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An accused stalker who insisted to be Madeleine McCann was ruled out after a covert DNA test proved conclusively she was not the missing girl, authorities disclosed in court.

Harassment Campaign Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is accused of a stalking campaign against the relatives of Madeleine, who went missing from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The woman from Poland bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, 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, the court was earlier informed.

Official Statements

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Operation Grange, stated he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had earlier asserted to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.

“If it was revealed in the media I had taken DNA off an individual probably not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I truly possess 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 quite emotionally damaging and hard for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said authorities had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to no physical similarity and that she was older by two years than the missing girl. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

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

Court Proceedings

The court heard that in April this year, the officer visited Wandelt while detained and informed her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

The court heard that during their conversation, Wandelt inquired: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have interfered with the sample”, adding: “There was a possibility she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

In prior court sessions, the court heard how the McCanns were left frightened and distressed by their “unnerving” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to demand a DNA test.

The jury were told how both women made “increasingly bizarre plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that they had eaten in.

Wandelt and Spragg both deny one count of stalking. The case remains active.