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A suspected stalker who insisted to be Madeleine McCann was excluded after a covert DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the missing girl, authorities disclosed in court.

Targeted Behavior Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is alleged to have conducted a campaign of harassment against the parents of Madeleine, who vanished from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The Polish national flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and turned up at their home requesting a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Investigation Details

Testifying on Tuesday, the lead detective on the missing person’s case, said he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said over a dozen persons had previously claimed 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 a person most likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about reaching out to the family to say I intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been highly distressing and challenging for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said authorities had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to no physical similarity and that she was older by two years than the child. But, he said, after learning Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

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

Court Proceedings

The court heard that in April this year, Cranwell met with Wandelt while detained and stated to her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

The court heard that while they spoke, Wandelt asked: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have manipulated the sample”, remarking: “There was a possibility she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

Earlier in the trial, testimony revealed how the family were left scared and upset by their “creepy” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to push for a DNA test.

The court learned how the pair made “increasingly bizarre plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that they had eaten in.

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