🔗 Share this article Confidential DNA Examination Proved Alleged Stalker Could Not Be Madeleine McCann, Reports Investigator A suspected stalker who claimed to be Madeleine McCann was excluded after a confidential DNA test established beyond doubt she was not Madeleine McCann, authorities disclosed in court. Harassment Campaign Targeting McCann Family Julia Wandelt, 24, is alleged to have conducted a pattern of threatening behavior against the relatives of Madeleine, who vanished from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three. The woman from Poland flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and visited their home requesting a DNA test, the court was earlier informed. Investigation Details Giving evidence on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Madeleine's disappearance, explained he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”. Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said over a dozen persons had in the past insisted to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent. “If it got out 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 truly possess major concerns about reaching out to the family to say I intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and difficult for the family.” DNA Comparison He said investigators had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to no physical similarity and that she was two years older than the child. But, he said, after learning Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on stalking charges, he “decided that the DNA would be taken during detention”. He declared: “Analysis occurred. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.” Legal Testimony Proceedings revealed that in April this year, Cranwell met with Wandelt under arrest and informed her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.” Testimony indicated that throughout their discussion, Wandelt asked: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he replied: “Yes.” He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have interfered with the sample”, remarking: “It was possible she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.” Emotional Distress During previous hearings, the court heard how the McCanns were left terrified and traumatized by their “unnerving” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to demand a DNA test. Jurors heard how both women made progressively odd plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that they had eaten in. Both defendants both contest one count of stalking. The case remains active.