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An accused stalker who asserted to be the abducted child was ruled out after a confidential DNA test definitively confirmed she was not Madeleine McCann, authorities disclosed in court.

Harassment Campaign Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is alleged to have conducted a campaign of harassment against the parents of Madeleine, who went missing from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The Polish citizen flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and appeared at their home insisting on a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Police Testimony

Testifying on Tuesday, the lead detective on the missing person’s case, explained he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals had previously claimed to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent.

“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA from someone most likely not to be Madeleine, I was concerned 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 given them false hope. It could have been very traumatic and difficult for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said authorities had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of no physical similarity and that she was not the same age than Madeleine. But, he said, after learning Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on stalking charges, he “determined that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He declared: “Analysis occurred. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

The court heard that in April this year, the officer met with Wandelt in custody and stated to 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.”

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

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have tampered with the sample”, stating: “There existed a chance she would refuse to acknowledge she is not Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Family Impact

In prior court sessions, jurors learned how the family were left terrified and upset by their “unnerving” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to insist on a DNA test.

Jurors heard how the defendants made ever more strange plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that they had eaten in.

Wandelt and Spragg both refute one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.