Latest / Crime Stories with Nancy Grace / Main Suspect in Madeline McCann Disappearance Released From Prison | Crime Alert 6AM 09.24.25

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Main Suspect in Madeline McCann Disappearance Released From Prison | Crime Alert 6AM 09.24.25 · Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

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  Speaker 1: Crime alert, i'm as grace breaking crime news. Now the
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  Speaker 1: primary suspect and three year old Matty McCann's disappearance has
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  Speaker 1: been released. Yes, Christian Bruckner, serving a seven year sentence
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  Speaker 1: for an unrelated rape, now walks free. Reportedly, a former
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  Speaker 1: German federal police employee paid an outstanding fine for Bruckner,
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  Speaker 1: but tried to get the money back after realizing it
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  Speaker 1: would lead to his release. Straight out to Drew Nelson.
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  Speaker 2: For more Nancy. Forty nine year old Christian Bruckner has
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  Speaker 2: spent the last week of freeman after his release from
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  Speaker 2: a seven year sentence for the rape of a seventy
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  Speaker 2: two year old woman and prior to lose Portugal in
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  Speaker 2: two thousand and five. German police confirmed he left the
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  Speaker 2: high security facility in Zanda around nine to fifteen am
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  Speaker 2: local time last Wednesday. He must wear an electronic tag,
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  Speaker 2: give up his passport, and report to probation staff. His
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  Speaker 2: lawyers are expected to appeal the restrictions. Prosecutors say he
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  Speaker 2: is still dangerous and could re offend. A psychiatric report
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  Speaker 2: found he refused treatment in custody and remains a risk.
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  Speaker 2: He also faces an October court date in Oldenburg where
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  Speaker 2: he is accused in a verbal altercation with a prison employee.
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  Speaker 2: Police in Britain, Germany and Portugal all confirmed Bruckner remains
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  Speaker 2: a suspect in Madeleine McCann's case. He has denied involvement.
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  Speaker 2: Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell of the Metropolitan Police say
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  Speaker 2: they will quote continue to pursue any viable lines of inquiry.
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  Speaker 2: In June, German and Portuguese police carried out a major
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  Speaker 2: search in the Algarba. Investigators dug near derelict farm buildings
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  Speaker 2: and pumped out wells, hoping to find traces of Madeline
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  Speaker 2: or her clothing. Sein and Portugal reported the search focused
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  Speaker 2: on a route between Bruckner's former house and the cliffs
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  Speaker 2: of Prior to Leuse. The theory was that he may
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  Speaker 2: have used the path to dispose of her body. Nothing
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  Speaker 2: conclusive was found. Madeleine McCann vanished on May third of two,
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  Speaker 2: one thousand and seven, during a family holiday in Pria
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  Speaker 2: to Lose. She was three years old. Her parents, Kate
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  Speaker 2: and Jerry McCann, had left her and her twin siblings
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  Speaker 2: asleep in their apartment while they dined at a nearby restaurant.
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  Speaker 2: When Kate returned at ten pm, she found her daughter gone.
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  Speaker 2: Witnesses recalled her screaming quote, Madeleine's gone, Someone's taken her.
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  Speaker 2: Hundreds joined the search that night. Police initially believed Madeleine
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  Speaker 2: was alive and abducted. Later, suspicion briefly turned on her parents,
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  Speaker 2: who were both named as formal suspects, but were cleared
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  Speaker 2: in two thousand and eight. Scotland Yard launched its own
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  Speaker 2: inquiry in twenty eleven, known as Operation Grange. Over the years,
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  Speaker 2: detectives reviewed tens of thousands of documents, collected over a
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  Speaker 2: thousand exhibits, and chased more than eight thousand possible sightings,
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  Speaker 2: but no breakthroughs. The case reignited in June of twenty twenty,
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  Speaker 2: when German prosecutors identified Bruckner as their prime suspect. Phone
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  Speaker 2: records placed him in pria to lose the night Madeline vanished.
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  Speaker 2: A former acquaintance told police Bruckner once remarked she quote
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  Speaker 2: didn't scream. Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters later told the BBC quote,
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  Speaker 2: if you knew the evidence we had, you would come
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  Speaker 2: to the same conclusion as I do. He says. Investigators
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  Speaker 2: believe Madeline is dead, though nobody has been found. In
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  Speaker 2: a June prison interview with RTL, Bruckner refused to comment
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  Speaker 2: on Madeleine's case. He told the reporter he was looking
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  Speaker 2: forward to quote a decent stake and a beer. After
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  Speaker 2: his release. Madeline would be twenty two years old today.
