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An accused stalker who insisted to be the missing girl was excluded after a confidential DNA test proved conclusively she was not Madeleine McCann, investigators stated in court.

Stalking Allegations Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is alleged to have conducted a stalking campaign against the family of Madeleine, who went missing from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The woman from Poland bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and appeared at their home requesting a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Police Testimony

Testifying on Tuesday, the chief investigator on the missing person’s case, stated he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said 13 people had previously claimed to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent.

“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA off an individual quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I sincerely hold 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 highly distressing and hard for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said authorities had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of no physical similarity and that she was two years older than the child. But, he said, after learning Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on stalking charges, he “determined that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He said: “A comparison took place. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

The court heard that in April this year, the detective visited Wandelt while detained and informed her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that throughout their discussion, Wandelt inquired: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and Cranwell told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have interfered with the sample”, stating: “There existed a chance she would never accept she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

During previous hearings, jurors learned how the relatives were left scared and upset by their “creepy” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to insist on a DNA test.

The jury were told how the defendants made progressively odd plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that they had eaten in.

The accused women both contest one count of stalking. The trial continues.