Madeleine McCann suspect Christian B ‘had

lock pick kit’

The prime suspect in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance had a burglary tool kit
that could unlock any security door, a witness claims.
Jutta Rabe and Scarlet Howes and The Sun
4 min read
July 2, 2023 - 3:54PM
Pause
Unmute

Ad 

Current Time 0:00
Loaded: 0%
 
Fullscreen
Video will play after the ad
An essential witness in the case of Madeleine McCann's disappearance has unveiled a chilling moment
when Christian B allegedly confessed to abducting her.
More From News Life

Influencer jailed for kidnapping hoax

‘My 40yo husband’s been at uni for 20 years’

‘Degrading’: Star’s big marriage confession

The prime suspect in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance had a burglary tool kit
that could unlock any security door, an important witness claims.
Christian B boasted to a friend about the tools, which raises fresh doubts over the
official theory that Maddie’s kidnapper clambered in through a window of holiday
apartment 5a in Praia da Luz.
German police are said to be “electrified” by the lock pick kit discovery – and are
also probing the possibility Christian B used car paint solvent to sedate Maddie.

In an exclusive interview from a secret location, Helge B – now in German police

witness protection – told filmmaker Jutta Rabe for The Sun on Sunday: “He came
through the door”.

German prosecutors hope to use the lock picks evidence to nail Christian B, who is
in jail for drugs crimes and appealing a seven-year sentence for raping a woman of
72.

Helge B, 52, who met his fellow German a year before Maddie vanished aged
three, said he found the kit at Christian B’s Algarve home.

The petty criminal had decided to ransack it with friend Manfred Seyferth after
learning Christian B was serving time for theft.

He said: “I knew from Christian that he uses tools to break into holiday resorts,
hotels and holiday homes to steal from tourists.

“There were passports on the table. There was all sorts of stuff lying around –
cameras, suitcases, everything that tourists have with them. I also found a lock pick
set.”

Helge B, who kept the kit and told German police about it, added: “You can use it
to pick any lock, including security locks.”
The kit the suspect had allegedly included 14 picks. Picture: Metropolitan
Police/AFP
The 14 picks, seen by The Sun on Sunday, are black stainless steel. Each is
designed for a specific door type.

They are made by “Dino”, which claims the curved design “ensures easier access
into the most restrictive European keyways fast”.

Police in Portugal have always said the man who snatched Maddie broke in
through the window and either left through a door with her or climbed back out.

It has been reported that the metal window shutters of the apartment were rolled all
the way up, and a curtain was blowing, after little Maddie went missing.

But when asked how Christian B got into the McCanns’ holiday home, Helge B
replied: “Through the door. Easily. He can open any door”.

Insiders close to the German police probe, which was opened when Helge B gave
detectives Christian B’s name in 2017, said cops believe the window theory is a
“red herring”.

A police source said: “The German detectives were electrified by the discovery of
the tool kit with the lock picks in it. This evidence is now very important to them.

“It confirmed a suspicion that they’d had for a long time – that Christian B entered
the apartment through the door.”
It’s also believed police were told the suspect had access to car paint solvent.
Picture: Supplied/The Sun
Police believe the front door was less likely to be viewed by the passing public as
it is in a recessed area on the opposite side of the apartment facing towards a
swimming pool and restaurant.

It is understood that police have also been told Christian B had access to car paint
solvent as he had been a mechanic.

Detectives are now looking into a theory that he used it to knock Madeleine out
before opening the window from the inside to avoid inhaling toxic fumes.

German public prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters named Christian B as the prime
suspect in Madeleine’s case in June 2020 and said he had evidence she had been
murdered.

Helge B claims he has since been pressed by Christian B’s lawyers to retract his
statements and has been forced into witness protection for the last four years.

He said: “I immediately contacted the federal police in Germany and they told me
to pack some clothes, don’t be followed, catch the next ferry and go to Italy and
they would come and take care of me.
“Witness protectors picked me up. They put me in various safe houses and finally
in an apartment. I don’t live there now. I had to change location again.”

