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An alleged stalker who asserted to be Madeleine McCann was excluded after a covert DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the missing girl, investigators stated in court.

Harassment Campaign Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is alleged to have conducted a campaign of harassment against the relatives of Madeleine, who went missing from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The Polish national overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and turned up at their home insisting on a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Police Testimony

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the lead detective on the missing person’s case, said he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said 13 people had previously claimed to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.

“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA from a person most likely not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I truly possess major concerns about contacting the family to say I intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and hard for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said authorities had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of a lack of resemblance and that she was not the same age than Madeleine. But, he said, after learning Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He declared: “A comparison took place. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Legal Testimony

The court heard that in April this year, the detective met with Wandelt while detained and informed her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that while they spoke, Wandelt said: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have manipulated the sample”, stating: “There existed a chance she would not believe she is not Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Family Impact

During previous hearings, jurors learned how the McCanns were left terrified and traumatized by their “unnerving” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to push for a DNA test.

The jury were told how both women made progressively odd plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that they had eaten in.

Both defendants both contest one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.