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An alleged stalker who claimed to be the abducted child was eliminated after a secret DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the missing girl, authorities disclosed in court.

Targeted Behavior Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is accused of a stalking campaign 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 demanding a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Official Statements

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the lead detective on Operation Grange, said he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

DCI Mark Cramwell said thirteen individuals had in the past insisted 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 a person quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I sincerely hold major concerns about contacting the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and challenging for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said the police had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of no physical similarity and that she was older by two years than Madeleine. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He declared: “Analysis occurred. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

The court heard 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 genetic markers did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

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

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have tampered with the sample”, stating: “There was a possibility she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Family Impact

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

The court learned how the defendants made progressively odd plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

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