Covert DNA Analysis Proved Alleged Stalker Could Not Be Madeleine McCann, Reports Investigator
An accused stalker who insisted to be the abducted child was excluded after a covert DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the long-lost child, investigators stated in court.
Targeted Behavior Towards McCann Family
Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is accused of a pattern of threatening behavior against the relatives of Madeleine, who went missing from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.
The Polish citizen overwhelmed 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 turned up at their home demanding a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.
Investigation Details
Testifying on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on the missing person’s case, said he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.
DCI Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had earlier asserted 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 got out in the media I had taken DNA from someone most likely not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.
“I sincerely hold major concerns about approaching the family to say I intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been very traumatic and challenging for the family.”
DNA Comparison
He said the police had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of a lack of resemblance and that she was not the same age than the missing girl. But, he said, after learning Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on stalking charges, he “decided that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.
He declared: “Testing was conducted. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”
Legal Testimony
Proceedings revealed that in April this year, the officer saw Wandelt while detained and informed her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”
Evidence showed that throughout their discussion, Wandelt said: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he responded: “Yes.”
He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have manipulated the sample”, remarking: “There existed a chance she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”
Psychological Toll
During previous hearings, the court heard how the relatives were left frightened and traumatized by their “creepy” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to demand a DNA test.
Jurors heard how both women made ever more strange plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the family visited.
Both defendants both deny one count of stalking. The trial continues.