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An accused stalker who asserted to be Madeleine McCann was ruled out after a covert DNA test definitively confirmed she was not Madeleine McCann, police have revealed in court.

Stalking Allegations Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is accused of a stalking campaign against the relatives of Madeleine, who vanished from a holiday destination 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 demanding a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Investigation Details

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the lead detective on Madeleine's disappearance, stated he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector 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 off an individual probably not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about reaching out to the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and hard for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said investigators had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of no physical similarity and that she was not the same age than the missing girl. But, he said, after learning 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: “Analysis occurred. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

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

Testimony indicated that during their conversation, Wandelt asked: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have tampered with the sample”, remarking: “There existed a chance she would never accept she is not Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

During previous hearings, testimony revealed how the relatives were left terrified and traumatized by their “unnerving” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to insist on a DNA test.

The jury were told how both women made “increasingly bizarre plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

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