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A suspected stalker who asserted to be the missing girl was eliminated after a confidential DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the long-lost child, authorities disclosed in court.

Harassment Campaign Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, is alleged to have conducted a campaign of harassment against the family of Madeleine, who disappeared from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The Polish national 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 requesting a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Police Testimony

Testifying on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on Madeleine's disappearance, stated he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had earlier asserted to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.

“If it got out in the media I had taken DNA from a person most likely not to be Madeleine, I was worried 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 raised their hopes. It could have been highly distressing and challenging for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said investigators had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of dissimilar appearance and that she was not the same age than the missing girl. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

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

Legal Testimony

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, the officer saw Wandelt while detained and stated to her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

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

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have tampered with the sample”, stating: “It was possible she would refuse to acknowledge she cannot be Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Family Impact

In prior court sessions, testimony revealed how the McCanns were left scared and distressed by their “unnerving” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to push for a DNA test.

The jury were told how both women made ever more strange plans” to obtain 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 contest one count of stalking. The case remains active.