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A suspected stalker who insisted to be Madeleine McCann was eliminated after a confidential DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the missing girl, investigators stated in court.

Harassment Campaign Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, is alleged to have conducted a pattern of threatening behavior against the relatives of Madeleine, who went missing from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The Polish national overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, 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 senior investigating officer on the missing person’s case, stated he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals had earlier asserted to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent.

“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA off an individual probably not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about contacting the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been very traumatic and hard for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said the police had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of no physical similarity and that she was not the same age than the missing girl. But, he said, after learning Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

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

Legal Testimony

The court heard that in April this year, Cranwell visited Wandelt under arrest and stated to her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that while they spoke, Wandelt inquired: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

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

Psychological Toll

In prior court sessions, the court heard how the relatives were left terrified and distressed by their “disturbing” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to push for a DNA test.

The court learned how the pair made progressively odd plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

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