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File photo - De Haan, Belgium Shutterstock/eugen_z

Belgium reopens cold case over possible link to Madeleine McCann suspect

Carola Titze (16) was found dead in July 1996 in the resort town of De Haan on the Belgian coast.

BELGIUM IS REOPENING an investigation into the 1996 murder of a German teenager because of a possible link with the man suspected of murdering British girl Madeleine McCann.

Carola Titze (16) was found dead with her body mutilated in July 1996 in the resort town of De Haan on the Belgian coast. 

The public prosecutor’s office in Bruges “is indeed reopening the file relating to this murder”, a spokesman told AFP, without giving further details.

At the time, Titze was on holiday with her parents and the investigation turned to a German suspect in his early 20s.

The man had bragged to her about his criminal past, according to the Belgian media, but he was never found.

Following the identification of the German suspect in the Madeline McCann case, Paul Gevaert, the now retired investigator in charge of the Titze case, said there was “certainly a connection to be made”. 

The suspect, named as Christian B by German media, has a history of previous sex offences, including child abuse and rape.

“The description (of Christian B, now 43) fits,” Gevaert told Belgian newspaper De Standaard.

His investigation was closed unsolved in 2016. 

McCann went missing from her family’s holiday apartment in Portugal on 3 May 2007, a few days before her fourth birthday, as her parents dined with friends at a nearby tapas bar. 

Her disappearance sparked one of the biggest searches of its kind in recent years.

German police last week raised hopes that the case could finally be solved when they revealed they were investigating the new suspect.

Currently held at Kiel prison in the north of Germany, the suspect is serving a jail term for drug trafficking.

The man has refused to speak about the Madeline McCann case, one of his lawyers told German television yesterday.

- © AFP 2020

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    Mute John D Doe
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    Jul 8th 2024, 9:53 AM

    Poor fella having to deal with those lot

    123
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    Mute james rowan
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    Jul 8th 2024, 10:00 AM

    @John D Doe: poor us having to read your chit,,,

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    Mute The Firestarter
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    Jul 8th 2024, 11:11 AM

    @John D Doe: Ha ha John, that did make me smile, as you’re not wrong there.

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    Mute barry lyons
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    Jul 8th 2024, 1:35 PM

    Considering the amount of broken promises by the British .. seeing will be believing .

    The people of Ireland deserve better than skullduggery and propaganda. FG have never been interested in this .
    Remember we had varadkar and flannigan organising a Black and Tan commemoration

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    Mute Brendan O'Brien
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    Jul 8th 2024, 1:45 PM

    @barry lyons: What broken promises are you referring to? Anything in living memory?

    We had Varadkar and Flanagan overlooking the fact that the Black and Tans were technically members of the RIC, along with many decent Irish policemen who found themselves accidentally on ‘the wrong side of history’, and deserved to be commemorated alongside those who attacked them.

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    Mute Sean O'Dhubhghaill
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    Jul 8th 2024, 1:51 PM

    @barry lyons: It was an RIC commemoration.

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    Mute barry lyons
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    Jul 8th 2024, 2:28 PM

    @Sean O’Dhubhghaill which they wanted to commemorate the Black and Tans at . Let us not be revisionist about this :

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    Mute barry lyons
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    Jul 8th 2024, 2:29 PM

    @Brendan O’Brien: Brendan , get yourself a secretary.

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    Mute Liam23
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    Jul 8th 2024, 3:28 PM

    @barry lyons: Michelle O Neill and the Bomber Kelly attend the PSNI passing out ceremony. The PSNI used to be the RUC

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    Mute Jack B Quick
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    Jul 8th 2024, 11:19 PM

    @barry lyons: what broken promises? The gFA remains intact.

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    Mute Stevie Doran
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    Jul 8th 2024, 1:35 PM

    Will there be a referendum in the south to say no?

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    Mute Sean O'Dhubhghaill
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    Jul 8th 2024, 1:41 PM

    @Stevie Doran: Yes.

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    Mute Robert Halvey
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    Jul 8th 2024, 1:39 PM

    Do people not understand the good Friday agreement was voted for by 70 % of voters in the North and 97% of voters in the south, I can’t remember anything democratic resounding in my lifetime,

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    Mute Harry Callahan
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    Jul 8th 2024, 3:09 PM

    FFS, people are concerned about affordable housing, immigration and a myriad of everyday problems and the first thing she starts banging on about is border polls and unity. The SNP allowed their obsession with independence take precedence over actually governing, didn’t turn out too well for them?

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    Mute Mark Anthony Savage
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    Jul 8th 2024, 5:50 PM

    Border poll should be this year, just to get back at the BBC for that episode of Star Trek TNG I wasn’t allowed to watch as a kid.

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    Mute BarryH
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    Jul 8th 2024, 2:48 PM

    Am I missing something? I don’t see the Brits contributing to rebuilding any Irish sports stadiums or funding motorways to Donegal or Cavan. If it does happen and I hope that it does, what % are the Brits going to pay. A recent report said it would cost us 20billion for 20 years, total 400bn, does that include the EU’s contribution and will some of those monies be diverted to Ukraine.
    If you listen to UK politicians, after the Brexit and Stormont debacles, it will take many billions of investment to get N.I. running efficiently and effectively again and with the problems they are having, i don’t want to be paying for a brand new 5 bed house and getting a derelict 2 bed and still have to pay renovation costs.

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    Mute Phillip Smyth
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    Jul 8th 2024, 2:29 PM

    Bring on the green Gently Benn.

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