Confidential DNA Analysis Confirmed Suspected Stalker Is Not Madeleine McCann, Reports Detective

A suspected stalker who claimed to be Madeleine McCann was eliminated after a confidential DNA test established beyond doubt she was not Madeleine McCann, police have revealed in court.

Stalking Allegations Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, faces charges for a campaign of harassment against the parents of Madeleine, who disappeared from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The Polish national flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and turned up at their home requesting a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Police Testimony

Testifying on Tuesday, the lead detective on Operation Grange, stated he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said thirteen individuals had earlier asserted 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 quite likely 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 aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been very traumatic and challenging for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said the police had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of dissimilar appearance and that she was two years older than Madeleine. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He stated: “Testing was conducted. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, Cranwell saw Wandelt under arrest and told her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

The court heard that during their conversation, Wandelt inquired: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have interfered with the sample”, remarking: “There existed a chance she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Family Impact

During previous hearings, jurors learned how the relatives were left terrified and upset by their “creepy” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to push for a DNA test.

Jurors heard how the defendants made progressively odd plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

Wandelt and Spragg both deny one count of stalking. The case remains active.