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 missing girl, authorities disclosed in court.
Stalking Allegations Targeting McCann Family
Julia Wandelt, 24, is accused of a campaign of harassment against the family of Madeleine, who disappeared from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.
The Polish citizen bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, 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 requesting a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.
Investigation Details
Providing testimony on Tuesday, the lead detective on Operation Grange, stated he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.
The senior officer said 13 people had in the past insisted to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.
“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA off an individual most likely not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.
“I genuinely have major concerns about approaching the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been highly distressing and challenging for the family.”
Genetic Testing
He said the police had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to dissimilar appearance and that she was two years older than Madeleine. But, he said, after learning Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on stalking charges, he “decided that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.
He declared: “Testing was conducted. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”
Jury Hearings
Jurors learned that in April this year, Cranwell saw Wandelt while detained and stated to her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”
The court heard that while they spoke, 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 “might claim we have manipulated the sample”, remarking: “It was possible she would never accept she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”
Family Impact
During previous hearings, the court heard how the relatives were left scared and traumatized by their “disturbing” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to insist on a DNA test.
The jury were told how the defendants made progressively odd plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.
The accused women both contest one count of stalking. The trial continues.
