DNA test proved alleged McCann stalker was not Madeleine, court hears
"There was a possibility she would never accept she isn’t Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof."
A DNA test has been carried out on a woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann as she faces charges for stalking the missing child's family.
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Julia Wandelt, 24, from Lubin in south-west Poland, is on trial accused of stalking Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry between June 2022 and February 2025.
A DNA test 'conclusively proves that Wandelt is not the missing girl, a police officer told the court.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell said a sample was taken from Wandelt after her arrest in February.
Wandelt inundated the McCanns with phone calls, letters and messages claiming to be their daughter.
She even came to their home in Rothley, Leicestershire, to demand a DNA test.
Read More: 'You are my mummy': Alleged stalker messaged Kate McCann more than 60 times in a single day
Prosecutors say Wandelt carried out a 'well-planned campaign of harassment' against the McCanns that lasted almost three years.
This was alongside her 'supporter and confidante' Karen Spragg, 61, who is also on trial, and who is said to have 'adopted and evolved' her bogus claims 'with gusto' from last year onwards.
They both deny the charges.
Giving evidence on Tuesday, DCI Mark Cranwell, the senior investigating officer for Operation Grange, the Met Police’s probe into Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, told the court that by the beginning of the year, he believed Wandelt’s behaviour had “reached the threshold for harassment.”
He explained that he decided to take a DNA sample to “prove or disprove” her claims, despite knowing it went against “procedure” and could have “potential ramifications.”
“It weighed heavily on my mind because this was against policy and procedure,” he told jurors.
Mr Cranwell told the court he was also concerned that Wandelt would refuse to accept the DNA results and “would suggest we have tampered with the sample.”
“There was a possibility she would never accept she isn’t Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof,” he said.
He added that if news of the DNA comparison became public, it could spark “a series of people coming forward saying they are Madeleine,” but insisted: “I believed it was the right thing to do.”
When asked by prosecutor Michael Duck KC what the “driving force behind that view was,” Mr Cranwell replied: “To get the results to prove that she isn’t Madeleine and inform her of that decision in the hope she may stop her behaviour towards the McCann family.”
Mr Duck then asked: “Do you think that would be achieved?”
Mr Cranwell responded: “I was skeptical and nervous.”
The court heard the DNA sample could only be taken voluntarily — and Wandelt agreed to provide it.
Mr Cranwell told the court: “I was weighing up the best time to take the DNA. I was aware Leicestershire [police] were likely to be arresting her at some point, and I made the decision the DNA would be taken on her arrest.”
The court heard the sample was taken in February this year, after Wandelt and Spragg were arrested at Bristol Airport.
When asked what the results showed, Mr Cranwell said: “A comparison took place and it conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”
He added that he and a colleague visited Wandelt in Peterborough Prison on April 1 this year to inform her of the outcome.
He told the court: “I said to her, ‘A sample was taken from you when you were in custody. I went on to say your sample was submitted to the laboratory and a profile was established for you.’”
Mr Cranwell continued: “This has now been compared to the profile of Madeleine McCann — they do not match. You are not Madeleine McCann.”
He told the court that Wandelt then asked him about a separate test she had taken, which she claimed showed an almost 70 per cent match to DNA found at the crime scene in Portugal.
Mr Cranwell said he replied: “I can’t comment on work done by other people.”
“She also asked me, ‘Did you really want to find Madeleine?’” he added.
“To which myself and colleague Gary replied, ‘Yes.’”
Earlier, Mr Cranwell told jurors that a total of 12 people had come forward claiming to be Madeleine McCann.