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An accused stalker who insisted to be the missing girl was ruled out after a confidential DNA test proved conclusively she was not Madeleine McCann, police have revealed in court.

Stalking Allegations Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is alleged to have conducted a stalking campaign against the family of Madeleine, who went missing from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The Polish national bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and visited their home requesting a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Investigation Details

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on the missing person’s case, said he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had previously claimed to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief 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 quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I sincerely hold major concerns about contacting the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been very traumatic and hard for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said investigators had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to a lack of resemblance and that she was not the same age than Madeleine. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He said: “Analysis occurred. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

Jurors learned that in April this year, the officer saw Wandelt in custody and told her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

The court heard that throughout their discussion, Wandelt asked: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell 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 never accept she cannot be Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

During previous hearings, testimony revealed how the relatives were left terrified and distressed by their “unnerving” and “deeply disturbing” 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 the defendants made ever more strange plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the family visited.

Wandelt and Spragg both refute one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.