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An alleged 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.

Stalking Allegations Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, faces charges for a campaign of harassment against the family of Madeleine, who disappeared from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The Polish citizen overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and appeared at their home insisting on a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Police Testimony

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Operation Grange, stated he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals had earlier asserted to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief 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 most likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I truly possess major concerns about reaching out to the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and difficult for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said the police had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of dissimilar appearance and that she was two years older than Madeleine. But, he said, after learning Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He declared: “Testing was conducted. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

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 profiles did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that throughout their discussion, Wandelt asked: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he answered: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have manipulated the sample”, stating: “There existed a chance she would never accept she cannot be Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

In prior court sessions, the court heard how the family were left scared and traumatized by their “disturbing” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to demand a DNA test.

Jurors heard 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 McCanns dined at.

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