Madeleine McCann’s parents left in dark over cops’ claims they will charge suspect over her kidnap & murder, family says
MADELEINE McCann's family say they have been left in the dark over cops' claims they will charge a suspect over her kidnap and murder.
Maddie's parents Kate and Gerry are said to have heard nothing from German cops, who claim they will soon charge chief suspect Christian B for the crimes against their daughter.
The detectives' certainty came last month after the convicted paedophile and rapist was charged with five unrelated sex attacks, two on children.
But Maddie’s great uncle Brian Kennedy - Kate’s maternal uncle - said the couple had not been kept in the loop.
Brian told The Sun: “The family has heard no more about Christian B and have not have heard anything about plans to charge him with Madeleine's abduction in addition to the other charges he is facing.”
The retired head teacher, 83, added: “It seems he is certainly being prosecuted for several other things but has never admitted involvement with Madeleine, so we wait to see.”
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He reiterated that Kate and Gerry refused to give up hope saying: “There is no way the family will ever give up whatever the outcome may be. We have not lost hope after all these years."
The Sun revealed last month that detectives hoped to charge the caged paedophile with three-year-old Maddie's abduction and "no body" murder by the end of the year.
Their pledge came as Christian B, aged 45, was charged with a sex offence on a girl just days before the British youngster vanished from a holiday apartment in Portugal in May 2007.
He was charged with four more attacks on another child and three women.
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Renowned heart doctor Gerry and ex-GP turned hospital medical worker Kate, both 54, are regularly kept updated by British police running the Maddie inquiry Operation Grange.
But because the key suspect is German, and remains in a native jail for a previous rape of a pensioner holidaymaker, his country’s force has taken over the investigation, with the help of Scotland Yard.
The couple from Rothley, Leicestershire, have previously opened up about their desperate need for “closure" in a heartfelt 15th anniversary posting.
They said in May: "Regardless of outcome, Madeleine will always be our daughter and a truly horrific crime has been committed."
'GRATEFUL'
Kate and Gerry praised three nations' police forces for their continued work in trying to crack the painstaking case.
They stated: "We are grateful for the ongoing work and commitment of the UK, Portuguese and German authorities as it is this combined police effort which will yield results and bring us those answers."
Maddie was just nine days short of celebrating her fourth birthday when she disappeared from the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz.
She had been left sleeping alone with her younger twin siblings while her parents were dining in a nearby tapas restaurant with their seven pals.
Sex fiend Christian B has repeatedly protested his innocence, vehemently denying any involvement in Maddie’s abduction.
He was made an official “arguido’ by Portuguese Police after lead German authorities sensationally named his as a prime suspect in June 2020.
His lawyer Friedrich Fulscher said the new charges had come as a “complete surprise" claiming the allegations were based on “dubious witnesses and on video evidence that no one has been able to find".
'DESERVE JUSTICE'
One of his alleged victims Hazel Behan, who has waived her anonymity to speak out, said last month that the McCanns “deserved justice”.
The former holiday rep, 39, from Dublin said: "As a mother myself I cannot begin to imagine the heartache and torture they have had to endure.
"Madeleine deserves justice too, she deserves for her truth to be told.”
She told The Sunday Times: "Kate and Gerry have never given up hope. I hope they too will finally get the answers and justice they rightly deserve.”
The Sun Online recently told how the McCanns’ had been offered a new lifeline in the hunt for their daughter with the Met Police being handed six months’ more funding to continue searching.
It was feared the inquiry into Maddie’s disappearance was set to be shelved.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "Ministers previously approved a request for £302,470 of funding for this financial year (2022/23) in line with our Special Grant processes.”
Whilst the sum asked for by Scotland Yard has been given the green light by the Home Office, guaranteeing money for Op Grange to continue until at least the start of April 2023 - it is down by nearly £50,000 from the previous financial year (£349,328).
'DISAPPOINTED'
The couple, who have 17-year-old twins A-Level students Sean and Amelie, recently suffered a setback after losing a libel battle against former Portuguese police chief.
Retired cop Goncalo Amaral, who had led the initial investigation into their daughter's disappearance, accused them of covering Maddie’s accidental deathand disposing of her body.
The McCanns have been left “disappointed” by a ruling the European Court of Humans Rights in September.
They had attempted to sue him for libel for suggesting they were involved in the faked kidnap - claims he published in a 2008 book and then repeated in media interviews.
They won the initial case but Amaral appealed, and in 2016 Portuguese judges reversed the decision prompting the McCanns to appeal to the ECHR in Strasbourg.
But European judges rejected the appeal, giving the couple three months to decide whether to appeal again.
The McCanns have not yet stated their intention.
In a statement Kate and Gerry said: "We are naturally disappointed with the decision of the European Court of Humans Rights announced today.
"However, much has changed since we started legal proceedings 13 years ago against Mr Amaral, his publisher and broadcaster.
“We took action for one and only one reason: Mr Amaral’s unfounded claims were having a detrimental impact on the search for Madeleine.
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"If the public believed that we were involved in her disappearance, then people would not be alert for possible clues and may not report relevant information to the relevant law enforcement agencies. The focus is now rightly on the search for Madeleine and her abductor(s).
"We are grateful for the ongoing work by the British, German and Portuguese police. We hope that with, the help of the public, hard work and diligence we can eventually find those responsible for Madeleine’s disappearance and bring them to justice."