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A suspected stalker who insisted to be the abducted child was excluded after a secret DNA test proved conclusively she was not the long-lost child, police have revealed in court.

Targeted Behavior Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, faces charges for a campaign of harassment against the parents of Madeleine, who went missing from a holiday destination 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 numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and appeared at their home requesting a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Official Statements

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Madeleine's disappearance, stated he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said 13 people 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 was revealed in the media I had taken DNA from someone 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 contacting the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been very traumatic and hard for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said authorities had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to no physical similarity and that she was two years older than the child. But, he said, after learning Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He said: “Analysis occurred. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, Cranwell met with Wandelt while detained and stated to 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.”

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

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have manipulated the sample”, stating: “There was a possibility she would not believe she cannot be Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

During previous hearings, the court heard how the McCanns were left terrified and traumatized by their “creepy” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to insist on a DNA test.

Jurors heard how the defendants made “increasingly bizarre plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that they had eaten in.

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