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An alleged stalker who insisted to be the abducted child was eliminated after a secret DNA test definitively confirmed she was not Madeleine McCann, investigators stated in court.

Harassment Campaign Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is accused of a campaign of harassment against the parents of Madeleine, who vanished from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The woman from Poland bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and visited their home insisting on a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Police Testimony

Testifying on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on Operation Grange, said he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said 13 people had previously claimed to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief that person was Madeleine because I did not want setting a precedent.

“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA from someone probably not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about contacting the family to say I intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and difficult for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said investigators had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of no physical similarity and that she was two years older than the missing girl. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He declared: “Analysis occurred. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Legal Testimony

Jurors learned that in April this year, the detective saw Wandelt while detained and told her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

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

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have tampered with the sample”, remarking: “There existed a chance she would not believe she cannot be Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

Earlier in the trial, jurors learned how the McCanns were left terrified and traumatized by their “creepy” and “profoundly unsettling” 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 defendants made ever more strange plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

Wandelt and Spragg both contest one count of stalking. The case remains active.