Secret DNA Test Proved Accused Stalker Could Not Be Madeleine McCann, Reports Investigator
A suspected stalker who insisted to be the abducted child was ruled out after a secret DNA test proved conclusively she was not the missing girl, police have revealed in court.
Stalking Allegations Targeting McCann Family
Julia Wandelt, 24, is accused of a pattern of threatening behavior against the family of Madeleine, who disappeared from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.
The woman from Poland bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to 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 Operation Grange, 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 13 people had earlier asserted to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid 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 anxious I would have had a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.
“I truly possess major concerns about reaching out to the family to say I intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been very traumatic and hard for the family.”
DNA Comparison
He said investigators had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to no physical similarity and that she was two years older than Madeleine. But, he said, after learning Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on stalking charges, he “determined that the DNA would be taken during detention”.
He declared: “A comparison took place. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”
Jury Hearings
Jurors learned that in April this year, the detective met with Wandelt while detained and stated to her that her DNA had been matched against 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.”
Testimony indicated that during their conversation, Wandelt inquired: “Do you really want to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he responded: “Yes.”
He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have tampered with the sample”, remarking: “There existed a chance she would never accept she cannot be Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”
Psychological Toll
Earlier in the trial, testimony revealed how the relatives were left terrified and distressed by their “disturbing” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to push for a DNA test.
The court learned how both women made “increasingly bizarre plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that they had eaten in.
Wandelt and Spragg both contest one count of stalking. The trial continues.
