The former girlfriend of Christian Brueckner, the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann from a Portuguese holiday resort, says he admitted being close to the youngster’s apartment when she vanished.
In an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday, Nakscije Miftari recalled Brueckner falling silent when the subject of Madeleine’s abduction was raised by friends during a party in early 2014 at their flat in Braunschweig, northern Germany.
‘I remember he made no answer to the question. After they went, I asked about Maddie as I did not know anything about her,’ she said.
Nakscije Miftari, pictured right with her ex boyfriend, recalled Brueckner falling silent when the subject of Madeleine’s abduction was raised by friends during a party in early 2014 at their flat in Braunschweig, northern Germany
‘I asked him about it and he said, “I know about Maddie, I was near the hotel at the time. It was a place I knew. I will not say any more. I am not a stupid guy, I am a businessman.” ’
German prosecutors think that Brueckner 44 was a sexual predator and raped Madeleine at Ocean Club in Praia Da Luz on May 3rd 2007. But they have difficulty gathering sufficient evidence to prove their case.
Ms Miftari’s dramatic testimony – which she has already shared with German police – is the first in which Brueckner is said to have confessed to being at the scene of the crime.
Ms Miftari was 25 years old and spoke out for the first times. She said how scared she was about Brueckner, his controlling ways, as well as of finding out that he had a strange interest in child pornography featuring young, blonde girls.
In 2013, she was only 17 years old when she first met the charming, generous and kind owner of Braunschweig’s kiosk shop. She had been there to purchase sweets.
Madeleine McCann went missing aged three, from the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007, and German prosecutors are convinced that sexual predator Brueckner, 44, snatched her
‘The first time I saw him, he was on his mobile phone at the kiosk,’ she said. ‘He got off the phone and said, “Hello lady, how can I help you?” I was surprised as no one called me a lady before.
‘He asked me to have a look and choose what I wanted. Then, when I asked him how much I should pay, he said, “Nothing, a lady doesn’t have to pay in my kiosk.” ’
Despite her being less than half Brueckner’s age, they began dating and Ms Miftari even considered marriage.
After a year of their marriage, she discovered child pornography on her boyfriend’s mobile phone. Most of the videos featured blonde girls. Brueckner appeared in some videos.
Brueckner unleashed a vicious attack against her when she confronted it.
‘I asked him about the videos and pictures and that’s when he punched me,’ she said. ‘I fell down the stairs and was unconscious for about ten minutes.’
Ms Miftari, her mother, and the victim reported the incident to police. Police raided Ms Miftari’s flat and found 391 child porn images and 68 videos. One of the photos included images showing Brueckner inflicting abuse on the 5-year-old girl of one his ex-girlfriends.
Ignoring her mother’s pleas, Ms Miftari, a German Muslim of Kosovan origin, remained in contact with Brueckner even when he fled to Portugal as police began to close the net.
After a European warrant was issued in 2017, the man was returned to Germany and sentenced to a period of 15 months for abusing five year-old.
German police made a shocking announcement that he was the primary suspect in Madeleine, in June 2020. He was already serving that sentence.
Ocean Club, Praia da Luz, near Lagos, Portugal. Madeleine McCann disappeared from Ocean Club, Praia da Luz in May 2007. She was never found.
He has since been given a further seven-and-a-half-year prison term for the rape of an American pensioner in Praia da Luz in 2005.
Madeleine vanished from her family’s holiday apartment while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, were dining with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.
German police have established that Brueckner, who denies any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance and has refused to speak to police or prosecutors, was living in the Algarve.
His mobile phone signal shows that he was close to the Ocean Club resort in the late evening of May 3.
Ms. Miftari admitted that she had visited the Algarve together with Brueckner, but would not say whether this was before or after he left Braunschweig. She is currently trying to rebuild her own life.
However, she is still unable to accept that she has fallen in love with a monstrous.
She added: ‘I have no feelings any more for Christian.
‘I cannot believe he was doing all these things.
‘I have heard so much about him in the past year and I was always hoping it was not true, even today.’