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An alleged stalker who claimed to be the missing girl was eliminated after a secret DNA test proved conclusively she was not Madeleine McCann, investigators stated in court.

Harassment Campaign Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is alleged to have conducted a stalking campaign against the relatives of Madeleine, who vanished from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The woman from Poland overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and appeared at their home demanding a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Police Testimony

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer 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”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals had in the past insisted to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.

“If it got out in the media I had taken DNA from someone quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about approaching the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been very traumatic and challenging for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said the police had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of no physical similarity and that she was two years older than Madeleine. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He stated: “Analysis occurred. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

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 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 Cranwell told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have interfered with the sample”, adding: “There was a possibility she would never accept she cannot be Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

During previous hearings, testimony revealed how the relatives were left scared and distressed by their “creepy” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to insist on a DNA test.

The court learned how the pair made ever more strange plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

The accused women both contest one count of stalking. The case remains active.