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An accused stalker who asserted to be the missing girl was eliminated after a confidential DNA test definitively confirmed she was not Madeleine McCann, authorities disclosed in court.

Stalking Allegations Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is accused of a pattern of threatening behavior against the parents of Madeleine, who vanished from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The woman from Poland flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and visited their home requesting a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Investigation Details

Testifying on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Madeleine's disappearance, explained he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her behavior 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 without strong belief that person was Madeleine because I did not want setting a precedent.

“If it became known 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 sincerely hold major concerns about contacting the family to say I intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been very traumatic and challenging for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said the police had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of dissimilar appearance and that she was two years older than the child. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

He stated: “Testing was conducted. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

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

Evidence showed that while they spoke, Wandelt asked: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he responded: “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 is not Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Family Impact

During previous hearings, jurors learned how the relatives were left scared and distressed by their “disturbing” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to push for a DNA test.

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

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