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A suspected stalker who asserted to be the missing girl was ruled out after a secret DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the missing girl, investigators stated in court.

Harassment Campaign Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, faces charges for a pattern of threatening behavior against the relatives of Madeleine, who went missing from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The woman from Poland flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and visited their home insisting on a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Investigation Details

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the chief investigator 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 13 people had in the past insisted to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I did not want setting a precedent.

“If it was revealed in the media I had taken DNA off an individual most likely not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have 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 highly distressing and challenging for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said investigators had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of no physical similarity and that she was older by two years than the missing girl. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

He declared: “A comparison took place. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

Jurors learned that in April this year, the detective saw Wandelt under arrest and stated to her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

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

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have tampered with the sample”, stating: “There was a possibility she would not believe she isn't Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Family Impact

In prior court sessions, jurors learned how the McCanns were left frightened and upset by their “disturbing” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to push for a DNA test.

Jurors heard how the pair made progressively odd plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

The accused women both contest one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.