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An alleged stalker who asserted to be Madeleine McCann was ruled out after a covert DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the missing girl, investigators stated in court.

Targeted Behavior Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is alleged to have conducted a campaign of harassment against the relatives of Madeleine, who disappeared from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The woman from Poland flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and visited their home demanding a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Police Testimony

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Operation Grange, said he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her behavior 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 aimed to prevent setting a precedent.

“If it was revealed in the media I had taken DNA off an individual quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had numerous individuals 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 highly distressing and difficult for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said the police had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to no physical similarity and that she was not the same age than Madeleine. But, he said, after learning Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He said: “Testing was conducted. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, Cranwell met with Wandelt under arrest and told her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Testimony indicated that while they spoke, Wandelt asked: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have interfered with the sample”, stating: “There was a possibility she would never accept she cannot be Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

In prior court sessions, jurors learned how the McCanns were left frightened and distressed by their “disturbing” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to demand a DNA test.

The jury were told how the defendants made progressively odd plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that they had eaten in.

Wandelt and Spragg both contest one count of stalking. The case remains active.