An accused stalker who claimed to be the abducted child was excluded after a confidential DNA test proved conclusively she was not the missing girl, police have revealed in court.
Harassment Campaign Targeting McCann Family
Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is alleged to have conducted a stalking campaign against the relatives of Madeleine, who disappeared from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.
The Polish national bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and appeared at their home requesting a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.
Investigation Details
Testifying on Tuesday, the lead detective on the missing person’s case, stated he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.
The senior officer said 13 people 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 someone quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious 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 aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and difficult for the family.”
Forensic Analysis
He said authorities had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of dissimilar appearance and that she was older by two years than the missing girl. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.
He stated: “Testing was conducted. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”
Court Proceedings
Proceedings revealed that in April this year, the officer visited Wandelt under arrest 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 while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”
The court heard that during their conversation, Wandelt asked: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he answered: “Yes.”
He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have manipulated the sample”, adding: “There was a possibility she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”
Psychological Toll
During previous hearings, jurors learned how the family were left frightened and traumatized by their “unnerving” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to demand a DNA test.
Jurors heard how both women made “increasingly bizarre plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.
The accused women both contest one count of stalking. The case remains active.
