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A suspected stalker who asserted to be the abducted child was ruled out after a covert DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the missing girl, authorities disclosed in court.

Targeted Behavior Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, faces charges for a campaign of harassment against the relatives of Madeleine, who vanished from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The woman from Poland overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and turned up at their home requesting a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Official Statements

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on Madeleine's disappearance, stated he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said thirteen individuals had previously claimed to be Madeleine McCann but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I did not want 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 worried I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I truly possess major concerns about reaching out to 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 difficult for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said authorities had previously assessed 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 learning Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

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

Jury Hearings

The court heard that in April this year, the officer saw Wandelt under arrest and told her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that while they spoke, Wandelt said: “Do you really want to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have interfered with the sample”, adding: “There existed a chance she would never accept she cannot be Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

Earlier in the trial, testimony revealed how the family were left frightened and traumatized by their “unnerving” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to push for a DNA test.

The court learned how the defendants made ever more strange plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

Both defendants both contest one count of stalking. The trial continues.