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A suspected stalker who asserted to be the abducted child was excluded after a covert DNA test proved conclusively she was not the long-lost child, investigators stated in court.

Harassment Campaign Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, faces charges for a campaign of harassment against the parents of Madeleine, who went missing from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

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

Investigation Details

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

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said 13 people had previously claimed to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced 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 anxious 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 built up their expectations. It could have been highly distressing 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 not the same age than the child. But, he said, after learning Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He stated: “Analysis occurred. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

Jurors learned that in April this year, the officer met with Wandelt under arrest and stated to her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed 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 “would suggest we have interfered with the sample”, stating: “There existed a chance she would never accept she cannot be Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Family Impact

During previous hearings, the court heard how the relatives were left terrified and traumatized by their “disturbing” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to push for a DNA test.

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

The accused women both contest one count of stalking. The trial continues.