Covert DNA Analysis Verified Accused Stalker Could Not Be Madeleine McCann, Reports Detective

An accused stalker who asserted to be the abducted child was eliminated after a secret DNA test definitively confirmed she was not Madeleine McCann, investigators stated in court.

Stalking Allegations Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is accused of a stalking campaign against the parents of Madeleine, who vanished from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish citizen bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and appeared at their home requesting a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Investigation Details

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on the missing person’s case, explained he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had previously claimed to be the abducted child 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 most likely not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about contacting the family to say I intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been highly distressing and difficult for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said authorities had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of a lack of resemblance and that she was older by two years than the child. But, he said, after learning Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

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

Court Proceedings

Jurors learned that in April this year, the officer met with Wandelt in custody and told her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

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

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have interfered with the sample”, stating: “There existed a chance she would refuse to acknowledge she cannot be Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Family Impact

Earlier in the trial, jurors learned how the McCanns were left scared and traumatized by their “disturbing” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to insist on a DNA test.

Jurors heard how both women made ever more strange plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

The accused women both refute one count of stalking. The trial continues.