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An alleged stalker who asserted to be the missing girl was eliminated after a secret DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the long-lost child, police have revealed in court.

Targeted Behavior Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is alleged to have conducted a campaign of harassment against the relatives of Madeleine, who vanished from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish citizen flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and appeared at their home requesting a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Police Testimony

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on the missing person’s case, said he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said 13 people had earlier asserted to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent.

“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA from someone most likely not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I sincerely hold major concerns about reaching out to the family to say I plan 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 authorities had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to dissimilar appearance and that she was older by two years than the child. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He said: “A comparison took place. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, Cranwell met with Wandelt while detained and informed her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Testimony indicated that during their conversation, Wandelt inquired: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

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

Psychological Toll

In prior court sessions, jurors learned how the family were left scared and traumatized by their “creepy” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to insist on a DNA test.

The court learned how both women made ever more strange plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

Wandelt and Spragg both deny one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.