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A suspected stalker who claimed to be Madeleine McCann was eliminated after a confidential DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the missing girl, police have revealed in court.

Stalking Allegations Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is accused of a campaign of harassment against the parents of Madeleine, who went missing from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish citizen overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and appeared at their home requesting a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Official Statements

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Madeleine's disappearance, stated he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said 13 people had previously claimed to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I did not want setting a precedent.

“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA from a person probably 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 raised their hopes. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and difficult for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said authorities had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of dissimilar appearance and that she was older by two years than the child. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on stalking charges, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

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

Jury Hearings

Jurors learned that in April this year, the detective saw Wandelt under arrest and told her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

The court heard that while they spoke, Wandelt asked: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he answered: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have tampered with the sample”, stating: “There existed a chance she would never accept she cannot be Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Family Impact

Earlier in the trial, testimony revealed how the relatives were left frightened and distressed by their “unnerving” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to demand a DNA test.

Jurors heard how the pair made “increasingly bizarre plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

The accused women both refute one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.