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An accused stalker who claimed to be the abducted child was eliminated after a secret DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the long-lost child, police have revealed in court.

Stalking Allegations Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, faces charges for a stalking campaign against the parents of Madeleine, who went missing from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The woman from Poland overwhelmed 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 requesting a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Official Statements

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the lead detective on Operation Grange, stated he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals had earlier asserted to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.

“If it got out in the media I had taken DNA from a person most likely not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had many persons 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 quite emotionally damaging and difficult for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said authorities had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to a lack of resemblance and that she was not the same age than Madeleine. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on stalking charges, he “decided that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He declared: “A comparison took place. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, the detective visited Wandelt under arrest and stated to her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Testimony indicated that throughout their discussion, Wandelt asked: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

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

Family Impact

In prior court sessions, jurors learned how the family were left scared and traumatized by their “creepy” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to insist on a DNA test.

The jury were told how both women made “increasingly bizarre plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that the family visited.

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