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An alleged stalker who asserted to be the abducted child was eliminated after a secret DNA test definitively confirmed she was not Madeleine McCann, authorities disclosed in court.

Harassment Campaign Towards McCann Family

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

The Polish citizen flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and visited their home requesting a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Police Testimony

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Madeleine's disappearance, said he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said 13 people had earlier asserted to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I did not want setting a precedent.

“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA from a person most likely 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 contacting the family to say I intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and difficult for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said authorities had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of no physical similarity and that she was two years older than the child. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

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

Legal Testimony

Jurors learned that in April this year, Cranwell met with Wandelt while detained and told her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. Jurors were told 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 replied: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have manipulated the sample”, remarking: “It was possible she would not believe she cannot be Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

Earlier in the trial, jurors learned how the McCanns were left frightened and distressed by their “creepy” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to demand 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 family visited.

Both defendants both contest one count of stalking. The case remains active.