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A suspected stalker who insisted to be the abducted child was ruled out after a secret DNA test proved conclusively she was not Madeleine McCann, investigators stated in court.

Harassment Campaign Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, is alleged to have conducted a pattern of threatening behavior against the parents of Madeleine, who disappeared from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish national bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and visited their home insisting on a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Investigation Details

Testifying on Tuesday, the lead detective on Madeleine's disappearance, explained he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals had earlier asserted to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief 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 concerned I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about reaching out to the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and challenging for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said authorities had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of no physical similarity and that she was older by two years than the child. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

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

Court Proceedings

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, Cranwell visited Wandelt under arrest and informed her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Testimony indicated that while they spoke, Wandelt asked: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have tampered with the sample”, stating: “There existed a chance she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Family Impact

In prior court sessions, testimony revealed how the family were left terrified and distressed by their “creepy” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to demand a DNA test.

Jurors heard how the defendants made “increasingly bizarre plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the family visited.

Both defendants both deny one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.