Covert DNA Analysis Confirmed Accused Stalker Is Not Madeleine McCann, Says Detective
An alleged stalker who asserted to be the missing girl was ruled out after a secret DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the long-lost child, police have revealed in court.
Targeted Behavior Towards McCann Family
Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, is accused of a campaign of harassment against the relatives of Madeleine, who vanished from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.
The Polish citizen bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and visited their home insisting on a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.
Official Statements
Giving evidence on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Operation Grange, stated he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals had previously claimed to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent.
“If it got out in the media I had taken DNA off an individual most likely not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.
“I truly possess major concerns about approaching the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been very traumatic and difficult for the family.”
Forensic Analysis
He said authorities had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of no physical similarity and that she was not the same age than the missing girl. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on stalking charges, he “decided that the DNA would be taken during detention”.
He stated: “A comparison took place. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”
Jury Hearings
Jurors learned that in April this year, the officer saw Wandelt in custody and informed her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”
Evidence showed that while they spoke, Wandelt said: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he answered: “Yes.”
He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have interfered with the sample”, adding: “There was a possibility she would never accept she is not Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”
Family Impact
During previous hearings, the court heard how the McCanns were left terrified and upset by their “disturbing” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to push for a DNA test.
The court learned how the pair made ever more strange plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that they had eaten in.
Wandelt and Spragg both refute one count of stalking. The trial continues.