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A suspected stalker who asserted to be the missing girl was excluded after a secret DNA test proved conclusively she was not the long-lost child, authorities disclosed in court.

Harassment Campaign Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is alleged to have conducted a stalking campaign against the parents of Madeleine, who went missing from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The woman from Poland overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and appeared at their home requesting a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Police Testimony

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on Madeleine's disappearance, stated he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said 13 people had in the past insisted to be the abducted child 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 from someone probably not to be Madeleine, I was worried 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 built up their expectations. It could have been very traumatic and challenging for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said authorities had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account 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 “decided that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He said: “A comparison took place. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”

Legal Testimony

Jurors learned that in April this year, the officer saw Wandelt in custody and stated to her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt during the visit: “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 manipulated the sample”, remarking: “There was a possibility she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

Earlier in the trial, the court heard how the family were left scared and traumatized by their “creepy” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to demand a DNA test.

Jurors heard how both women made ever more strange plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that the family visited.

The accused women both deny one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.