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An alleged stalker who insisted to be the missing girl was excluded after a covert DNA test proved conclusively she was not the missing girl, police have revealed in court.

Stalking Allegations Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, is accused of a campaign of harassment against the family of Madeleine, who went missing from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish citizen overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and turned up at their home insisting on a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Investigation Details

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on Madeleine's disappearance, explained he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said 13 people had earlier asserted to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent.

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

“I truly possess major concerns about approaching the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been very traumatic and difficult for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said investigators had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to dissimilar appearance and that she was not the same age than the child. But, he said, after learning Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

He declared: “Analysis occurred. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Legal Testimony

Jurors learned that in April this year, the officer met with Wandelt while detained and informed her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

The court heard that while they spoke, Wandelt inquired: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have interfered with the sample”, stating: “There existed a chance she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Family Impact

During previous hearings, the court heard how the family were left frightened and traumatized by their “disturbing” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to demand a DNA test.

The court learned how the pair made ever more strange plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that the family visited.

Both defendants both refute one count of stalking. The case remains active.