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An accused stalker who claimed to be the abducted child was ruled out after a secret DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the missing girl, investigators stated in court.

Targeted Behavior Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is alleged to have conducted a pattern of threatening behavior against the family of Madeleine, who disappeared from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The Polish citizen overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and visited their home demanding a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Investigation Details

Testifying on Tuesday, the lead detective on Madeleine's disappearance, explained he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said 13 people 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 got out in the media I had taken DNA off an individual probably not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I sincerely hold major concerns about reaching out to the family to say I intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and hard for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said investigators had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to dissimilar appearance and that she was two years older than the child. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He stated: “A comparison took place. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Legal Testimony

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

The court heard that during their conversation, Wandelt inquired: “Do you really want to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have manipulated the sample”, remarking: “There existed a chance she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

In prior court sessions, the court heard how the McCanns were left terrified and upset by their “disturbing” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to insist on a DNA test.

The jury were told how the defendants made “increasingly bizarre plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

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