Rory McIlroy returns to the scene of his sole British Open triumph at Hoylake this week hoping fond memories can help him snap a nine-year major drought, even if...

Letters written by the prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case, in which he protests his innocence and tries to claim he had nothing to do with her disappearance, have been revealed for the first time. Christian Brueckner, who is in jail for rape, penned a series of letters from his prison cell, attempting to distance himself from the unsolved case of the then-three-year-old, who vanished while on a family holiday from Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007. “You can never imagine how it is when the whole world believes you are a child murderer, and you are not,” he wrote in the string of neatly written letters unveiled by MailOnline. One of Brueckner’s letters was sent days before police carried out a search last week at the remote Barragem do Arade reservoir, around 35 miles from where she disappeared. The search was a major new development in investigations and the first hunt in nine years. According to MailOnline, he goes on to say there is no evidence linking him to the case. “I got told a long time ago that the prosecuter’s office was closing the Maddie case because there is not even the smallest evidence. There will never be a trial,” he wrote. “The prosecutors are not saying anything to the public because they must give the files to my lawyers - and they contain many (sic) material which confirms my innocence.” In one of his letters, written from jail in Germany, he reportedly sketched a long, dark corridor of a prison wing and claimed police and prosecuters are “attempting to create a monster”. Brueckner then writes about the psychological toll of the case. “The torture I'm going through is the best evidence I can have,” he reportedly wrote. In his latest letter, he signed off saying: "I'm writing this without self-pity and my self-confidence and self-control was never at a higher level. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Chin up! Better days are coming." Brueckner, 45, is currently halfway through a prison sentence for raping a 72-year-old American woman in the Algarve in 2005, a few miles away from where Ms McCann was last seen alive in 2007, days before her fourth birthday. He is also facing prosecution for allegedly raping another three adult women in Portugal as well as for indecently exposing himself to two girls, aged 10 and 11. Read More Madeleine McCann – latest news: ‘Shrine’ found at Algarve reservoir launched police search British couple ‘found Madeleine McCann shrine’ at Portugal reservoir searched by police Christian Brueckner: Madeleine McCann suspect injured while in custody Madeleine McCann ‘shrine’ found at Algarve reservoir launched new search – latest What happened to Madeleine McCann? How much has the Madeleine McCann investigation cost?

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