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An accused stalker who insisted to be the abducted child was excluded after a secret DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the long-lost child, police have revealed in court.

Stalking Allegations Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is accused of a stalking campaign against the parents of Madeleine, who went missing from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The woman from Poland flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and visited their home demanding a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Official Statements

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the chief investigator on the missing person’s case, said he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “intending 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 the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent.

“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA from someone 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 approaching 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 difficult for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said investigators had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to no physical similarity and that she was not the same age than the child. But, he said, after learning Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on stalking charges, he “decided that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He stated: “Testing was conducted. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

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

The court heard that during their conversation, Wandelt said: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he answered: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have tampered with the sample”, adding: “There existed a chance she would never accept she cannot be Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

Earlier in the trial, testimony revealed how the family were left frightened and traumatized by their “unnerving” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to push for a DNA test.

Jurors heard how the defendants made progressively odd plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

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