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An accused stalker who insisted to be the abducted child was ruled out after a confidential DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the missing girl, investigators stated in court.

Harassment Campaign Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is alleged to have conducted a campaign of harassment against the family of Madeleine, who vanished from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish citizen overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and visited their home insisting on a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Police Testimony

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the lead detective on the missing person’s case, explained he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said 13 people had in the past insisted to be the abducted child 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 from someone quite likely 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 contacting the family to say I intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and hard for the family.”

Genetic Testing

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

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

Jury Hearings

Jurors learned that in April this year, Cranwell met with Wandelt while detained and told her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

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

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have interfered with the sample”, stating: “It was possible she would refuse to acknowledge she is not Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

Earlier in the trial, testimony revealed how the relatives were left frightened and upset by their “unnerving” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to demand a DNA test.

The court learned how the pair made “increasingly bizarre plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that the family visited.

Wandelt and Spragg both refute one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.