Secret DNA Analysis Confirmed Suspected Stalker Could Not Be Madeleine McCann, Reports Officer

A suspected stalker who claimed to be the missing girl was eliminated after a secret DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the long-lost child, investigators stated in court.

Harassment Campaign Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is alleged to have conducted a campaign of harassment against the relatives of Madeleine, who went missing from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The woman from Poland flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and appeared at their home demanding a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Police Testimony

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the chief investigator on the missing person’s case, said he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had earlier asserted 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 got out in the media I had taken DNA from someone quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I truly possess major concerns about contacting the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been highly distressing and challenging for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said authorities had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to a lack of resemblance and that she was not the same age than the child. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

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

Jury Hearings

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, Cranwell visited Wandelt under arrest and informed her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that throughout their discussion, Wandelt asked: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he answered: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have interfered with the sample”, stating: “It was possible she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

During previous hearings, jurors learned how the relatives were left terrified and upset by their “unnerving” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to push for a DNA test.

The court learned how the pair made “increasingly bizarre plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that they had eaten in.

Both defendants both contest one count of stalking. The trial continues.