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

Targeted Behavior Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, is accused of a pattern of threatening behavior against the parents of Madeleine, who vanished from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The Polish citizen overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and appeared at their home requesting a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Police Testimony

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Madeleine's disappearance, said he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said over a dozen persons had previously claimed to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.

“If it was revealed in the media I had taken DNA off an individual most likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about contacting the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been highly distressing and difficult for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said authorities had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to a lack of resemblance and that she was older by two years than the missing girl. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

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

Legal Testimony

The court heard that in April this year, the detective 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 while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that during their conversation, Wandelt said: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have interfered with the sample”, stating: “There was a possibility she would not believe she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Family Impact

During previous hearings, the court heard how the family were left scared and distressed by their “unnerving” and “profoundly unsettling” 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 ever more strange plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

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