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An accused stalker who claimed to be the missing girl was excluded after a covert DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the long-lost child, authorities disclosed in court.

Targeted Behavior Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is accused of a campaign of harassment against the relatives of Madeleine, who went missing from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The woman from Poland flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and turned up at their home demanding a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Investigation Details

Testifying on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on the missing person’s case, said he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals had previously claimed to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.

“If it got out in the media I had taken DNA from someone most likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I sincerely hold major concerns about contacting the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been highly distressing and difficult for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said the police had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of a lack of resemblance and that she was not the same age than Madeleine. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on stalking charges, he “decided that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

He declared: “Analysis occurred. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, the officer saw Wandelt in custody and stated to her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Testimony indicated that during their conversation, 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 “could allege we have tampered with the sample”, remarking: “There existed a chance she would not believe she isn't Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

During previous hearings, testimony revealed how the family were left frightened and distressed by their “disturbing” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to demand a DNA test.

The jury were told how the pair made ever more strange plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

The accused women both contest one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.