Covert DNA Test Confirmed Accused Stalker Could Not Be Madeleine McCann, Reports Investigator

A suspected stalker who asserted to be Madeleine McCann was excluded after a covert DNA test proved conclusively she was not the missing girl, authorities disclosed in court.

Targeted Behavior Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, faces charges for a pattern of threatening behavior against the parents of Madeleine, who disappeared from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish citizen flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, 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, the court was earlier informed.

Investigation Details

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on Madeleine's disappearance, stated he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals had in the past insisted to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief 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 most likely not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about reaching out to the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and challenging for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said authorities had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of dissimilar appearance and that she was not the same age than the child. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on stalking charges, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He said: “Testing was conducted. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Legal Testimony

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

Testimony indicated that during their conversation, Wandelt asked: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

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

Psychological Toll

Earlier in the trial, jurors learned how the McCanns were left scared and traumatized by their “unnerving” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to insist on a DNA test.

Jurors heard how the defendants made progressively odd plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that they had eaten in.

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