Secret DNA Test Verified Suspected Stalker Could Not Be Madeleine McCann, Says Officer

An alleged stalker who claimed to be Madeleine McCann was eliminated after a secret DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the long-lost child, police have revealed in court.

Harassment Campaign Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is accused of a pattern of threatening behavior against the relatives of Madeleine, who went missing from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The woman from Poland bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and visited their home demanding a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Police Testimony

Testifying on Tuesday, the chief investigator on the missing person’s case, stated he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said 13 people had earlier asserted 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 off an individual quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about contacting the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been highly distressing and hard for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said authorities had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of no physical similarity and that she was older by two years than Madeleine. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He declared: “A comparison took place. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

The court heard that in April this year, the officer met with Wandelt in custody and informed her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

The court heard that throughout their discussion, Wandelt asked: “Do you really want to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have interfered with the sample”, adding: “There existed a chance she would refuse to acknowledge she cannot be Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Family Impact

In prior court sessions, testimony revealed how the relatives were left terrified and upset by their “creepy” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to push for a DNA test.

The jury were told how the defendants made “increasingly bizarre plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that they had eaten in.

The accused women both refute one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.