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A suspected stalker who claimed to be the abducted child was excluded after a secret DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the long-lost child, authorities disclosed in court.

Targeted Behavior Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, is accused of a pattern of threatening behavior against the relatives of Madeleine, who vanished from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The woman from Poland flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and appeared at their home requesting a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Official Statements

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Madeleine's disappearance, said he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals had previously claimed 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 became known in the media I had taken DNA from a person probably not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I truly possess major concerns about approaching the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been very traumatic and difficult for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said investigators had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of no physical similarity and that she was not the same age than Madeleine. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on stalking charges, he “decided that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He stated: “Testing was conducted. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Legal Testimony

Jurors learned that in April this year, the officer saw Wandelt in custody and stated to her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

The court heard that while they spoke, Wandelt inquired: “Do you really want to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he answered: “Yes.”

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have tampered with the sample”, stating: “It was possible she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

In prior court sessions, the court heard how the McCanns were left terrified and upset by their “disturbing” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to demand a DNA test.

Jurors heard how the defendants made ever more strange plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that they had eaten in.

The accused women both contest one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.