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An accused stalker who claimed to be Madeleine McCann was ruled out after a confidential DNA test proved conclusively she was not the missing girl, authorities disclosed in court.

Harassment Campaign Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, faces charges for a stalking campaign against the parents of Madeleine, who vanished from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The Polish national bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and appeared at their home insisting on a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Police Testimony

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the lead detective on Operation Grange, explained he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had earlier asserted to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.

“If it was revealed in the media I had taken DNA off an individual probably not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

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

DNA Comparison

He said the police had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of dissimilar appearance and that she was older by two years than Madeleine. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

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

Court Proceedings

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, the officer met with Wandelt in custody and stated to her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Testimony indicated that throughout their discussion, Wandelt asked: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have interfered with the sample”, remarking: “There existed a chance she would never accept she cannot be Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

During previous hearings, testimony revealed how the family were left terrified and traumatized by their “unnerving” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to push for a DNA test.

The court learned how the pair made “increasingly bizarre plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that the family visited.

Both defendants both deny one count of stalking. The case remains active.