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

Stalking Allegations Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, faces charges for a pattern of threatening behavior against the parents of Madeleine, who went missing from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The Polish national bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and visited their home demanding a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Official Statements

Testifying on Tuesday, the lead detective on Operation Grange, stated he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell 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 wished to avoid setting a precedent.

“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA from a person quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was concerned 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 difficult for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said investigators had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to a lack of resemblance and that she was older by two years than the missing girl. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He stated: “Analysis occurred. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

Jurors learned that in April this year, the detective visited Wandelt while detained and informed her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

The court heard that during their conversation, Wandelt asked: “Do you really want to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have interfered with the sample”, stating: “There was a possibility she would not believe she cannot be Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

During previous hearings, jurors learned how the McCanns were left frightened and distressed by their “unnerving” 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.

Jurors heard how the pair made “increasingly bizarre plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

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