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A suspected stalker who insisted to be Madeleine McCann was eliminated after a secret DNA test proved conclusively she was not the long-lost child, investigators stated in court.

Harassment Campaign Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, faces charges for a pattern of threatening behavior against the relatives of Madeleine, who went missing from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The woman from Poland overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and turned up at their home insisting on a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Police Testimony

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Operation Grange, explained he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had earlier asserted to be the abducted child 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 from a person most likely not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about reaching out to the family to say I plan 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 the police had already judged 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 discovering Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

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

Court Proceedings

Jurors learned that in April this year, the officer met with Wandelt while detained and stated to her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

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

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have tampered with the sample”, remarking: “There existed a chance she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

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

The court learned how the pair made progressively odd plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that they had eaten in.

Both defendants both contest one count of stalking. The trial continues.