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An alleged stalker who insisted to be Madeleine McCann was excluded after a covert DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the long-lost child, investigators stated in court.

Stalking Allegations Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is accused of a pattern of threatening behavior against the family of Madeleine, who went missing from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish citizen flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and visited their home demanding a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Official Statements

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

The senior officer said 13 people 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 got out in the media I had taken DNA from a person quite likely 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 reaching out to the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and challenging for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said authorities had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of no physical similarity and that she was two years older than Madeleine. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He declared: “A comparison took place. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

Jurors learned that in April this year, Cranwell met with Wandelt under arrest and told her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

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

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have interfered with the sample”, remarking: “There was a possibility she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

In prior court sessions, jurors learned how the relatives were left scared and upset by their “unnerving” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to demand a DNA test.

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

Wandelt and Spragg both contest one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.