Confidential DNA Test Proved Alleged Stalker Was Not Madeleine McCann, Says Detective
An alleged stalker who claimed to be the abducted child was eliminated after a confidential DNA test proved conclusively she was not the long-lost child, investigators stated in court.
Harassment Campaign Against McCann Family
Julia Wandelt, aged 24, faces charges for a stalking campaign against the family of Madeleine, who went missing from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.
The Polish citizen flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and appeared at their home requesting a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.
Investigation Details
Testifying on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on Operation Grange, said 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 thirteen individuals had previously claimed to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.
“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA from someone quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.
“I sincerely hold major concerns about contacting the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been highly distressing and difficult for the family.”
DNA Comparison
He said investigators had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to dissimilar appearance and that she was not the same age than the child. But, he said, after learning Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on stalking charges, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.
He declared: “Analysis occurred. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”
Legal Testimony
The court heard that in April this year, Cranwell saw Wandelt under arrest and informed her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”
Evidence showed that while they spoke, Wandelt said: “Do you really want to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he answered: “Yes.”
He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have tampered with the sample”, remarking: “There existed a chance she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”
Family Impact
Earlier in the trial, the court heard how the family were left frightened and traumatized by their “disturbing” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to insist on a DNA test.
Jurors heard how the defendants made ever more strange plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that the family visited.
Wandelt and Spragg both refute one count of stalking. The trial continues.
