Madeleine McCann’s parents get heartbreaking letter from cops saying she’s dead but can’t reveal ‘concrete evidence’ yet
PROSECUTORS in Germany have written to Kate and Gerry McCann to tell them Madeleine is dead. They have “concrete evidence” suspect Christian B killed her but cannot yet reveal details. The message makes it clear they have no doubts that the couple’s daughter is dead and suspect Christian B is responsible. But it says revealing […]
PROSECUTORS in Germany have written to Kate and Gerry McCann to tell them Madeleine is dead.
They have “concrete evidence” suspect Christian B killed her but cannot yet reveal details.
The message makes it clear they have no doubts that the couple’s daughter is dead and suspect Christian B is responsible.
But it says revealing the evidence too soon might damage the chances of him ever coming to trial.
Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters Wolters said today: “We have written to the McCanns to tell them Madeleine is dead and explaining we just cannot say what the evidence is.
“We have concrete evidence that our suspect has killed Madeleine.
“British police have been informed but don’t have all the evidence we have. The results of our investigation have been shared but not every detail has been passed to Scotland Yard.
“I don’t think the McCanns have been informed of all the details but they know the results.”
‘JEOPARDISE THE INVESTIGATION’
The McCanns’ Portuguese lawyer Rogerio Alves has called on German police to share the evidence they claim to have about her death.
Mr Wolters said: “I understand what the McCann family lawyer is saying. I sympathise with the parents but if we reveal more details to them it might jeopardise the investigation.
“I know it would be of relief to the parents to know how she died but it would hamper the investigation if we give away too much information.
“This is a murder case not a missing persons case. We have been quite clear throughout that we are investigating a murder and have evidence for that.
“We can understand the pain of the parents and they want relief, but it is better for them that we have a clear and successful conclusion to the case.
“There is no realistic hope she is alive. Of course I understand the parents want to believe she is until they see a body.
“It would be easier for them if I could tell them what we know but I can’t. All I can say is there is no forensic evidence but there is other evidence which indicates she is dead.”
Madeleine, three, was abducted from her parents’ holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007.
Earlier this month German police said a man named Christian B, 43, was a suspect over the disappearance and Madeleine was believed to be dead.
The suspect was swiftly identified as a convicted rapist, drug dealer and child sex offender, currently in jail in Germany.
Clarence Mitchell, the McCann family spokesman, said today: “Kate and Gerry simply do not comment on private correspondence received from police and nor will they be giving a running commentary.
REMAINED SILENT
“I don’t want to go into any details about the letter, when it was written or how it was sent. All I will confirm is that it has been written.”
Drifter Christian B has 17 convictions across Europe, including sex offences against children.
He was convicted last year of the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old tourist in Praia da Luz and sentenced to seven years. At the time of the conviction he was in jail for drug offences.
The tourist was blindfolded, tied up, gagged and beaten with a metal pole during an attack which he filmed.
The suspect is currently in isolation in Kiel prison. He has so far remained silent over the Madeleine accusations.
Last week Mr Wolters appealed to Sun readers to check old photos of Algarve holidays between 1995 and 2007 for sightings of Christian B. He was in Portugal at that time.
Prosecutors want to speak to anyone who saw him or his distinctive VW camper van and Jaguar XJR-6.
Police across Europe are reinvestigating several cases of missing children after he emerged as a suspect in the Madeleine case.
In the weeks after Madeleine’s abduction Portuguese police treated Kate and Gerry as suspects before clearing them. In July 2008 officers shelved the case.
In 2011, following a Sun campaign, Scotland Yard opened a new inquiry.
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Two years later the Met said it had identified 41 potential suspects.
In March last year it was revealed the Met’s inquiry had cost £11.75million.
In the wake of German claims that Madeleine was dead, Scotland Yard said it was still treating the case as a missing persons investigation.
Fiend recall
CHRISTIAN B may be taken back to Portugal for a reconstruction of the night Madeleine McCann vanished.
The suspect’s movements on the evening in 2007 will be the focus of any new re-enactment.
Portuguese sources believe it may happen soon if German police submit a request.
Local legal expert Rui Pereira said: “The suspect could be flown to Portugal for the practice of judicial enactments that require him to be present.”
He believed the sex offender is a solid suspect but convicting him would require a “miracle”.
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