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A suspected stalker who asserted to be the missing girl was ruled out after a secret DNA test definitively confirmed she was not Madeleine McCann, police have revealed in court.

Stalking Allegations Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is alleged to have conducted a stalking campaign against the relatives of Madeleine, who vanished from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish citizen flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and appeared at their home insisting on a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Police Testimony

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the lead detective on Madeleine's disappearance, explained he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said 13 people had earlier asserted to be the abducted child 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 quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about contacting the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been very traumatic and challenging for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

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

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

Legal Testimony

The court heard that in April this year, Cranwell met with Wandelt under arrest and stated to her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

The court heard that throughout their discussion, Wandelt asked: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have manipulated the sample”, adding: “There was a possibility she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

During previous hearings, testimony revealed how the McCanns were left scared and upset by their “unnerving” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to insist on a DNA test.

Jurors heard how the defendants made progressively odd plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that they had eaten in.

Wandelt and Spragg both deny one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.