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A suspected stalker who asserted to be Madeleine McCann was ruled out after a confidential DNA test proved conclusively she was not Madeleine McCann, authorities disclosed in court.

Stalking Allegations Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is accused of a stalking campaign against the family of Madeleine, who went missing from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The Polish national flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and appeared at their home demanding a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Official Statements

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the lead detective on the missing person’s case, explained he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had previously claimed to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.

“If it was revealed in the media I had taken DNA from someone most likely not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

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

Forensic Analysis

He said the police had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to dissimilar appearance and that she was not the same age than the child. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He declared: “Testing was conducted. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

Jurors learned that in April this year, the detective met with 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.”

Evidence showed that during their conversation, Wandelt asked: “Do you really want to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have manipulated the sample”, adding: “There existed a chance she would never accept she is not Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

In prior court sessions, the court heard how the family were left scared and traumatized by their “disturbing” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant 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 obtain 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 case remains active.