Maddie suspect’s piercing eyes bore into my skull during rape at knifepoint, emotional Irish woman tells court

Hazel also revealed the lawyer for Brueckner had emailed her and tried to win her over

Published: 20:28, 16 May 2024Updated: 20:28, 16 May 2024

THE Irish rape victim who believes her attacker was the Madeleine McCann prime suspect says she recognises him from his piercing blue eyes which “bore into my skull.”

Former tour guide Hazel Behan, 40, today told a German court she was tied up, whipped and raped three times by a masked sex fiend at her holiday apartment in Portugal in 2004.

Hazel told of her horrific ordeal in harrowing testimony at courtCredit: Dan Charity

Madeleine McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner was recognised by HazelCredit: Dan Charity

She says she still suffers today from injuries inflicted on her at the time.

Hazel said she was convinced that her rapist was Christian Brueckner, the man German investigators believe abducted and killed three-year-old English girl Madeleine, who vanished from a holiday apartment in Portugal in 2007.

In harrowing testimony, she told Braunschweig Regional Court of her horrific ordeal.

When asked how she was able to identify German Brueckner by his eyes alone, she said: “When you spend time in this situation and there is nothing else you can see on this human, it is the only thing which you can remember, they bored into my skull and I will never forget it.”

And she said that his bright blue eyes were completely illuminated against his black mask and skin-tight clothing.

She recalled: “They were just so blue…everything was so dark that he had one, so they just worked like lights, they were so bright, and I just know them.”

Following her evidence, presiding judge Ute Insa Engemann told the convicted paedophile and rapist, 47: “Mr Brueckner, come to the front so we can look at your eyes.”

During today’s hearing, Hazel remained composed but defiant when facing a fierce barrage of questioning from the defence.

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The Dubliner said her attacker had spoken English with a German accent.

She added that as a tour guide, she used to play a game of guessing people’s accent with her friends.

The judge asked her whether she could distinguish the accent of an Austrian speaking English from a German speaking English.

Defence lawyer Friedrich Fülscher later expanded on this, asking exactly how she would be able to distinguish a Swedish speaker of English from a German speaker of English, or a Dane, Swiss, Latvian an Russian.

‘STILL SUFFERING’

And some members of the public in the gallery gasped when she was asked to even provide details of how long she had continued to suffer bleeding after her assault.

She replied: “I am still suffering from this now,” and began to sob.

Hazel also revealed the lawyer for Brueckner had emailed her and tried to win her over.

She explained: “I found it very unusual. I wasn’t sure that this was normal procedure in Germany as I know that in Ireland this would not be allowed.”

In his letter, a lawyer wrote. “I think it is very important to inform you, that my clients denies being the one who did this to you.

“In fact it is the case that I also assume that he neither raped a 72-year-old American lady, nor you. I would like to show in your interest that the real perpetrator is still out there.”

Brueckner is on trial for a string of rapes and indecent exposures, uncovered during the Madeleine investigation.

He denies the allegations against him and the trial continues.