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An alleged stalker who insisted to be the missing girl was ruled out after a covert DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the long-lost child, authorities disclosed in court.

Targeted Behavior Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is alleged to have conducted a pattern of threatening behavior against the parents of Madeleine, who disappeared from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The woman from Poland overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and appeared at their home demanding a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Investigation Details

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Operation Grange, said 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 in the past insisted to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief 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 sincerely hold major concerns about contacting the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and hard for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said the police had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of no physical similarity and that she was older by two years than the missing girl. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on criminal accusations, 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 not Madeleine McCann.”

Legal Testimony

The court heard that in April this year, the detective met with Wandelt in custody and told her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that during their conversation, Wandelt asked: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he answered: “Yes.”

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have manipulated the sample”, remarking: “There existed a chance she would never accept she cannot be Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Family Impact

Earlier in the trial, testimony revealed how the family were left frightened and distressed by their “creepy” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to insist on a DNA test.

The jury were told how both women made progressively odd plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

Wandelt and Spragg both deny one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.