Madeleine McCann latest – Convicted rapist Christian B declared formal suspect in Maddie’s disappearance 15 years on

PORTUGESE detectives last night confirmed convicted child rapist Christian B as an official suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

The Portuguese prosecutor’s office confirmed “a defendant was appointed this Wednesday”.

Christian B, 43, was told he is now an ‘arguido’ in Portugal in his German prison cell yesterday morning according to an insider.

An “arguido” – normally translated as “named suspect” or “formal suspect” – is someone who is treated by Portuguese police as more than a witness but has not been arrested or charged.

A Portuguese source added: “The legal grounds for making [Christian B] an arguido include the fact that he allegedly confessed to a friend he had snatched Madeleine and mobile phone records placed him in Praia da Luz the night she vanished.”

It has been revealed that the convicted child rapist travelled between Praia da Luz and Germany in a camper van for several years before Madeleine vanished.

It is now understood that investigators are focusing their forensic work on the vehicle.

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