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An alleged stalker who insisted to be the abducted child was ruled out after a confidential DNA test established beyond doubt she was not Madeleine McCann, police have revealed in court.

Stalking Allegations Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is accused of a stalking campaign against the parents of Madeleine, who went missing from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish national overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and turned up at their home demanding a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Police Testimony

Testifying on Tuesday, the chief investigator on the missing person’s case, explained he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said 13 people had in the past insisted to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent.

“If it was revealed in the media I had taken DNA off an individual quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about reaching out to 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 difficult for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said investigators had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of a lack of resemblance and that she was two years older than the child. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on stalking charges, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

He stated: “Analysis occurred. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”

Legal Testimony

The court heard that in April this year, the detective met with Wandelt in custody and told her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

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

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have manipulated the sample”, adding: “It was possible she would refuse to acknowledge she is not Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

During previous hearings, the court heard how the relatives were left scared and traumatized by their “disturbing” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to push for a DNA test.

Jurors heard how the pair 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.

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