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A suspected stalker who insisted to be Madeleine McCann was ruled out after a secret DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the long-lost child, authorities disclosed in court.

Harassment Campaign Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is accused of a pattern of threatening behavior against the relatives of Madeleine, who went missing from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The Polish citizen 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 visited their home demanding a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Investigation Details

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Operation Grange, explained he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals had in the past insisted to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.

“If it got out 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 contacting the family to say I intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been highly distressing and hard for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said the police had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of no physical similarity and that she was older by two years than Madeleine. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He stated: “Testing was conducted. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Legal Testimony

The court heard that in April this year, the detective saw Wandelt under arrest and informed her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

The court heard that throughout their discussion, Wandelt asked: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he answered: “Yes.”

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have tampered with the sample”, stating: “There was a possibility she would not believe she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

During previous hearings, testimony revealed how the relatives were left terrified and distressed by their “unnerving” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to push for a DNA test.

Jurors heard how the pair made ever more strange plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

Wandelt and Spragg both refute one count of stalking. The case remains active.