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A suspected stalker who insisted to be the missing girl was ruled out after a covert DNA test proved conclusively she was not Madeleine McCann, investigators stated in court.

Harassment Campaign Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is accused of a pattern of threatening behavior against the relatives of Madeleine, who went missing from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish national overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and appeared at their home demanding a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Official Statements

Testifying on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Operation Grange, stated he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said 13 people had earlier asserted to be the abducted child 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 off an individual quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I truly possess major concerns about reaching out to the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been highly distressing and difficult for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said authorities had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of dissimilar appearance and that she was not the same age than the child. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He declared: “A comparison took place. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

The court heard that in April this year, the detective met with Wandelt while detained and stated to her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that while they spoke, Wandelt said: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he answered: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have interfered with the sample”, remarking: “There was a possibility she would not believe she is not Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

Earlier in the trial, the court heard how the relatives were left terrified and traumatized by their “disturbing” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to demand a DNA test.

Jurors heard how the pair made progressively odd plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that they had eaten in.

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