Covert DNA Analysis Proved Alleged Stalker Was Not Madeleine McCann, States Officer
A suspected stalker who asserted to be the missing girl was eliminated after a confidential DNA test proved conclusively she was not the long-lost child, authorities disclosed in court.
Targeted Behavior Towards McCann Family
Julia Wandelt, 24, is accused of a stalking campaign against the parents of Madeleine, who disappeared from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.
The Polish citizen flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and turned up at their home requesting a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.
Investigation Details
Testifying on Tuesday, the lead detective on the missing person’s case, explained he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.
DCI Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals had previously claimed to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent.
“If it got out in the media I had taken DNA from someone quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.
“I sincerely hold 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.”
DNA Comparison
He said authorities had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to a lack of resemblance and that she was two years older than the missing girl. But, he said, after learning Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.
He stated: “Analysis occurred. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”
Court Proceedings
The court heard that in April this year, the detective met with Wandelt under arrest and informed her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”
Evidence showed that during their conversation, Wandelt said: “Do you really want to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he replied: “Yes.”
He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have tampered with the sample”, adding: “There existed a chance she would not believe she cannot be Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”
Emotional Distress
In prior court sessions, testimony revealed how the McCanns were left terrified and traumatized by their “unnerving” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to demand a DNA test.
Jurors heard how the pair made progressively odd plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that the family visited.
The accused women both deny one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.
