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An alleged stalker who asserted to be the missing girl was eliminated after a secret DNA test proved conclusively she was not Madeleine McCann, police have revealed in court.

Targeted Behavior Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is alleged to have conducted a pattern of threatening behavior against the relatives of Madeleine, who went missing from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 at the age of 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 turned up at their home demanding a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Investigation Details

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the lead detective 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 13 people had previously claimed to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I did not want setting a precedent.

“If it was revealed in the media I had taken DNA from a person probably not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about reaching out to the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been very traumatic and challenging for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said investigators had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of dissimilar appearance and that she was two years older than the child. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

He stated: “Testing was conducted. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

Jurors learned that in April this year, the officer visited Wandelt while detained and informed her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Testimony indicated that while they spoke, Wandelt inquired: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he answered: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have manipulated the sample”, remarking: “It was possible she would refuse to acknowledge she is not Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Family Impact

In prior court sessions, testimony revealed how the family were left scared and upset by their “unnerving” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to push for a DNA test.

The court learned how both women made “increasingly bizarre plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

Both defendants both refute one count of stalking. The trial continues.