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An accused stalker who insisted to be Madeleine McCann was excluded after a covert DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the missing girl, investigators stated in court.

Harassment Campaign Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, faces charges for a pattern of threatening behavior against the family of Madeleine, who vanished from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish citizen overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and appeared at their home demanding a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Police Testimony

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Operation Grange, stated he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals had earlier asserted to be the abducted child 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 from a person most likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I truly possess major concerns about approaching the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been very traumatic and hard for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said the police had previously assessed 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 planned to arrest Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He said: “Analysis occurred. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

Jurors learned that in April this year, Cranwell saw Wandelt in custody and told her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Testimony indicated that while they spoke, Wandelt asked: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have manipulated the sample”, stating: “There existed a chance she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

Earlier in the trial, jurors learned how the McCanns were left terrified and upset by their “unnerving” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to push for a DNA test.

The jury were told how both women made “increasingly bizarre plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that they had eaten in.

The accused women both refute one count of stalking. The trial continues.