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A suspected stalker who claimed to be the missing girl was excluded after a confidential DNA test proved conclusively she was not the missing girl, police have revealed in court.

Stalking Allegations Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, faces charges for a pattern of threatening behavior against the relatives of Madeleine, who disappeared from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The woman from Poland flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and turned up at their home demanding a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Investigation Details

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the lead detective on the missing person’s case, said he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals had previously claimed to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent 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 a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have 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 very traumatic and difficult for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said investigators had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to a lack of resemblance and that she was older by two years than Madeleine. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He said: “Testing was conducted. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

Jurors learned that in April this year, the officer met with Wandelt in custody 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 while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that while they spoke, Wandelt said: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have tampered with the sample”, stating: “There was a possibility she would refuse to acknowledge she cannot be Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Family Impact

In prior court sessions, jurors learned how the relatives were left scared and upset by their “unnerving” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to demand a DNA test.

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

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