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A suspected stalker who asserted to be Madeleine McCann was eliminated after a covert DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the long-lost child, investigators stated in court.

Stalking Allegations Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, faces charges for a pattern of threatening behavior against the family of Madeleine, who went missing from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The Polish national bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and appeared at their home insisting on a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Official Statements

Testifying on Tuesday, the lead detective on the missing person’s case, explained 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 earlier asserted to be the missing girl 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 most likely not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I truly possess major concerns about contacting the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been very traumatic and challenging 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 two years older than Madeleine. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He said: “A comparison took place. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

The court heard that in April this year, Cranwell met with Wandelt under arrest and stated to 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 throughout their discussion, Wandelt inquired: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have tampered with the sample”, stating: “There was a possibility she would refuse to acknowledge she cannot be Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

In prior court sessions, testimony revealed how the McCanns were left frightened and upset by their “creepy” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to demand a DNA test.

Jurors heard how the defendants made ever more strange plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that they had eaten in.

Both defendants both refute one count of stalking. The trial continues.