Confidential DNA Analysis Confirmed Accused Stalker Was Not Madeleine McCann, Reports Officer

An accused stalker who claimed to be the missing girl was eliminated after a covert DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the long-lost child, investigators stated in court.

Stalking Allegations Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, faces charges for a campaign of harassment against the parents of Madeleine, who vanished from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The woman from Poland bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and visited their home insisting on a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Official Statements

Testifying on Tuesday, the lead detective on the missing person’s case, explained he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had in the past insisted to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent 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 anxious I would have had many persons 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 raised their hopes. It could have been highly distressing and hard for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said authorities had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of a lack of resemblance and that she was older by two years than the missing girl. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on stalking charges, he “decided that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He stated: “Analysis occurred. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

The court heard that in April this year, the detective saw Wandelt in custody and informed her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

The court heard that while they spoke, Wandelt said: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have manipulated the sample”, adding: “There was a possibility she would never accept she cannot be Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

In prior court sessions, the court heard how the family were left scared and distressed by their “creepy” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to demand a DNA test.

The court learned how the pair made progressively odd plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that they had eaten in.

Both defendants both refute one count of stalking. The case remains active.