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A suspected stalker who claimed to be the abducted child was eliminated after a secret DNA test proved conclusively she was not Madeleine McCann, authorities disclosed in court.

Targeted Behavior Against McCann Family

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

The Polish national flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and visited their home demanding a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Investigation Details

Testifying on Tuesday, the lead detective on Operation Grange, explained he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said 13 people had earlier asserted to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.

“If it was revealed in the media I had taken DNA from a person most likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had numerous individuals 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 previously assessed 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 criminal accusations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

He said: “Analysis occurred. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

Jurors learned that in April this year, Cranwell visited Wandelt while detained and informed her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Testimony indicated that throughout their discussion, Wandelt inquired: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have interfered with the sample”, adding: “It was possible she would never accept she isn't Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

During previous hearings, testimony revealed how the relatives were left frightened and traumatized by their “creepy” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to push for a DNA test.

The jury were told how the pair made progressively odd plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that the family visited.

Wandelt and Spragg both contest one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.