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An alleged stalker who asserted to be the abducted child was eliminated after a secret DNA test proved conclusively she was not the missing girl, authorities disclosed in court.

Targeted Behavior Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, is alleged to have conducted a campaign of harassment against the parents of Madeleine, who went missing from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The Polish citizen bombarded 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 visited their home demanding a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Investigation Details

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on Madeleine's disappearance, explained he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said 13 people had earlier asserted to be the missing girl 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 off an individual quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I truly possess major concerns about approaching the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and hard for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said authorities had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to no physical similarity and that she was older by two years than Madeleine. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

He declared: “A comparison took place. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

Jurors learned that in April this year, the officer met with Wandelt in custody and informed her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

The court heard that throughout their discussion, Wandelt asked: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he answered: “Yes.”

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have interfered with the sample”, stating: “It was possible she would never accept she is not Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

Earlier in the trial, the court heard how the McCanns were left scared and upset by their “disturbing” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to demand a DNA test.

Jurors heard how the defendants made “increasingly bizarre plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that the family visited.

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