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An accused stalker who asserted to be the missing girl was excluded after a confidential DNA test established beyond doubt she was not Madeleine McCann, police have revealed in court.

Stalking Allegations Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is accused of a campaign of harassment against the relatives of Madeleine, who went missing from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.

The Polish citizen overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and turned up at their home requesting a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Official Statements

Testifying on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on Madeleine's disappearance, said he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said 13 people had in the past insisted to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.

“If it was revealed in the media I had taken DNA from a person quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I sincerely hold major concerns about approaching the family to say I intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been highly distressing and hard for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said investigators had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of dissimilar appearance 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 “determined that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He stated: “Testing was conducted. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”

Legal Testimony

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, the officer met with Wandelt under arrest and informed her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Testimony indicated that throughout their discussion, Wandelt inquired: “Do you really want to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have manipulated the sample”, stating: “It was possible she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Family Impact

In prior court sessions, jurors learned how the relatives were left scared and distressed by their “creepy” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to demand a DNA test.

The jury were told how the defendants made progressively odd plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that the family visited.

Wandelt and Spragg both deny one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.