insists the convicted rapist was calm and normal while she was with him and says the pair were stopped in a car by police who reported no suspicious activity
And she believes Christian B, 44, was miles from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz on the day Madeleine was abducted.
Her evidence lends weight to suspicion that the case against the German is crumbling.
A source said: “This testimony could be an issue.”
Does the documentary claim Madeleine is still alive?
Yes - the doc believes the young girl is still alive.
It suggests that people traffickers abducted the three-year-old in Portugal in 2007 - as a top child protection cop insists the 12-year mystery will be solved.
The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann features 40 experts and key figures in the case, some of whom argue she was taken to another foreign country.
Jim Gamble, the top child protection cop in the UK’s first Maddie investigation, says: “I absolutely believe that in my lifetime we will find out what has happened to Madeleine McCann.
“There’s huge hope to be had with the advances in technology. Year on year DNA is getting better. Year on year other techniques, including facial recognition, are getting better.
“And as we use that technology to revisit and review that which we captured in the past, there’s every likelihood that something we already know will slip into position.”
Are Madeleine's parents in the documentary?
Maddie's parents Kate and Gerry refused to take part, despite numerous requests from producers over the last 18 months.
The couple's pals, who were on that fateful holiday with them when Maddie went missing, and their former spokesperson Clarence Mitchell blasted the film, which is reported to have cost £20million, saying: "We want nothing to do with it."
In 2018, The Sun reported that the McCanns have declined to be involved because the Metropolitan Police's investigation is still active.
Ahead of the doc’s release, Kate and Gerry McCann said in a statement that they believed the film could “hinder” the hunt for their little girl.
They said: “We do not see how this will help the search for Madeleine, and, particularly given there is an active police investigation, could potentially hinder it.”
How can I watch the Madeleine McCann Netflix documentary?
The documentary is still available to watch on Netflix after being released in 2019.
It was first commissioned by Netflix in 2017 and examines the case of the missing three-year-old as well as interviews with key figures and investigators.
The streaming site had been hoping it would be ready to screen in 2018 but the project reportedly took longer than expected.
It's also thought producers had wanted to create an eight-part series but it's now just a two-parter.
'Still alive'
Scotland Yard detectives say they have seen no evidence that Madeleine is not alive.
The four-strong Operation Grange unit are still operating in an "active" phase of their missing child investigation.
A source told the last month: "Clearly the Met have more open thinking than the German authorities have at the present.
"Madeleine's parents have always said if they are presented with hard proof she has died they will accept it.
"But the fact Operation Grange still exists and still gets funding shows the Met still thinks there is still work and investigation to be done."
The Home Office awarded a further £350,000 in funding to last until later this year.
Where is prime suspect Christian B now?
Christian B was identified as the prime suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance in June 2020.
He is serving a seven-year sentence in prison for raping a 72-year-old American woman in the Algarve in 2005.
Police officers are also investigating Christian B’s alleged involvement in three other cases.
The first of the three offences is the rape of Irish woman Hazel Behan in Praia da Rocha on the Algarve in 2004.
He is now locked up at Oldenburg prison near Bremen where he has been reportedly kept in solitary confinement.
‘We’re in the dark because it’s an active investigation’
A McCann family source told The Sun Online: “Police don’t tell us what’s going on, we’re in the dark because it’s an ongoing investigation.
“But if it is him, and there’s no direct and conclusive evidence he may never say a word. He’s not saying a word now.
“He’s locked up for other crimes, so at least he’s in the best place – in jail.
“Portuguese police had looked at him before and last year they looked at him again. We don’t know what this means but without a confession we may never know.
“We don’t know what evidence police have.
“It may be, sadly, that we may never know what happened to Madeleine. But we hope to find out. We keep hoping after all these years.”
In November 2021, Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry revealed that they “have hope” they will find their daughter after missing Australian toddler Cleo Smith was found alive and well.
‘NUMBER of people willing to provide an alibi’ (Continued…)
“He has denied from day one that he is involved in any way with Maddie’s disappearance,” a source said.
“That’s why his legal team have always worked on one thing – building a case which substantiates this claim.
“They are now satisfied that there are a number of people who will support his story that he was nowhere near the resort the night Maddie went missing.
“One woman has already said she will give a statement on this. And more witnesses will follow.”
The source explained “these people aren’t interested in covering up” for Christian B.
“They simply don’t want to see the wrong person convicted and for Maddie’s true abductor to remain at large. That’s why they will speak up.”
Christian B has a ‘NUMBER of people willing to provide an alibi for the day toddler vanished’
Convicted rapist Christian B was named by German prosecutors in 2020 but they have yet to build a case against the 44-year-old.
Three-year-old Madeleine vanished from her bed while on holiday with her parents and family friends at a resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal in 2007.
A new witness claims to have been with him around that time and also insists the was calm while she was with him.
She also claims they were stopped by police who reported no suspicious activity.
But now The Sun can reveal she is one of “multiple witnesses” who Christian B will turn to if quizzed again over the Maddie case.
Where were the first five sightings?
1. ALGERIA: October 2008: A man reported he had seen a blonde girl with a British accent, who looked liked Madeleine, with a dark-skinned Algerian family who were “acting suspiciously”.
