Secret DNA Examination Verified Accused Stalker Was Not Madeleine McCann, Says Detective
An accused stalker who insisted 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.
Targeted Behavior Targeting McCann Family
Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, faces charges for a pattern of threatening behavior against the family of Madeleine, who went missing from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.
The Polish citizen overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and visited their home requesting a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.
Investigation Details
Providing testimony on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on Madeleine's disappearance, stated he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said 13 people had in the past insisted to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.
“If it got out in the media I had taken DNA from someone quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.
“I sincerely hold major concerns about approaching the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been highly distressing and challenging for the family.”
Forensic Analysis
He said investigators had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of dissimilar appearance and that she was two years older than Madeleine. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.
He stated: “A comparison took place. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”
Court Proceedings
Proceedings revealed that in April this year, Cranwell visited Wandelt under arrest and stated to her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”
The court heard that while they spoke, Wandelt inquired: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he answered: “Yes.”
He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have interfered with the sample”, remarking: “It was possible she would not believe she isn't Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”
Psychological Toll
During previous hearings, the court heard how the relatives were left scared and distressed by their “unnerving” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to demand a DNA test.
The jury were told how the defendants made progressively odd plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that they had eaten in.
The accused women both refute one count of stalking. The case remains active.
