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An accused stalker who claimed to be the missing girl was eliminated after a secret DNA test proved conclusively she was not the long-lost child, police have revealed in court.

Targeted Behavior Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is accused of a stalking campaign against the relatives of Madeleine, who went missing 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 visited their home demanding a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Investigation Details

Testifying on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Madeleine's disappearance, explained he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said 13 people had earlier asserted to be the missing girl 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 someone quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had a lot of people 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 given them false hope. It could have been very traumatic and challenging for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said the police had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to a lack of resemblance and that she was two years older than the missing girl. But, he said, after learning Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He stated: “Testing was conducted. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

The court heard that in April this year, the detective saw Wandelt in custody and stated to her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The jury heard 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 responded: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have tampered with the sample”, stating: “There existed a chance she would never accept she is not Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

During previous hearings, jurors learned how the relatives were left terrified and upset by their “creepy” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to demand a DNA test.

The jury were told how the pair made “increasingly bizarre plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the family visited.

Both defendants both refute one count of stalking. The case remains active.