Madeleine McCann prime suspect Christian B fails to have investigators thrown off his case and delay trial
MADELEINE McCann prime suspect Christian B has failed to have investigators thrown off his case.
His lawyers hoped to delay any trial and buy time for paedo B, by getting the German probe switched to another region.
But the bid to have the file snatched away from prosecutors in Braunschweig has been thrown out by a court.
It means investigators can push on with their bid to take the 46-year-old convicted paedophile and rapist to trial.
A decision to move the probe under a different jurisdiction could have set the case back years.
Investigator Hans-Christian Wolters told The Sun: “This is a relief for us.
“It is always nice when you get an affirmation of the way you had seen things.
“The Regional Court here had said Christian B’s last residence has been in Saxony-Anhalt, and therefore we were not the correct investigative jurisdiction for this case.
“We appealed to the Higher Regional Court.”
Its ruling — after six months of legal wrangling — is a boost to investigators following fears that key witness Helge Busching was about to withdraw his evidence.
B’s lawyer, Friedrich Fülscher, said of the ruling yesterday: “The decision must be accepted at this point.”
Mr Wolters added: “What now needs to happen is the Regional Court must decide whether the degree of suspicion we have against Christian B is sufficient to hold a trial.
“If yes, they need to set the date for a hearing.”
Madeleine was on holiday with her family from Rothley, Leics, when she vanished from their apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia Da Luz, in 2007.
Prosecutors in Braunschweig believe that B took and murdered the three-year-old.