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An accused stalker who insisted to be the missing girl was excluded after a secret DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the long-lost child, authorities disclosed in court.

Stalking Allegations Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, faces charges for a stalking campaign against the family of Madeleine, who went missing from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The Polish national bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and visited their home requesting a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Official Statements

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on Madeleine's disappearance, explained he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had previously claimed to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I did not want setting a precedent.

“If it got out in the media I had taken DNA off an individual most likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about contacting the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been very traumatic and difficult for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said investigators had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of a lack of resemblance and that she was older by two years than the missing girl. But, he said, after learning Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on stalking charges, he “determined that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

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

Jury Hearings

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, the detective met with Wandelt under arrest and told her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

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

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have manipulated the sample”, adding: “It was possible she would not believe she cannot be Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Family Impact

Earlier in the trial, the court heard how the family were left scared and upset by their “disturbing” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to push for a DNA test.

Jurors heard how the defendants made “increasingly bizarre plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that they had eaten in.

The accused women both contest one count of stalking. The case remains active.