Christian Brueckner, Madeleine McCann suspect. Picture: Bild/ Supplied

Madeleine McCann disappeared in Praia da Luz, Portugal on May 3, 2007. Picture:
Metropolitan Police/AFP
His revelations come after he spoke to German tabloid Bild this week to claim
Christian B appeared to confess to kidnapping Maddie, telling him after a few
drinks: “She didn’t scream”.
He made the admission at the Dragon Festival in the southern Spanish mountain
town of Orgiva just a year after she disappeared. The illegal festival was known for
its techno music, boozing and drug taking.

Christian B apparently arrived there in an American campervan he had lived in and

used between 2007 and early 2008.

Helge B claims it was not the Tiffin Allegro van police seized a couple of years
ago in Neuwegersleben – a German village where Christian B had a weekend pad.
Instead, he insisted the vehicle was a Winnebago.

Helge B believes that if police were able to trace it, they may find traces of
Madeleine’s DNA in it.

He said: “Christian B drove up with an American mobile home, a Winnebago, and

everyone was just surprised. I have only seen this Allegro in photos from the
police, as it was seized on the premises in Neuwegersleben but it was not the same
that I saw”.

Several girls’ swimsuits were found in the 9 metre red and white Allegro RV
Christian B drove between Portugal and Germany. Cops found the clothes after the
seizing the motorhome as part of another investigation.
A similar "lock pick kit" to the one the suspect allegedly had. Picture: Supplied
Neighbours had complained about a smell coming from the yard where it was kept
and buried in the ground were USB sticks and other digital media with more than
100 films and photos of B allegedly abusing children.

Asked if he advised his former friend to tell the truth, Helge B said: “Yes, but he
will never do that.

“He’s too stubborn for that. He assumes they can’t prove anything.”

Addressing Christian B directly, he added: “I know what you did and another
witness knows it as well.

“So, admit it – you owe it to the girl’s parents. It’s enough with the rumours, lies
and whining.”

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/madeleine-mccann-suspect-christian-
b-had-lock-pick-kit/news-story/2786cf94bb655a8dd6938b9e1ffa0ab7
 Detective's book claims Madeleine
McCann died in apartment
Haroon Siddique
Thu 24 Jul 2008 19.56 AEST



A controversial book by the former head of the investigation into the disappearance
of Madeleine McCann was published today.
In A Verdade Da Mentira, translated as The Truth of the Lie, Goncalo Amaral details
his belief that Madeleine, who went missing shortly before her fourth birthday, died
in her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.

Amaral, a former senior detective, was in charge when Madeleine's parents were
made formal suspects in September – a status that was only lifted on Monday.

ADVERTISEMENT
CONTENT RESUMES ON SCROLL
He was removed from the case at the beginning of October after saying that British
police were at the beck and call of Gerry and Kate McCann.

The McCanns' family spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, has said that lawyers are
studying Amaral's book as a "matter of urgency".

"Mr Amaral will face immediate and swift legal action if he in any way implies, either
directly or indirectly, that Kate and Gerry were involved in the disappearance or
harming of their daughter," he said.

In the book, Amaral claims that a serious allegation was passed on to Leicestershire
police less than a fortnight after Madeleine disappeared. But he says the UK force did
not pass it on to their Portuguese counterparts until after he was removed from the
case.

"This raises a legitimate question: why did the British police apparently hide that
witness statement for six months?" he writes.

Leicestershire police service has declined to comment on the claims.

Madeleine vanished from her family's holiday apartment in the Algarve resort of
Praia da Luz on May 3 last year while her parents dined with friends nearby.

The investigation into her disappearance was shelved on Monday after the
Portuguese attorney general concluded that there was insufficient evidence to
continue with the case.

The third formal suspect in the case, the Algarve property consultant Robert Murat,
34, had his "arguido" status lifted along with the McCanns.

Amaral, who is now retired, is facing perjury charges, which he denies, in relation to
another missing child case. Leonor Cipriano, the mother of the girl involved, was
convicted of her murder but accused the police of beating her into making a false
confession.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/jul/24/madeleinemccann.portugal