🔗 Share this article

A suspected stalker who claimed to be the missing girl was ruled out after a confidential DNA test proved conclusively she was not the missing girl, authorities disclosed in court.

Harassment Campaign Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, faces charges for a campaign of harassment against the parents of Madeleine, who vanished from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The Polish national overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and appeared at their home requesting a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Investigation Details

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the lead detective on the missing person’s case, explained 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 13 people had earlier asserted to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent.

“If it got out in the media I had taken DNA from someone quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about contacting the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and difficult for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said the police had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to dissimilar appearance and that she was not the same age than Madeleine. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on stalking charges, he “decided that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

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

Legal Testimony

Jurors learned that in April this year, the detective saw Wandelt while detained and informed her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

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

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have manipulated the sample”, stating: “It was possible she would refuse to acknowledge she is not Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Family Impact

In prior court sessions, jurors learned how the McCanns were left frightened and distressed by their “unnerving” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to push for a DNA test.

The jury were told how both women made “increasingly bizarre plans” to collect 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 refute one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.