Covert DNA Test Verified Suspected Stalker Could Not Be Madeleine McCann, Says Officer

An alleged stalker who insisted to be the abducted child was ruled out after a secret DNA test proved conclusively she was not the missing girl, investigators stated in court.

Harassment Campaign Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, is accused of a campaign of harassment against the parents of Madeleine, who vanished from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The woman from Poland overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and appeared at their home insisting on a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Official Statements

Testifying on Tuesday, the lead detective on Operation Grange, stated he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had in the past insisted to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.

“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA from a person probably not to be Madeleine, I was anxious 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 built up their expectations. It could have been highly distressing and challenging for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said investigators had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of dissimilar appearance and that she was not the same age than the child. But, he said, after learning Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on stalking charges, he “determined that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

He declared: “Analysis occurred. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”

Legal Testimony

The court heard that in April this year, the officer visited Wandelt under arrest and told her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

The court heard that throughout their discussion, Wandelt said: “Do you really want to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have tampered with the sample”, adding: “There was a possibility she would not believe she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

In prior court sessions, the court heard how the relatives were left frightened and traumatized by their “unnerving” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to demand a DNA test.

The court learned how both women made progressively odd plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

Wandelt and Spragg both deny one count of stalking. The trial continues.