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An accused stalker who insisted to be the abducted child was ruled out after a covert DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the missing girl, police have revealed in court.

Targeted Behavior Targeting McCann Family

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

The woman from Poland bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and appeared at their home requesting a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Investigation Details

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

DCI Mark Cramwell said 13 people had previously claimed to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent.

“If it got out in the media I had taken DNA from a person probably not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I sincerely hold major concerns about reaching out to the family to say I intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been very traumatic and hard for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said investigators had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to dissimilar appearance and that she was older by two years than Madeleine. 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: “Testing was conducted. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

Jurors learned that in April this year, the detective met with Wandelt under arrest and informed her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

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

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have tampered with the sample”, remarking: “There existed a chance she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

Earlier in the trial, the court heard how the McCanns were left frightened and traumatized by their “unnerving” 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 defendants made progressively odd plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that the family visited.

Wandelt and Spragg both deny one count of stalking. The trial continues.