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An accused stalker who insisted to be the abducted child was excluded after a covert DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the missing girl, police have revealed in court.

Harassment Campaign Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is alleged to have conducted a pattern of threatening behavior against the relatives of Madeleine, who disappeared from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The woman from Poland flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and appeared at their home demanding a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Investigation Details

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the lead detective on the missing person’s case, said he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

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

“If it got out in the media I had taken DNA from someone most likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious 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 aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been very traumatic and difficult for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said the police had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of no physical similarity and that she was not the same age than Madeleine. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on stalking charges, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He stated: “Analysis occurred. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Legal Testimony

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, the officer met with Wandelt under arrest and told her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Testimony indicated that while they spoke, Wandelt asked: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have interfered with the sample”, adding: “There was a possibility she would refuse to acknowledge she cannot be Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

Earlier in the trial, the court heard how the family were left terrified and upset by their “creepy” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to push for a DNA test.

The jury were told how the pair made progressively odd plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

The accused women both contest one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.