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An alleged stalker who claimed to be Madeleine McCann was eliminated after a secret DNA test proved conclusively she was not the missing girl, investigators stated in court.

Targeted Behavior Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, is alleged to have conducted a stalking campaign against the relatives of Madeleine, who disappeared from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The Polish citizen bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and appeared at their home requesting a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Investigation Details

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on Operation Grange, explained he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals had previously claimed to be the missing girl 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 from a person most likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I sincerely hold major concerns about approaching the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been very traumatic and challenging for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said authorities had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of a lack of resemblance 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 “made the decision that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He said: “A comparison took place. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, the detective met with Wandelt while detained and told her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

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

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have tampered with the sample”, adding: “It was possible she would not believe she cannot be Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

Earlier in the trial, the court heard how the McCanns were left terrified and traumatized by their “unnerving” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to insist on a DNA test.

The court learned how the defendants made progressively odd plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

Both defendants both contest one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.