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A suspected stalker who claimed to be the abducted child was excluded after a covert DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the missing girl, police have revealed in court.

Targeted Behavior Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is accused of a pattern of threatening behavior against the relatives of Madeleine, who vanished from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish national bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and appeared at their home demanding a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Police Testimony

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the lead detective on Operation Grange, explained he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said 13 people had previously claimed to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief that person was Madeleine because I did not want setting a precedent.

“If it was revealed in the media I had taken DNA off an individual probably not to be Madeleine, I was worried 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 built up their expectations. It could have been very traumatic and hard for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said investigators had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to a lack of resemblance and that she was two years older than the child. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

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

Legal Testimony

Jurors learned that in April this year, the officer visited Wandelt while detained and stated to her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that while they spoke, Wandelt asked: “Do you really want to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have tampered with the sample”, adding: “It was possible she would not believe she cannot be Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Family Impact

Earlier in the trial, jurors learned how the relatives were left frightened and traumatized by their “disturbing” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants 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 taking forks from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

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