Covert DNA Test Confirmed Accused Stalker Was Not Madeleine McCann, Reports Officer
An alleged stalker who asserted to be Madeleine McCann was eliminated after a covert DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the missing girl, investigators stated in court.
Harassment Campaign Targeting McCann Family
Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, faces charges for a pattern of threatening behavior against the relatives of Madeleine, who went missing from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.
The Polish citizen flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and appeared at their home requesting a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.
Police Testimony
Testifying on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on Operation Grange, said he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had earlier asserted to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent.
“If it got out in the media I had taken DNA off an individual quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.
“I truly possess major concerns about reaching out to the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been very traumatic and difficult for the family.”
Forensic Analysis
He said investigators had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of no physical similarity and that she was not the same age than the missing girl. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on stalking charges, he “determined that the DNA would be taken during detention”.
He stated: “Analysis occurred. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”
Court Proceedings
Proceedings revealed that in April this year, the detective saw Wandelt while detained and stated to her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”
The court heard that while they spoke, Wandelt said: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he answered: “Yes.”
He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have tampered with the sample”, stating: “There existed a chance she would never accept she isn't Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”
Family Impact
Earlier in the trial, jurors learned how the relatives were left terrified and distressed by their “disturbing” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to push for a DNA test.
The court learned how both women made ever more strange plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the family visited.
Both defendants both refute one count of stalking. The case remains active.
