The parents of Madeleine McCann have faced renewed torment after a 24-year-old woman who repeatedly claimed to be their missing daughter was convicted of harassment. Julia Wandelt was found not guilty of the more serious charge of stalking Kate and Gerry McCann, but the trial at Leicester Crown Court laid bare the extensive campaign of contact that caused the family significant distress.
DNA Evidence and Deluge of Contact
Throughout the proceedings, the court heard how Wandelt, who is from Poland, insisted she was the missing British girl, even alleging a 'nearly 70% DNA match'. However, forensic scientist Rosalyn Hammond presented conclusive evidence to the jury that disproved this claim entirely. The court was told that Wandelt's DNA did not match a profile taken from Madeleine's pillowcase or from a neonatal blood test.
The scale of Wandelt's unwanted attention became starkly clear when prosecutors revealed that Kate McCann received up to 60 calls and messages in a single day in April last year. On one occasion, five text messages arrived within just seven seconds. These communications included detailed, unsubstantiated claims about memories of Madeleine's life and abduction.
A Pattern of False Claims and a Chilling Confrontation
The trial revealed that Wandelt's fixation on being a missing child was not isolated to the McCann case. The court heard she had previously told a missing persons charity in Poland that she believed she was two other missing girls: Acacia Bishop, who disappeared in the US in 2003, and Inga Gehricke, who vanished in Germany in 2015.
The situation escalated dramatically in December last year when Wandelt and her co-defendant, 61-year-old Karen Spragg from Cardiff, confronted Kate McCann outside the family home. Kate testified that she was left 'frightened' by the unexpected encounter, which marked the first time she had seen Wandelt in person.
The Emotional Toll on the McCann Family
Kate McCann told the court she knew immediately upon seeing a photograph of Wandelt that she was not her daughter. Despite this certainty, the relentless nature of the communications led Kate to admit she almost wanted to take a DNA test just to end the persistent contact, even though she was visually certain it was not Madeleine.
Gerry McCann spoke emotionally about the damage caused by such false claims. He told the court that people pretending to be their missing daughter pull on your heartstrings but are ultimately damaging the search for Madeleine. He emphasised that there is no evidence she is dead, and these distractions hinder the ongoing investigation.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell, the senior investigating officer for Operation Grange, revealed that Wandelt is one of 12 people who have contacted police claiming or believing they are Madeleine. All have been ruled out after comparisons of photographs or other details. Operation Grange has received over 22,000 emails and currently holds 42,000 documents related to the 18-year investigation into Madeleine's disappearance from Praia da Luz, Portugal on May 3, 2007.
