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A suspected stalker who insisted to be the abducted child was excluded after a secret DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the long-lost child, authorities disclosed in court.

Stalking Allegations Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is alleged to have conducted a stalking campaign against the parents of Madeleine, who disappeared 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 between 2022 and earlier this year, and appeared at their home demanding a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Police Testimony

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Madeleine's disappearance, explained he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

DCI 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 was revealed in the media I had taken DNA from a person most likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I sincerely hold major concerns about approaching 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 challenging for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said authorities had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of a lack of resemblance and that she was older by two years than Madeleine. But, he said, after learning Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He said: “A comparison took place. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, Cranwell saw Wandelt under arrest and told her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Testimony indicated that throughout their discussion, Wandelt inquired: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have manipulated the sample”, stating: “It was possible she would refuse to acknowledge she cannot be Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Family Impact

In prior court sessions, jurors learned how the relatives were left terrified and distressed by their “disturbing” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to push for a DNA test.

The court learned how the defendants made ever more strange plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that they had eaten in.

Wandelt and Spragg both contest one count of stalking. The trial continues.