🔗 Share this article

An accused stalker who insisted to be the abducted child was ruled out after a confidential DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the long-lost child, authorities disclosed in court.

Harassment Campaign Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is accused of a stalking campaign against the relatives of Madeleine, who disappeared from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

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 turned up at their home insisting on a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Official Statements

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the lead detective on Operation Grange, said he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had earlier asserted to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent.

“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA off an individual quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I truly possess major concerns about approaching the family to say I intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been very traumatic and difficult for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said authorities had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to no physical similarity and that she was older by two years than the child. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He said: “Analysis occurred. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

The court heard that in April this year, Cranwell saw Wandelt while detained and stated to her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that while they spoke, Wandelt said: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have interfered with the sample”, stating: “There existed a chance she would never accept she cannot be Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Family Impact

During previous hearings, the court heard how the McCanns were left terrified and distressed by their “unnerving” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to insist on a DNA test.

The jury were told how the defendants 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.

Both defendants both deny one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.