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A suspected stalker who claimed to be Madeleine McCann was eliminated after a confidential DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the missing girl, authorities disclosed in court.

Targeted Behavior Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, faces charges for a campaign of harassment against the relatives of Madeleine, who vanished from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The Polish citizen overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and turned up at their home requesting a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Police Testimony

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on Madeleine's disappearance, stated he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said 13 people had earlier asserted 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 was revealed in the media I had taken DNA from someone 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 approaching the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been highly distressing and challenging for the family.”

DNA Comparison

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 the missing girl. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on stalking charges, he “decided that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He stated: “A comparison took place. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, Cranwell saw Wandelt under arrest and told her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that throughout their discussion, Wandelt inquired: “Do you really want to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have manipulated the sample”, stating: “There existed a chance she would refuse to acknowledge she cannot be Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Family Impact

In prior court sessions, testimony revealed how the family were left terrified and distressed by their “disturbing” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to insist on a DNA test.

The jury were told how the pair made progressively odd plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the family visited.

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