Confidential DNA Examination Proved Suspected Stalker Is Not Madeleine McCann, States Investigator
An accused stalker who asserted to be the missing girl was ruled out after a secret DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the missing girl, police have revealed in court.
Harassment Campaign Against McCann Family
Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is alleged to have conducted a pattern of threatening behavior against the parents of Madeleine, who disappeared from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.
The Polish national overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and turned up at their home demanding a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.
Investigation Details
Giving evidence 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 behavior towards the McCann family”.
DCI Mark Cramwell said 13 people had in the past insisted to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent.
“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA from someone quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.
“I genuinely have 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 quite emotionally damaging and challenging for the family.”
Forensic Analysis
He said investigators had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to dissimilar appearance and that she was not the same age than Madeleine. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.
He stated: “Analysis occurred. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”
Legal Testimony
Jurors learned that in April this year, Cranwell saw Wandelt in custody and stated to her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”
Evidence showed that throughout their discussion, Wandelt asked: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he replied: “Yes.”
He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have interfered with the sample”, adding: “It was possible she would never accept she cannot be Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”
Emotional Distress
Earlier in the trial, testimony revealed how the relatives were left frightened and distressed by their “disturbing” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to insist on a DNA test.
The jury were told how the defendants made “increasingly bizarre plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.
Wandelt and Spragg both contest one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.