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  Speaker 2: Her parents mark each anniversary with a message of hope,
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  Speaker 2: writing on their website quote we love her dearly and
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  Speaker 2: miss her beyond words. The investigation into what happened into
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  Speaker 2: their daughter remains open.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks Drew more Crime and Justice news after this.
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  Speaker 2: Ryan Ruth has found guilty of trying to assassinate President
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  Speaker 2: Donald Trump and then immediately tries to stab himself in
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  Speaker 2: the neck with a pen. After the verdict, a jury
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  Speaker 2: in Fort Pierce, Florida, convicted Ruth, aged fifty nine, found
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  Speaker 2: guilty of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, assaulting
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  Speaker 2: a federal officer, and three firearms charges. He now faces
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  Speaker 2: a possible life sentence when Judge Aleen Cannon rules on
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  Speaker 2: December eighteenth. Jurors reach their verdict in less than three hours.
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  Speaker 2: Moments after the decision was read, Ruth lunged at his
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  Speaker 2: own neck with a pen. His daughter cried out, quote,
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  Speaker 2: oh my god, he's trying to kill himself. He's trying
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  Speaker 2: to kill himself. Someone stop him, please. US marshals rushed
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  Speaker 2: to restrain him and dragged him from the room. He
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  Speaker 2: returned minutes later in shackles. There was no apparent blood.
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  Speaker 2: Ruth had chosen to act as his own lawyer during
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  Speaker 2: the two week trial. His closing argument ran for nearly
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  Speaker 2: an hour, during which he claimed there was no crime
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  Speaker 2: because quote the trigger was never pulled, the gun was
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  Speaker 2: never fired, and that no one was hurt, so no crime.
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  Speaker 2: At another point, he insisted, although quote I wanted to kill,
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  Speaker 2: my actions within the community and toward my coworkers and
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  Speaker 2: families should show my obvious non violence and gentleness. He
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  Speaker 2: argued the attempt was quote never in his heart. But
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  Speaker 2: prosecutors said Ruth spent weeks building a sniper's nest near
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  Speaker 2: the sixth Green of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm.
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  Speaker 2: A Secret Service agent testified that he saw Ruth aiming
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  Speaker 2: his rifle before mister Trump came into view. Prosecutor Christopher
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  Speaker 2: Brown said, hit a loaded round in the chamber and
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  Speaker 2: the safety off. We don't have to prove motive, but
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  Speaker 2: you already have it. You only have to decide intent.
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  Speaker 2: Evidence included call logs, texts, bank records, and video surveillance.
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  Speaker 2: FBI agent Kimberly McGreevy testified that Ruth's phones showed searches
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  Speaker 2: for quote Trump's upcoming rallies end quote, Palm Beach traffic cameras.
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  Speaker 2: He also looked up quote directions to Miami Airport end
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  Speaker 2: quote flights to Mexico. On September fifteenth of last year,
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  Speaker 2: just before his arrest, he sent farewell messages to his children,
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  Speaker 2: writing to his daughter quote love you so much. You
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  Speaker 2: are the best daughter, and to his son quote quote
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  Speaker 2: you are so awesome, dude, Love you so much. Attorney
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  Speaker 2: General Pam Bondi said the conviction quote illustrates the Department
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  Speaker 2: of Justice's commitment to punishing those who engage in political violence.
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  Speaker 2: Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the case sent a
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  Speaker 2: clear message that quote, an attempt to assassinate a presidential
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  Speaker 2: candidate is in attack on our republic and on the
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  Speaker 2: rights of every citizen. President Trump posted untruth social quote
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  Speaker 2: congratulations to Attorney General Pambondi. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche
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  Speaker 2: and the entire DOJ team on the conviction in Florida
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  Speaker 2: of the person who attempted an assassination on my life.
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  Speaker 2: This was an evil man with an evil intention, and
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  Speaker 2: they caught him.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks Drew for the latest crime and justice to use.
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  Speaker 1: Go to crimeonline dot com and please join us for
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  Speaker 1: our daily podcast, Crime Stories, where we do our best
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  Speaker 1: to find missing people, especially children, and help solve unsolved homicides.
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  Speaker 1: With this crime Alart, I'm Nancy Grace.