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An accused stalker who insisted to be the missing girl was ruled out after a covert DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the long-lost child, authorities disclosed in court.

Targeted Behavior Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, faces charges for a stalking campaign against the family of Madeleine, who vanished from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish citizen bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and visited their home demanding a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Investigation Details

Testifying on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on the missing person’s case, said he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said over a dozen persons had in the past insisted to be the abducted child 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 probably not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about contacting the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been very traumatic and difficult for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said the police had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of dissimilar appearance and that she was two years older than the missing girl. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

He said: “Analysis occurred. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Legal Testimony

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, the officer met with Wandelt while detained and stated to her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

The court heard that during their conversation, Wandelt said: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have interfered with the sample”, adding: “There was a possibility she would never accept she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

During previous hearings, the court heard how the relatives were left frightened and upset by their “creepy” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to push for a DNA test.

Jurors heard how the pair made “increasingly bizarre plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the family visited.

Wandelt and Spragg both refute one count of stalking. The case remains active.