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An alleged stalker who asserted to be the missing girl was ruled out after a covert DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the long-lost child, investigators stated in court.

Stalking Allegations Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, faces charges for a pattern of threatening behavior against the family of Madeleine, who vanished from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The Polish national overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and visited their home insisting on a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Police Testimony

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Operation Grange, said he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

DCI 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 did not want setting a precedent.

“If it was revealed in the media I had taken DNA from someone probably not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I sincerely hold major concerns about approaching the family to say I intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been highly distressing and hard for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said investigators had already judged 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 learning Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

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

Jury Hearings

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, the officer saw Wandelt under arrest and told her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that throughout their discussion, Wandelt said: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

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

Psychological Toll

Earlier in the trial, testimony revealed how the relatives were left scared and distressed by their “disturbing” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to insist on a DNA test.

The jury were told how the defendants made progressively odd plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that the family visited.

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