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An accused stalker who insisted to be the missing girl was ruled out after a confidential DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the long-lost child, investigators stated in court.

Harassment Campaign Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, is alleged to have conducted a campaign of harassment against the family of Madeleine, who vanished from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish citizen 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 visited their home demanding a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Official Statements

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Operation Grange, explained he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals had earlier asserted to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I did not want setting a precedent.

“If it was revealed in the media I had taken DNA from a person probably not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about reaching out to 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 challenging for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said authorities had previously assessed 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 were going to take into custody Wandelt on harassment allegations, 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.”

Court Proceedings

Jurors learned that in April this year, the officer saw Wandelt in custody and stated to her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

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

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

Emotional Distress

In prior court sessions, the court heard how the family were left scared and traumatized by their “creepy” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to push for a DNA test.

The jury were told how the pair made progressively odd plans” to obtain 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.