Secret DNA Examination Proved Suspected Stalker Was Not Madeleine McCann, Says Detective
An accused stalker who asserted to be Madeleine McCann was eliminated after a secret DNA test proved conclusively she was not Madeleine McCann, investigators stated in court.
Targeted Behavior Targeting McCann Family
Julia Wandelt, 24, faces charges for a pattern of threatening behavior against the family of Madeleine, who vanished from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.
The woman from Poland flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and visited their home demanding a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.
Police Testimony
Testifying on Tuesday, the lead detective on Madeleine's disappearance, said he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her conduct 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 did not want setting a precedent.
“If it was revealed in the media I had taken DNA from a person probably not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.
“I genuinely have major concerns about approaching the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and challenging for the family.”
DNA Comparison
He said investigators had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of dissimilar appearance and that she was older by two years than the child. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.
He said: “Analysis occurred. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”
Court Proceedings
The court heard that in April this year, the detective visited Wandelt while detained and stated to her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”
Evidence showed that while they spoke, Wandelt inquired: “Do you really want to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he replied: “Yes.”
He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have manipulated the sample”, adding: “There was a possibility she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”
Psychological Toll
During previous hearings, jurors learned how the relatives were left scared and distressed by their “unnerving” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to push for a DNA test.
The court learned how the pair made progressively odd plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.
The accused women both contest one count of stalking. The trial continues.