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A suspected stalker who claimed to be the missing girl was excluded after a secret DNA test established beyond doubt she was not Madeleine McCann, investigators stated in court.

Stalking Allegations Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, is accused of a pattern of threatening behavior against the parents of Madeleine, who vanished from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The Polish national overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and turned up at their home demanding a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Investigation Details

Testifying on Tuesday, the chief investigator on the missing person’s case, said he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “in the hope 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 wished to avoid setting a precedent.

“If it was revealed in the media I had taken DNA off an individual probably not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I truly possess major concerns about contacting the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and hard for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said investigators had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of no physical similarity and that she was older by two years than the child. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on stalking charges, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

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

Jury Hearings

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, the detective saw Wandelt while detained and stated to her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

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

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have interfered with the sample”, remarking: “There was a possibility she would refuse to acknowledge she is not Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

In prior court sessions, testimony revealed how the family were left terrified and traumatized by their “disturbing” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to demand a DNA test.

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

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