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An alleged stalker who insisted to be the abducted child was eliminated after a confidential DNA test proved conclusively she was not the missing girl, police have revealed in court.

Stalking Allegations Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, faces charges for a pattern of threatening behavior against the family of Madeleine, who vanished from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish national bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and turned up at their home requesting a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Police Testimony

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the lead detective on Madeleine's disappearance, 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 earlier asserted 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 got out in the media I had taken DNA off an individual quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about approaching 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 difficult for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said the police had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of no physical similarity and that she was older by two years than the child. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He stated: “Testing was conducted. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, Cranwell met with Wandelt while detained and informed her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

The court heard that throughout their discussion, Wandelt asked: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he answered: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have manipulated the sample”, remarking: “There existed a chance she would not believe she cannot be Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

In prior court sessions, testimony revealed how the family were left terrified and distressed by their “creepy” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to insist on a DNA test.

Jurors heard how the defendants made “increasingly bizarre plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that the family visited.

The accused women both deny one count of stalking. The case remains active.