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A suspected stalker who claimed to be the abducted child was excluded after a covert DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the missing girl, police have revealed in court.

Stalking Allegations Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, is accused of a campaign of harassment against the relatives of Madeleine, who vanished from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

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 demanding a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Investigation Details

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

The senior officer said thirteen individuals had previously claimed to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief that person was Madeleine because I did not want setting a precedent.

“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA from someone probably not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

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

DNA Comparison

He said investigators had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of no physical similarity and that she was older by two years than the child. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He declared: “Analysis occurred. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”

Legal Testimony

Jurors learned that in April this year, Cranwell saw Wandelt under arrest 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 while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

The court heard that during their conversation, Wandelt said: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have tampered with the sample”, stating: “It was possible she would not believe she isn't Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

During previous hearings, jurors learned how the McCanns were left scared and upset by their “unnerving” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to insist on a DNA test.

The jury were told how the pair made ever more strange plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the family visited.

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