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A suspected stalker who insisted to be Madeleine McCann was ruled out after a secret DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the long-lost child, authorities disclosed in court.

Stalking Allegations Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is alleged to have conducted a pattern of threatening behavior against the parents of Madeleine, who disappeared from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The woman from Poland overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and visited their home demanding a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Police Testimony

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Madeleine's disappearance, stated he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had earlier asserted to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I did not want setting a precedent.

“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA from someone quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had a lot of people 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 built up their expectations. It could have been very traumatic and difficult for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said authorities had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of dissimilar appearance and that she was older by two years than the missing girl. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He stated: “A comparison took place. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

Jurors learned that in April this year, the detective met with Wandelt in custody and told 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.”

Testimony indicated that throughout their discussion, Wandelt inquired: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he answered: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have interfered with the sample”, remarking: “It was possible she would not believe she is not Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

In prior court sessions, the court heard how the family were left terrified and distressed by their “disturbing” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to push for a DNA test.

The court learned how both women 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.

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