Madeleine McCann murder suspect Christian Brueckner was thrown out of his adopted home because of his disruptive and criminal behaviour, MailOnline can reveal as his parents are exclusively pictured for the first time.
Brigitte and Fritz Brueckner had taken baby Christian into their family as an act of charity for the tiny foundling who had been given up by his mother.
But the kind-hearted parents sent him to live in a reform home for delinquent teenagers after Herr Brueckner was seriously injured in a car crash and could no longer discipline the boy.
Widowed Frau Brueckner today told MailOnline she knew nothing about her estranged son's alleged crimes.
Standing inside the doorway of her modest home in Bergtheim, near Wuerzburg, she told MailOnline: 'I don't know anything about it. I don't want to know anything about it.'
She distanced herself from the 43-year-old prisoner as neighbours revealed the family's difficulty in controlling Christian.
They told of how Frau Brueckner could not cope with Christian's disruptive and increasingly criminal behaviour and simultaneously look after her disabled husband who suffered brain damage and was confined to a wheel chair following the smash in 1992.
As the re-energised investigation into Madeleine's disappearance 13 years ago gathered pace:
Scotland Yard revealed it has received 400 tip-offs after convicted sex fiend Brueckner was named as the key suspect;
German prosecutors linked Brueckner to the 1994 disappearance of six-year-old boy René from the Algarve and the 2015 vanishing of five-year-old girl Ingra Gehricke;
Brueckner became eligible for parole this weekend but is unlikely to be released from custody for his 15-month sentences for drug offences;
It was claimed Brueckner was not cooperating with German officers in the McCann investigation;
Lawyer Jan-Christian Hochmann confirmed he was representing Brueckner but said he had no comment on the case;
It was revealed Brueckner was flagged as a key Madeleine McCann kidnap and porn child murder suspect seven years ago.
Brigitte and Fritz Brueckner (left) had taken baby Christian (right, as an adult) into their family as an act of charity for the tiny foundling who had been given up by his mother
The former home of Christian Brueckner: Today neighbours of the couple in the village of Bergthei, where he grew up told of their shock that Brueckner has been linked to the murder of four-year-old Madeleine in 2007
The primary school in the village of Bertheim, southern Bavaria, where Christian Brueckner grew up (pictured today)
Brigitte (left) and Fritz Brueckner (right) had taken baby Christian into their family as an act of charity for the tiny foundling who had been given up by his mother
Today neighbours of the couple in the village of Bergthei, where he grew up also told of their shock that Brueckner has been linked to the murder of three-year-old Madeleine in 2007.
One neighbour told MailOnline: 'The Brueckners were a lovely couple, very kind. But what happened with their boy Christian is a catastrophe.
'They took him in as a baby and brought him up as their own. He was often in trouble and he got worse and worse as he grew into a teenager. Christian must have been 13 or 14 when Herr Bruecker, Fritz, had the car accident.
'As the man of the house it was Fritz who disciplined the boy. Christian needed a firm hand. But after the accident he could not do that any more.
'Brigitte, the mother did her best, but she could not cope with the boy and look after her husband. Christian had been in trouble and that is when he was sent to a reform school for delinquent teenagers in Wuerzburg.'
She added: 'Sadly Fritz, the husband is dead now. But his wife Brigitte did everything she could for him. She was awarded a medal.'
Another neighbour added: 'Brigitte is a lovely woman. I knew Christian but I have not seen him for years.
'If what I read is true it will destroy his mother. Brigitte and Fritz did everything they could for him when he was a boy.'
Christian Brueckner (pictured left) left Portugal after then three-year-old Madeline (pictured right) disappeared in 2007
Bergtheim is a small municipality in southern Bavaria, Germany, where Brueckner grew up before being sent to a reform school
The village of Bergtheim in Germany where Brueckner grew up. He later moved to Praia da Luz, where Madeleine McCann vanished in 2007
Brigitte and Fritz Brueckner had taken baby Christian into their family as an act of charity for the tiny foundling who had been given up by his mother.
But the kind-hearted parents sent him to live in a reform home for delinquent teenagers after Herr Brueckner was seriously injured in a car crash and could no longer discipline the boy.
Widowed Frau Brueckner today told MailOnline she knew nothing about her estranged son's alleged crimes.
Standing inside the doorway of her modest home in Bergtheim, near Wuerzburg, she told MailOnline: 'I don't know anything about it. I don't want to know anything about it.'
She distanced herself from the 43-year-old prisoner as neighbours revealed the family's difficulty in controlling Christian.
They told of how Frau Brueckner could not cope with Christian's disruptive and increasingly criminal behaviour and simultaneously look after her disabled husband who suffered brain damage and was confined to a wheel chair following the smash in 1992.
As the re-energised investigation into Madeleine's disappearance 13 years ago gathered pace:
Scotland Yard revealed it has received 400 tip-offs after convicted sex fiend Brueckner was named as the key suspect;
German prosecutors linked Brueckner to the 1994 disappearance of six-year-old boy René from the Algarve and the 2015 vanishing of five-year-old girl Ingra Gehricke;
Brueckner became eligible for parole this weekend but is unlikely to be released from custody for his 15-month sentences for drug offences;
It was claimed Brueckner was not cooperating with German officers in the McCann investigation;
Lawyer Jan-Christian Hochmann confirmed he was representing Brueckner but said he had no comment on the case;
It was revealed Brueckner was flagged as a key Madeleine McCann kidnap and porn child murder suspect seven years ago.
Brigitte and Fritz Brueckner (left) had taken baby Christian (right, as an adult) into their family as an act of charity for the tiny foundling who had been given up by his mother
The former home of Christian Brueckner: Today neighbours of the couple in the village of Bergthei, where he grew up told of their shock that Brueckner has been linked to the murder of four-year-old Madeleine in 2007
The primary school in the village of Bertheim, southern Bavaria, where Christian Brueckner grew up (pictured today)
Brigitte (left) and Fritz Brueckner (right) had taken baby Christian into their family as an act of charity for the tiny foundling who had been given up by his mother
Today neighbours of the couple in the village of Bergthei, where he grew up also told of their shock that Brueckner has been linked to the murder of three-year-old Madeleine in 2007.
One neighbour told MailOnline: 'The Brueckners were a lovely couple, very kind. But what happened with their boy Christian is a catastrophe.
'They took him in as a baby and brought him up as their own. He was often in trouble and he got worse and worse as he grew into a teenager. Christian must have been 13 or 14 when Herr Bruecker, Fritz, had the car accident.
'As the man of the house it was Fritz who disciplined the boy. Christian needed a firm hand. But after the accident he could not do that any more.
'Brigitte, the mother did her best, but she could not cope with the boy and look after her husband. Christian had been in trouble and that is when he was sent to a reform school for delinquent teenagers in Wuerzburg.'
She added: 'Sadly Fritz, the husband is dead now. But his wife Brigitte did everything she could for him. She was awarded a medal.'
Another neighbour added: 'Brigitte is a lovely woman. I knew Christian but I have not seen him for years.
'If what I read is true it will destroy his mother. Brigitte and Fritz did everything they could for him when he was a boy.'
Christian Brueckner (pictured left) left Portugal after then three-year-old Madeline (pictured right) disappeared in 2007
Bergtheim is a small municipality in southern Bavaria, Germany, where Brueckner grew up before being sent to a reform school
The village of Bergtheim in Germany where Brueckner grew up. He later moved to Praia da Luz, where Madeleine McCann vanished in 2007
