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An accused stalker who asserted to be the missing girl was ruled out after a covert DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the long-lost child, authorities disclosed in court.

Harassment Campaign Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, faces charges for a pattern of threatening behavior against the relatives of Madeleine, who vanished from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

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

Official Statements

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the chief investigator on the missing person’s case, explained he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had in the past insisted to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced 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 worried I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I sincerely hold 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 highly distressing and difficult for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said authorities had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of dissimilar appearance and that she was older by two years than Madeleine. But, he said, after learning Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He stated: “Testing was conducted. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, Cranwell saw Wandelt in custody and told her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that throughout their discussion, Wandelt said: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he answered: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have manipulated the sample”, adding: “It was possible she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

Earlier in the trial, jurors learned how the McCanns were left terrified and upset by their “disturbing” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to push for a DNA test.

The jury were told how both women made “increasingly bizarre plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through 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.