06 May 2024 , 18:42
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Madeleine McCann's parents didn't turn up for their daughter's 17th anniversary vigil to avoid being in the spotlight during the trial of the prime suspect in her disappearance, according to a friend of the couple.
Christian Brueckner is currently on trial in Germany for a series of alleged horrific but unrelated sex offences. Kate and Gerry McCann said they didn't attend the church prayers held on Friday, opting instead for a "much needed break" so they wouldn't be snapped by supporters. They apologised in a message read out to those who gathered for the memorial.
A friend of the family said the couple usually attend the service in Rothley, Leicestershire, as a way of remembering their daughter. Madeleine went missing from their holiday home in Praia da Luz, Portugal, back in 2007.
Christian Brueckner is currently on trial for unrelated sex offences (Daily Mirror)The friend told the MailOnline: "Kate and Gerry like to join the prayers for Madeleine and all missing children, and use it as an opportunity to thank their supporters in public and then do a meet and greet with some. But with the high profile trial going on in Germany, which they are being kept informed of by the Metropolitan Police, they wanted to keep out on the spotlight on this occasion. They are both busy working people and as the service fell on a Friday night and over a Bank Holiday weekend they decided to go away."
It was a wise move as the couple avoided coming face to face with a young Polish woman who famously claimed to be Madeleine after she turned up at the church. Julia Wendell travelled from Poland in the hopes of meeting the McCanns, and had planned to hand them a letter asking them to do a DNA test.
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Brueckner was dramatically named by prosecutors as the prime suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance in 2020. Brueckner’s former friend Helge Busching, who knew him in the Algarve in the mid-2000s, tipped off Scotland Yard in 2017.
Madeleine went missing from her family's holiday home in 2007 (PA)
The couple didn't attend because they were taking a "much-needed break" (PA)Brueckner, 48, is on trial accused of carrying out a string of sex attacks in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. He is charged with raping an Irish tour rep, a teenage girl and an elderly woman in her holiday apartment. The German also allegedly exposed himself to a German girl on a beach and a group of children in a playground.
Madeleine was on a family holiday in Praia da Luz when she vanished in May 2007. Brueckner denies any involvement in her disappearance. He was jailed for the rape of a pensioner in 2019 and is serving a seven-year prison term.