🔗 Share this article

A suspected stalker who asserted to be Madeleine McCann was eliminated after a confidential DNA test established beyond doubt she was not Madeleine McCann, investigators stated in court.

Stalking Allegations Targeting McCann Family

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

The Polish citizen overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, 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, the court was earlier informed.

Police Testimony

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the chief investigator on the missing person’s case, said he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons 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 from someone probably not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I truly possess major concerns about approaching the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and hard for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said the police had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of no physical similarity and that she was not the same age than Madeleine. But, he said, after learning Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He stated: “A comparison took place. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, the detective met with Wandelt under arrest and stated to her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that during their conversation, Wandelt asked: “Do you really want to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have tampered with the sample”, adding: “There was a possibility she would never accept she is not Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Family Impact

Earlier in the trial, testimony revealed how the McCanns were left scared and traumatized by their “creepy” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to insist on a DNA test.

The jury were told how both women made “increasingly bizarre plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that they had eaten in.

The accused women both contest one count of stalking. The trial continues.