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An alleged stalker who asserted to be the missing girl was eliminated after a covert DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the long-lost child, police have revealed in court.

Targeted Behavior Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, faces charges for a campaign of harassment against the parents of Madeleine, who went missing from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The woman from Poland overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and appeared at their home requesting a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Official Statements

Testifying on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on Madeleine's disappearance, stated he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had earlier asserted to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent.

“If it got out in the media I had taken DNA from someone most likely not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I truly possess major concerns about approaching the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been very traumatic and difficult for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said authorities had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of dissimilar appearance and that she was not the same age than the missing girl. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

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

Legal Testimony

Jurors learned that in April this year, the officer saw Wandelt while detained and stated to her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that throughout their discussion, Wandelt asked: “Do you really want to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he answered: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have tampered with the sample”, adding: “It was possible she would never accept she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

Earlier in the trial, the court heard how the McCanns were left frightened and traumatized by their “creepy” and “deeply disturbing” 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 both women made ever more strange plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that they had eaten in.

The accused women both deny one count of stalking. The case remains active.