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An alleged stalker who claimed to be the abducted child was excluded after a secret DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the missing girl, authorities disclosed in court.

Stalking Allegations Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, faces charges for a campaign of harassment against the family of Madeleine, who vanished from a Portuguese resort in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The Polish national bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and appeared at their home demanding a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Police Testimony

Testifying on Tuesday, the lead detective on Operation Grange, explained he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said 13 people had earlier asserted to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.

“If it was revealed in the media I had taken DNA from someone most likely not to be Madeleine, I was concerned 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 intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been highly distressing and hard for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said investigators had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of a lack of resemblance and that she was two years older than the missing girl. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

He declared: “A comparison took place. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, the detective visited Wandelt under arrest and stated to her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

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

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have manipulated the sample”, remarking: “It was possible she would refuse to acknowledge she cannot be Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Family Impact

Earlier in the trial, jurors learned how the relatives were left frightened and upset by their “disturbing” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to insist on a DNA test.

The court learned how the defendants made progressively odd plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

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