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An accused stalker who insisted to be the abducted child was ruled out after a covert DNA test proved conclusively she was not the missing girl, authorities disclosed in court.

Stalking Allegations Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, faces charges for a stalking campaign against the family of Madeleine, who went missing from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The woman from Poland overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and turned up at their home demanding a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Official Statements

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on the missing person’s case, stated he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had previously claimed to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent.

“If it got out in the media I had taken DNA from a person quite 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 reaching out to the family to say I intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been highly distressing and challenging for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said the police had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of dissimilar appearance and that she was two years older than the child. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on stalking charges, he “determined that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

He said: “Analysis occurred. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

Jurors learned that in April this year, Cranwell saw Wandelt while detained and informed her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Testimony indicated that throughout their discussion, Wandelt asked: “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”, stating: “It was possible she would never accept she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Family Impact

During previous hearings, the court heard how the relatives were left frightened and traumatized by their “unnerving” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to push for a DNA test.

The jury were told how both women made progressively odd plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

Both defendants both refute one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.