Covert DNA Examination Verified Suspected Stalker Could Not Be Madeleine McCann, States Officer

An alleged stalker who asserted to be Madeleine McCann was excluded after a secret DNA test established beyond doubt she was not Madeleine McCann, investigators stated in court.

Harassment Campaign Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is alleged to have conducted a pattern of threatening behavior against the family of Madeleine, who went missing from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The Polish national overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and visited their home requesting a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Police Testimony

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the lead detective on the missing person’s case, explained he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had earlier asserted to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I did not want setting a precedent.

“If it got out in the media I had taken DNA from a person probably not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I truly possess major concerns about approaching the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been very traumatic and hard for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said authorities had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of no physical similarity and that she was older by two years than the missing girl. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on stalking charges, he “decided that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He declared: “A comparison took place. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

Jurors learned that in April this year, the detective visited Wandelt in custody and informed her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that throughout their discussion, Wandelt said: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he answered: “Yes.”

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have tampered with the sample”, stating: “It was possible she would refuse to acknowledge she is not Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Family Impact

Earlier in the trial, the court heard how the family were left scared and upset by their “disturbing” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to push for a DNA test.

The court learned how the defendants made progressively odd plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that they had eaten in.

Wandelt and Spragg both deny one count of stalking. The case remains active.