'The witness was in fear of death because she feared that the accused would cut off her head with the knife.'
The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann allegedly raped one of his victims during an attack so brutal she feared he would behead her, a German court has heard.
Christian Brueckner, 47, is on trial in Braunschweig charged with five offences, including three of rape, said to have taken place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
The attacks all took place close to where Madeleine vanished in Praia da Luz in May 2007, it is claimed.
During one, Brueckner is said to have climbed over the balcony of Irish tour guide Hazel Behan’s Algarve apartment dressed in all black with only slits for his eyes and carrying and knife and whip.
The other two rape attacks, allegedly committed against an elderly woman in her 70s and a girl of 14, were also outlined.
Prosecutor Ute Lindemann told the court Brueckner ‘hit the [older] woman’s body and face with at least 20 lashes’ of the whip and made the teenager throw up.
She said he found Ms Behan asleep and knelt over her, calling her name to wake her up.
Ms Lindemann said: ‘He held the knife in such a way that the injured party could see it clearly when she woke up.
‘While she was panicking, he told her in a serious but calm tone not to scream.’
Later during the attack, Brueckner allegedly asked her: ‘You’re scared, aren’t you?’
The German is said to have dragged Ms Behan around the room during the assault, at one point forcing her to kneel in front of the sofa with her head lowered.
Ms Lindemann told the court: ‘At that moment, the witness Behan was in fear of death because she feared that the accused would cut off her head with the knife.’
Bruckner was said to have used two cameras to record his attack on the elderly woman.
Following the alleged rape, the prosecutor said: ‘He then went back to the victim’s bed with a whip and hit the woman’s body and face with at least 20 lashes in order to enjoy the pain and fear he wanted in the woman.’
Ms Lindemann said Brueckner was similarly excited when his teenaged victim pleaded with him: ‘This is kidnapping, this is rape.’
When she allegedly vomited during the assault, he is said to have sneered: ‘Now you’re messing up my entire carpet.’
The court heard Brueckner will not respond to any of the charges he faces.
His lawyer Friedrich Fülscher said: ‘The defendant is using his right to remain silent.’
He added that he expects his client to be acquitted, calling the evidence in the indictment ‘abysmal’.
‘Our client has been subject to media attention, he has been accused of kidnapping and killing Madeleine McCann by members of the media and prosecutors, without evidence,’ Mr Fülscher said.
‘We are not dealing with the worst criminal story of the post-war period but it will be hard for the court to put it out of their minds.’
There are no formal pleas in the German legal system, and defendants are not obliged to respond to the charges.
Brueckner has never been charged in connection with Madeleine’s disappearance and denies being involved.
He was formally identified as an official suspect in the McCann case in April 2022.
German police said in June 2020 that Madeleine was assumed dead.
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