2. ANDORRA: Details not made public.
3. ARGENTINA: June 19, 2007: A man took a photo of a girl “identical” to Madeleine. Sighting later ruled out.
4. AUSTRALIA. July 26, 2015: A suitcase containing the skeletal remains of a fair-haired young girl was discovered next to a motorway in Wynarka, near Adelaide. Pathologists said she would have died in 2007. There was speculation that the body was Madeleine’s after a cop said it did not match descriptions of any missing children in that country. But the victim’s DNA did not match Madeleine’s.
5. AUSTRIA: July 2008: A couple at a hotel in St. Valentin claimed a girl resembling Madeleine cried “Help me!” in English as a man dragged her away.
Are Maddie's parents Kate and Gerry still together?
Shortly after Madeleine vanished, Kate said their marriage nearly broke down as she withdrew into herself.
She stopped reading, playing music or even having sex with her husband Gerry.
And the couple were gripped by the fear that a paedophile may have taken their daughter.
Writing about that period in her autobiography, Kate said: “Tortured as I was by these images, it’s not surprising that even the thought of sex repulsed me.
“I worried about Gerry and me. I worried that if I didn’t get our sex life on track our whole relationship would break down.”
Kate went on to credit Gerry’s understanding and the couple’s resilience for the endurance of their marriage.
They remain together to this day, despite the stresses of intense media scrutiny on their lives.
When did Madeleine McCann disappear?
Madeleine vanished 13 years ago on May 3, 2007, when her family, from Leicestershire, were holidaying in Praia da Luz, in the Algarve, Portugal.
Parents Gerry and Kate left their three children – including toddler twins Sean and Amelie – sleeping in their apartment while they dined at a tapas bar – 120 metres away.
When Kate returned to check on the kids at around 10pm that evening, she discovered that Madeleine was not in her bed and was missing.
In September of that year, Gerry and Kate, both doctors, were sensationally named as “arguidos” by Portuguese police.The following summer the McCanns were cleared by investigators in Portugal who declared they had exhausted all avenues in the case.
Portuguese cops ‘convinced’ Christian B had nothing to do with it
Meanwhile the Sun can reveal Portuguese cops remain “convinced” Christian B had nothing to do with Maddie’s disappearance.
“Officers in the Algarve have long believed German cops are trying to pin this case on the wrong person,” the source added.
“Detectives in Praia da Luz ruled him out years and years ago – not least because his story about where he was and what he was doing checked out.”
Huge stumbling block
Investigators have hit a major stumbling block in building a case against their prime suspect.
They spoke to a new witness who claims to have been with Christian B just before and after the three-year-old vanished.
She insists the convicted rapist was calm and normal while she was with him and says the pair were stopped in a car by police who reported no suspicious activity
And she believes Christian B, 44, was miles from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz on the day Madeleine was abducted.
Her evidence lends weight to suspicion that the case against the German is crumbling.
A source said: “This testimony could be an issue.”
How was Christian B identified?
The prime suspect was already known to British and Portuguese police in relation to Madeleine’s disappearance in Praia da Luz.
Yet, the recent information came from a witness who stepped forward following the appeal by the Met Police on the tenth anniversary in 2017.
The suspect – who is 43 now – is believed to have been leading a “transient lifestyle” at the time, as he travelled between Portugal and Germany.
It is believed he was living in the Iberian nation between 1995 and 2007 working in the food industry.
The man is known to have been in the area at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance, having taken a 30-minute phone call an hour before she went missing.
‘NUMBER of people willing to provide an alibi’ (Continued…)
“He has denied from day one that he is involved in any way with Maddie’s disappearance,” a source said.
“That’s why his legal team have always worked on one thing – building a case which substantiates this claim.
“They are now satisfied that there are a number of people who will support his story that he was nowhere near the resort the night Maddie went missing.
“One woman has already said she will give a statement on this. And more witnesses will follow.”
The source explained “these people aren’t interested in covering up” for Christian B.
“They simply don’t want to see the wrong person convicted and for Maddie’s true abductor to remain at large. That’s why they will speak up.”
Christian B has a ‘NUMBER of people willing to provide an alibi for the day toddler vanished’
Convicted rapist Christian B was named by German prosecutors in 2020 but they have yet to build a case against the 44-year-old.
Three-year-old Madeleine vanished from her bed while on holiday with her parents and family friends at a resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal in 2007.
A new witness claims to have been with him around that time and also insists the was calm while she was with him.
She also claims they were stopped by police who reported no suspicious activity.
But now The Sun can reveal she is one of “multiple witnesses” who Christian B will turn to if quizzed again over the Maddie case.
Suspect set to be charged with the rape of a woman in 2004
MADELEINE McCann suspect Christian B is set to be charged with the rape of a woman in 2004 in the Algarve.
German officials last month announced the sex offender, 45, will be charged with brutally attacking Irish tour rep Hazel Behan three years before the British toddler disappeared.
Miss Behan, who was 20 at the time of the attack, came forward in June 2020 after reading about his previous convictions.
Read the article in full here.