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An alleged stalker who insisted to be the missing girl was excluded after a covert DNA test definitively confirmed she was not Madeleine McCann, authorities disclosed in court.

Targeted Behavior Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, faces charges for a campaign of harassment against the family of Madeleine, who vanished from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish citizen flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and turned up at their home demanding a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Police Testimony

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the lead detective on Madeleine's disappearance, said he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals had previously claimed to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent 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 many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

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

Forensic Analysis

He said authorities had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of no physical similarity and that she was not the same age than the child. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He stated: “A comparison took place. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

The court heard that in April this year, the officer saw Wandelt under arrest and told her that her DNA had been matched against 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 inquired: “Do you really want to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he answered: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have manipulated the sample”, stating: “It was possible 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 upset by their “unnerving” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to demand a DNA test.

The jury were told how the defendants made ever more strange plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the family visited.

The accused women both refute one count of stalking. The trial continues.