🔗 Share this article Confidential DNA Examination Confirmed Suspected Stalker Could Not Be Madeleine McCann, Reports Officer An alleged stalker who claimed to be the abducted child was ruled out after a secret DNA test proved conclusively she was not the missing girl, investigators stated in court. Stalking Allegations Targeting McCann Family Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, faces charges for a stalking campaign against the relatives of Madeleine, who went missing from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three. The woman from Poland flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and visited their home demanding a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard. Police Testimony Giving evidence on Tuesday, the lead detective on Operation Grange, explained he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”. DCI Mark Cramwell said 13 people had earlier asserted to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid 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 worried 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 plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been very traumatic and challenging for the family.” Genetic Testing He said investigators had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of a lack of resemblance and that she was older by two years than the child. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”. He said: “Testing was conducted. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.” Legal Testimony Proceedings revealed that in April this year, Cranwell met with Wandelt under arrest and stated to her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.” Evidence showed that while they spoke, Wandelt inquired: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he replied: “Yes.” He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have interfered with the sample”, adding: “It was possible she would never accept she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.” Family Impact During previous hearings, jurors learned how the McCanns were left frightened and traumatized by their “creepy” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to demand a DNA test. The jury were told how both women made ever more strange plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that they had eaten in. The accused women both deny one count of stalking. The case remains active.