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An accused stalker who claimed to be Madeleine McCann was excluded after a covert DNA test established beyond doubt she was not Madeleine McCann, investigators stated in court.

Stalking Allegations Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is accused of a stalking campaign against the family of Madeleine, who went missing from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The Polish citizen overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and turned up at their home demanding a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Police Testimony

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the lead detective on Madeleine's disappearance, explained he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals had earlier asserted to be Madeleine McCann 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 probably not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had a lot of people 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 given them false hope. It could have been highly distressing and challenging for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said investigators had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of a lack of resemblance and that she was older by two years than the child. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

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

Legal Testimony

Jurors learned that in April this year, the detective saw Wandelt in custody and stated to her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Testimony indicated that throughout their discussion, Wandelt inquired: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have interfered with the sample”, stating: “There existed a chance she would refuse to acknowledge she is not Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Family Impact

During previous hearings, testimony revealed how the relatives were left terrified and upset by their “unnerving” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to push for a DNA test.

The court learned how the defendants made ever more strange plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that they had eaten in.

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