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A suspected stalker who claimed to be Madeleine McCann was ruled out after a secret DNA test proved conclusively she was not the missing girl, authorities disclosed in court.

Targeted Behavior Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is alleged to have conducted a stalking campaign against the relatives of Madeleine, who vanished from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish citizen flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and turned up at their home requesting a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Investigation Details

Testifying on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Madeleine's disappearance, stated he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said 13 people had earlier asserted to be Madeleine McCann 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 from a person quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had a lot of people 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 built up their expectations. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and hard for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said the police had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of a lack of resemblance and that she was not the same age than the child. But, he said, after learning Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on stalking charges, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

He stated: “Testing was conducted. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, the detective saw Wandelt while detained and told her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

The court heard that throughout their discussion, Wandelt said: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have manipulated the sample”, remarking: “It was possible she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

In prior court sessions, testimony revealed how the family were left frightened and upset by their “disturbing” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to insist on a DNA test.

Jurors heard how both women made progressively odd plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

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