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An alleged stalker who claimed to be the abducted child was eliminated after a confidential DNA test definitively confirmed she was not Madeleine McCann, police have revealed in court.

Targeted Behavior Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is alleged to have conducted a stalking campaign against the family of Madeleine, who vanished from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The Polish citizen overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and visited their home insisting on a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Official Statements

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Operation Grange, stated he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said thirteen individuals had in the past insisted to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent.

“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA from a person most likely not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I truly possess 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 quite emotionally damaging and difficult for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said authorities had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to a lack of resemblance and that she was older by two years than the child. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He declared: “Analysis occurred. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

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

The court heard that while they spoke, Wandelt said: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

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

Family Impact

Earlier in the trial, testimony revealed how the McCanns were left terrified 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.

The jury were told how the pair made ever more strange plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that the family visited.

The accused women both deny one count of stalking. The trial continues.