The owner of a remote villa where the Madeleine McCann murder suspect lived after she disappeared has urged police to search her extensive grounds.
Lia Silva said she would fully cooperate with British and Portuguese police if they suspected the toddler’s body could be buried somewhere on her land.
Christian Brueckner stayed at the house in 2007 when it was used as a shelter for troubled children and rented by a German woman called Nicole and partner Roman.
The tall, blue eyed German with piercing blue eyes was seen many times in the area and at the property in the weeks after the three-year-old disappeared.
Lia Silva, the owner of a remote villa where the Madeleine McCann murder suspect Christian Brueckner stayed, has urged police to search her grounds
The murder suspect was often seen by local residents at the property following the death of Madeleine McCann
The owner of the grounds said that she would fully cooperate with British and Portuguese police if they suspected the toddler’s body could be buried somewhere on her land
Its current owner confirmed that she saw Brueckner at the villa on a number of occasions.
In an exclusive interview with MailOnline Silva urged police to search her 5,000 sq m property if they believed the missing child could be buried in the grounds.
She said: ‘I just want the parents to get some resolution. If the police want to dig up my grounds they are welcome.
‘I am fully expecting them to come here now that they know Brueckner was here. Personally I don’t think she can be here.
‘The soil is very hard and you’d need a digger or something like that. But if the police want to they can. I will do all I can to help I feel feel so sorry for them and they must be in hell not knowing.’
McCann suspect Christian Brueckner carried a handgun when he was living in the village of Foral, according the residents.
They described the German as ‘intimidating’ and led to many of the locals avoiding dining at the only restaurant in the village where he would often strut around.
The paedophile worked as a part time waiter at the O Foral restaurant after moving to the village and living in his camper van.
Lia Silva said:’ I have been told that when he was here he has a gun that he would always be in a holster around his waist.
Brueckner, 43, the new key suspect in the case of the disappearance of Madeleine McCan, carried a handgun when he was living in the remote village, according to residents
In 2007 Brueckner stayed at the house when it was used as a shelter for troubled children
Ms Silva has asked police to search her 5,000 sq m property if they believed the missing child could be buried in the grounds
The secluded property in Portugal has a dirt track leading up to it and its garden is overgrown
‘Lots of people were very put off by that and found it very intimidating,
‘People would talk about it as it was unusual. Back in 2007 you did not need a licence to carry a gun.’
Silva said she had never seen Brueckner with the firearm and believes it was for effect to bolster his image.
‘He like to intimidate people from what I have been told. All the locals would talk about him with the gun as it was so unusual.’
Silva, who is Portuguese but bizarrely speaks with an Australian accent, said she had never met Brueckner when he stayed at her home.
She discovered the German woman who rented the villa was good friends with Brueckner and he often stayed over.
She said: ‘I didn’t know his name at the time but he was a very good friend of Nicole. He was an ugly man who always wore a black leather jacket.
‘He came here to help her. One of the girls that had been sent from Germany to stay with her ran away to stay with some Romanians a few miles away.
The owner of the remote villa said the soil around the property was very hard and would require a digger
The property is surrounded by fields and the nearest neighbour is more than 200m away
The villa’s current owner confirmed that she would see the murder suspect at the residence on a number of occasions
The isolated villa in surrounded by fencing which has three layers of barbed wire and overgrown plantation
‘He found her and brought her back but she was pregnant. I know he would often stay over at the villa as he was good friends with Nicole and her boyfriend Roman.
‘I was in dispute with Nicole over non payment of rent and so did not go the the property but my friends would tell me he was there.
‘He drove a VW camper van. I was staying with my parents while the villa was rented out. Nicole left owing me thousands.’
Silva now shares the property called Villa Bianca with eight rescue dogs who repeatedly run and jump up at wrought iron gates when people walk past.
At the nearby O Foral restaurant staff said they had not seen any police Involved in the McCann inquiry In the area.
The restaurants former owner spoke German and employed Brueckner on a part time basis as a waiter.
He has since moved away from the area but a neighbour said: ‘ Those who spoke German would stick together.’
Silva’s home is off a dirt track and in as secluded position as the homes Brueckner lived in near the Ptaiz da Luz resort.
The single storey property is in a secluded position with its entrance of a dirt track and fencing topped with three layers of barbed wire.
The garden is overgrown with one car missing its front wheels and resting on bricks. It is surrounded by fields with the nearest neighbour more than 200m away.
Brueckner would park his VW in the car park of the O Foral restaurant where he worked part time as a waiter.
The restaurant changed hands six years ago with the current husband and wife owners unaware of Brueckner.
Residents in Foral, about 40 miles from the resort of Praia da Luz where McCann went missing, were shocked to find their tiny village linked to the paedophile.
A resident, who asked not to be named, said: ‘It is awful to think he lived here. This all happened before I moved here but everyone who lived in Portugal knows the McCann story.’