🔗 Share this article

An accused stalker who claimed to be Madeleine McCann was eliminated after a covert DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the missing girl, investigators stated in court.

Stalking Allegations Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, faces charges for a campaign of harassment against the family of Madeleine, who vanished from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish national bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and visited their home requesting a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Investigation Details

Testifying on Tuesday, the lead detective on Operation Grange, explained he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said 13 people had in the past insisted to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I did not want setting a precedent.

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

“I sincerely hold major concerns about contacting the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been very traumatic and hard for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said investigators had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of a lack of resemblance and that she was older by two years than the child. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on stalking charges, he “decided that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He stated: “Analysis occurred. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

The court heard that in April this year, the detective met with Wandelt under arrest and informed her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

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

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

Emotional Distress

Earlier in the trial, testimony revealed how the McCanns were left frightened and upset by their “creepy” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to insist on a DNA test.

The court learned how both women made “increasingly bizarre plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that the family visited.

Wandelt and Spragg both deny one count of stalking. The trial continues.