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An accused stalker who claimed to be the abducted child was eliminated after a covert DNA test proved conclusively she was not the missing girl, authorities disclosed in court.

Targeted Behavior Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is accused of a campaign of harassment against the parents of Madeleine, who disappeared from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The woman from Poland flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and visited their home requesting a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Official Statements

Testifying on Tuesday, the lead detective on the missing person’s case, stated he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals had earlier asserted to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I did not want setting a precedent.

“If it was revealed in the media I had taken DNA from a person quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had many persons 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 built up their expectations. It could have been very traumatic and difficult for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said the police had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to a lack of resemblance and that she was not the same age than the child. But, he said, after learning Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

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

Jury Hearings

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, the detective saw Wandelt under arrest and informed her that her DNA had been matched against 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 truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have interfered with the sample”, stating: “It was possible she would refuse to acknowledge she is not Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

In prior court sessions, the court heard how the McCanns were left frightened and distressed by their “creepy” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to demand a DNA test.

The court learned how the pair made “increasingly bizarre 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 contest one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.