Secret DNA Examination Confirmed Accused Stalker Was Not Madeleine McCann, Reports Officer
An accused stalker who claimed to be the abducted child was eliminated after a secret DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the long-lost child, investigators stated in court.
Targeted Behavior Targeting McCann Family
Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, is accused of a campaign of harassment against the family of Madeleine, who disappeared from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.
The Polish national flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and appeared at their home demanding a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.
Police Testimony
Testifying on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on Operation Grange, said he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had in the past insisted to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I did not want setting a precedent.
“If it was revealed in the media I had taken DNA from a person most likely not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.
“I truly possess major concerns about contacting the family to say I intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been highly distressing and difficult for the family.”
DNA Comparison
He said the police had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to dissimilar appearance and that she was two years older than Madeleine. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on stalking charges, he “determined that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.
He declared: “A comparison took place. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”
Legal Testimony
Proceedings revealed that in April this year, Cranwell visited Wandelt in custody and stated to 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.”
Testimony indicated that while they spoke, Wandelt said: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he replied: “Yes.”
He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have tampered with the sample”, adding: “There was a possibility she would refuse to acknowledge she cannot be Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”
Emotional Distress
During previous hearings, jurors learned how the McCanns were left frightened and upset by their “unnerving” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to push for a DNA test.
The court learned how the defendants made ever more strange plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the family visited.
The accused women both refute one count of stalking. The case remains active.