Covert DNA Analysis Verified Alleged Stalker Was Not Madeleine McCann, Says Officer
A suspected stalker who asserted to be the missing girl was ruled out after a covert DNA test proved conclusively she was not Madeleine McCann, investigators stated in court.
Harassment Campaign Against McCann Family
Julia Wandelt, 24, faces charges for a pattern of threatening behavior against the parents of Madeleine, who disappeared from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.
The Polish citizen overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and appeared at their home demanding a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.
Investigation Details
Providing testimony on Tuesday, the chief investigator on the missing person’s case, said he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.
The senior officer said over a dozen persons had previously claimed to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent.
“If it was revealed in the media I had taken DNA off an individual probably not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had numerous individuals 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 challenging for the family.”
Genetic Testing
He said investigators had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to dissimilar appearance and that she was older by two years than the missing girl. But, he said, after learning Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken during detention”.
He stated: “Testing was conducted. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”
Legal Testimony
Jurors learned that in April this year, the detective saw Wandelt in custody and informed her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”
Evidence showed that throughout their discussion, Wandelt inquired: “Do you really want to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he responded: “Yes.”
He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have interfered with the sample”, stating: “It was possible she would not believe she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”
Psychological Toll
In prior court sessions, testimony revealed how the relatives were left frightened and traumatized by their “unnerving” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to insist on a DNA test.
The court learned how both women made ever more strange 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.
