Covert DNA Test Verified Alleged Stalker Could Not Be Madeleine McCann, States Officer

An alleged stalker who claimed to be the abducted child was excluded after a confidential DNA test definitively confirmed she was not Madeleine McCann, investigators stated in court.

Stalking Allegations Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, is alleged to have conducted a campaign of harassment against the parents of Madeleine, who vanished from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The Polish citizen bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and appeared at their home requesting a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Investigation Details

Testifying on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on the missing person’s case, stated he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals had earlier asserted to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I did not want setting a precedent.

“If it was revealed in the media I had taken DNA off an individual quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I truly possess major concerns about reaching out to the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and difficult for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said authorities had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of dissimilar appearance and that she was not the same age than the missing girl. But, he said, after learning Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He said: “A comparison took place. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

The court heard that in April this year, the officer visited Wandelt while detained and stated to her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

The court heard that while they spoke, Wandelt asked: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he answered: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have manipulated the sample”, remarking: “There existed a chance she would never accept she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

In prior court sessions, jurors learned how the family were left frightened and distressed by their “unnerving” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to push for a DNA test.

The court learned how the defendants made “increasingly bizarre plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that the family visited.

The accused women both deny one count of stalking. The case remains active.