🔗 Share this article Secret DNA Analysis Confirmed Suspected Stalker Was Not Madeleine McCann, Says Investigator An accused stalker who claimed to be the missing girl was eliminated after a covert DNA test proved conclusively she was not the long-lost child, investigators stated in court. Targeted Behavior Targeting McCann Family Julia Wandelt, 24, is accused of a campaign of harassment against the parents of Madeleine, who vanished from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 when she was three. The woman from Poland flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and appeared at their home demanding a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings. Police Testimony Testifying on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Madeleine's disappearance, said he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”. DCI Mark Cramwell said 13 people had previously claimed to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent. “If it became known in the media I had taken DNA from a person most likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’. “I genuinely have major concerns about reaching out to the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and difficult for the family.” Genetic Testing He said the police had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to a lack of resemblance 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 upon arrest”. He stated: “Analysis occurred. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.” Legal Testimony Jurors learned that in April this year, Cranwell saw Wandelt in custody and stated to her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.” The court heard that while they spoke, Wandelt asked: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he replied: “Yes.” He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have interfered with the sample”, stating: “It was possible she would not believe she cannot be Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.” Family Impact Earlier in the trial, jurors learned how the McCanns were left terrified and upset by their “unnerving” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to insist on a DNA test. The court learned how the pair made “increasingly bizarre plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the family visited. Both defendants both contest one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.