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An alleged stalker who asserted to be the missing girl was excluded after a secret DNA test proved conclusively she was not Madeleine McCann, authorities disclosed in court.

Stalking Allegations Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, is alleged to have conducted a campaign of harassment against the relatives of Madeleine, who went missing from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish citizen bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and appeared at their home insisting on a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Official Statements

Testifying on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on Madeleine's disappearance, stated he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had in the past insisted to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent.

“If it was revealed in the media I had taken DNA from someone most 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 built up their expectations. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and challenging for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said authorities had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of dissimilar appearance and that she was not the same age than Madeleine. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on stalking charges, he “decided that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

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

Jury Hearings

Jurors learned that in April this year, the officer met with Wandelt under arrest and informed her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The jury heard 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 detective told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have tampered with the sample”, stating: “It was possible she would never accept she cannot be Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

Earlier in the trial, testimony revealed how the McCanns were left scared and distressed by their “unnerving” and “deeply disturbing” 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 rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that they had eaten in.

Both defendants both contest one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.