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An alleged stalker who asserted to be the missing girl was ruled out after a covert DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the missing girl, police have revealed in court.

Harassment Campaign Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is accused of a stalking campaign against the relatives of Madeleine, who went missing from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The Polish national flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, 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, the court was earlier informed.

Police Testimony

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the lead detective on Operation Grange, stated he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said 13 people had in the past insisted to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent.

“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA from a person quite likely 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 contacting 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 difficult for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said authorities had earlier determined 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 discovering Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on stalking charges, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

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

Court Proceedings

Jurors learned 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 profiles did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

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

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have tampered with the sample”, remarking: “There was a possibility she would not believe she is not Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

In prior court sessions, jurors learned how the McCanns were left terrified and upset by their “creepy” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to push for a DNA test.

Jurors heard how both women made ever more strange plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

The accused women both deny one count of stalking. The trial continues.