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An accused stalker who insisted to be the abducted child was excluded after a covert DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the missing girl, authorities disclosed in court.

Harassment Campaign Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, is accused of a stalking campaign against the family of Madeleine, who disappeared 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 from 2022 until recently, and appeared at their home insisting on a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Official Statements

Testifying on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Operation Grange, stated he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had in the past insisted to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.

“If it got out in the media I had taken DNA from someone quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I sincerely hold major concerns about contacting the family to say I plan 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 authorities had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of a lack of resemblance and that she was two years older than the child. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

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

Court Proceedings

Jurors learned that in April this year, the officer met with Wandelt in custody and stated to her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Testimony indicated that during their conversation, Wandelt asked: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he answered: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have manipulated the sample”, stating: “There existed a chance she would not believe she cannot be Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Family Impact

In prior court sessions, testimony revealed how the family were left terrified and traumatized by their “unnerving” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to demand a DNA test.

Jurors heard how both women made ever more strange plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

Both defendants both deny one count of stalking. The trial continues.