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An alleged stalker who asserted to be the missing girl was excluded after a secret DNA test established beyond doubt she was not Madeleine McCann, investigators stated in court.

Harassment Campaign Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is accused of a pattern of threatening behavior against the relatives of Madeleine, who vanished from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish national overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and turned up at their home requesting a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Investigation Details

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the lead detective on Operation Grange, said he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had previously claimed to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I did not want setting a precedent.

“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA off an individual quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I truly possess major concerns about approaching the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been very traumatic and challenging for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said investigators had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of no physical similarity and that she was two years older than Madeleine. But, he said, after learning Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

He stated: “Analysis occurred. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

Jurors learned that in April this year, Cranwell visited Wandelt in custody and informed her that her DNA had been tested alongside 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 during their conversation, Wandelt inquired: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have interfered with the sample”, adding: “There existed a chance she would not believe she is not Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

Earlier in the trial, testimony revealed how the McCanns were left scared and distressed by their “unnerving” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to push for a DNA test.

The court learned how both women made ever more strange plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

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