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An accused stalker who claimed to be Madeleine McCann was ruled out after a confidential DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the missing girl, investigators stated in court.

Targeted Behavior Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is alleged to have conducted a stalking campaign against the relatives of Madeleine, who disappeared from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish national bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and appeared at their home insisting on a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Police Testimony

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

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had in the past insisted to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.

“If it got out in the media I had taken DNA from a person quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about contacting the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been highly distressing and hard for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said authorities had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of a lack of resemblance and that she was two years older than the child. But, he said, after learning Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on stalking charges, he “determined that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

He said: “A comparison took place. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Legal Testimony

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, the officer visited Wandelt under arrest and informed her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that during their conversation, Wandelt asked: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have manipulated the sample”, remarking: “There was a possibility she would not believe she cannot be Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

In prior court sessions, testimony revealed how the relatives were left scared and upset by their “unnerving” and “profoundly unsettling” 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 pair made progressively odd plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that they had eaten in.

The accused women both deny one count of stalking. The trial continues.