Also suspicious in the Maddie case - Abuse trial against Christian B. continues
The trial against Christian B., who is also a suspect in the Maddie case, continued with the testimony of an expert. The discussion focused on whether recognition of a perpetrator is possible solely based on eye color. The expert stated in this context that blue eyes can be recognized even in the dark.
Background is the case of an Irish woman who was raped in Portugal in 2004. She testified as a witness about "striking blue eyes." "His eyes, I believe, this man is the attacker," she told the court. The defense argued that recognition based on eye color alone is impossible.
Before the district court, the 47-year-old must answer for five serious sexual offenses that he is alleged to have committed in Portugal. It concerns three rapes and two cases of sexual abuse of children between 2000 and 2017. Unlike at the previous trial date at the end of June, Christian B. did not appear in the courtroom with a wheelchair, leg irons, and a belly belt. Defense attorney Philipp Marquart had previously stated that his client had complained of foot pain beforehand and had been treated.
The chamber lifted the arrest warrant against the defendant on Wednesday because there was no longer a pressing suspicion of a crime. However, the man remains in custody due to a previous conviction.
The proceedings have attracted great interest above all because the accused is also a suspect in the Maddie case. However, the Maddie case is not the subject of this trial. The investigations into the disappearance of the three-year-old British girl from a Portuguese holiday resort in Praia da Luz in May 2007 continue.
- Christian B., who is a suspect in both the Maddie case and a rape case in Portugal, hails from Lower Saxony, Germany.
- During the abuse trial, the defense argued that recognition based solely on eye color, as mentioned by a witness with 'striking blue eyes', is implausible.
- The expert in the trial, disputing the defense's claim, suggested that even in the dark, blue eyes like those of the Portuguese suspect could be identified.
- The trial in question concerns five serious sexual offenses, including three rapes and two cases of child abuse, allegedly committed by Christian B. in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
- Despite the court lifting the arrest warrant due to lack of pressing suspicion, Christian B. remains in custody due to a prior conviction, drawing attention in Great Britain and elsewhere due to his involvement in the Maddie case.
