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An alleged stalker who asserted to be the abducted child was excluded after a covert DNA test established beyond doubt she was not Madeleine McCann, authorities disclosed in court.

Harassment Campaign Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is alleged to have conducted a campaign of harassment against the relatives of Madeleine, who vanished from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The Polish citizen bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and appeared at their home requesting a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Police Testimony

Testifying on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on Operation Grange, said he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals 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 aimed to prevent setting a precedent.

“If it got out in the media I had taken DNA from someone most 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 contacting the family to say I intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been highly distressing and challenging 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 Madeleine. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on stalking charges, he “decided that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He declared: “A comparison took place. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Legal Testimony

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, Cranwell saw Wandelt under arrest and stated to her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Testimony indicated that during their conversation, Wandelt said: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have interfered with the sample”, remarking: “It was possible she would not believe she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Family Impact

Earlier in the trial, jurors learned how the relatives were left terrified and distressed by their “creepy” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to push for a DNA test.

Jurors heard how the pair made ever more strange plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that they had eaten in.

The accused women both contest one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.