Detectives reveal DNA test carried out on 'stalker' pretending to be Madeleine McCann

Detectives have confirmed that a DNA test on a Polish woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann proves "conclusively" that she is not the girl who went missing in 2007. Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell said a DNA test was taken from Julia Wandelt, 24, when she was arrested and compared to Madeleine's.

He said: "A comparison took place and it conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann." Wandelt stands accused of stalking Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry, between June 2022 and February 2025. She allegedly relentlessly called them, sent them letters and messages pretending to be Madeleine, and showed up at their house to demand a DNA test.

Prosecutors called it a "well-planned campaign of harassment" with "supporter and confidante" Karen Spragg, 61.

Spragg is also on trial, and prosecutors said she "adopted and evolved" the false claims "with gusto" from 2024 onwards. She and Wandelt deny all charges.

Mr Cranwell said that, by the start of the year, he believed Wandelt had "reached the threshold for harassment".

He was initially unsure of whether to do a DNA test because it is against procedure, but went ahead with one as he believed it "the right thing to do".

The Detective Chief Inspector added: "It weighed heavily on my mind because this was against policy and procedure ... There was a possibility she would never accept she isn't Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof."

Mr Cranwell said the "driving force" behind his actions was to "get the results to prove that she isn't Madeleine and inform her of that decision in the hope she may stop her behaviour towards the McCann family".

He continued: "I was weighing up the best time to take the DNA, I was aware Leicestershire [police] were likely to be arresting her at some point and I made the decision the DNA would be taken on her arrest."

He added that his own assessment was that Wandelt was not Madeleine because her eye pigment was in a different place, she had different coloured irises and was two years older than the missing girl.