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An accused stalker who asserted to be Madeleine McCann was eliminated after a secret DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the missing girl, authorities disclosed in court.

Harassment Campaign Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, faces charges for a stalking campaign against the relatives of Madeleine, who went missing from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish citizen bombarded 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 insisting on a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Police Testimony

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on Madeleine's disappearance, explained he had gone against procedure 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 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 got out in the media I had taken DNA from someone most likely not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I truly possess major concerns about contacting the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and challenging for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said authorities had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of a lack of resemblance and that she was not the same age than the child. But, he said, after learning Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on stalking charges, he “determined that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

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

Jury Hearings

The court heard that in April this year, the officer visited Wandelt in custody and told her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that throughout their discussion, Wandelt inquired: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have tampered with the sample”, remarking: “It was possible she would refuse to acknowledge she is not Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

In prior court sessions, the court heard how the relatives were left terrified and upset by their “creepy” and “profoundly unsettling” 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 ever more strange plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the family visited.

Both defendants both deny one count of stalking. The case remains active.