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An accused stalker who asserted to be Madeleine McCann 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, is alleged to have conducted a campaign of harassment against the family of Madeleine, who vanished from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The woman from Poland bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and turned up at their home demanding a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Official Statements

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the lead detective on Madeleine's disappearance, explained he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “in the hope 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 only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.

“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA from someone probably not to be Madeleine, I was concerned I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I sincerely hold major concerns about contacting the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been highly distressing and challenging for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said the police had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine because of no physical similarity and that she was two years older than the missing girl. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on stalking charges, he “determined that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

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

Jury Hearings

Jurors learned that in April this year, the officer visited Wandelt under arrest and stated to her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Testimony indicated that while they spoke, Wandelt asked: “Do you really want to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he responded: “Yes.”

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have manipulated the sample”, stating: “It was possible she would not believe she isn't Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Family Impact

Earlier in the trial, the court heard how the family were left scared and traumatized by their “disturbing” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to demand a DNA test.

The jury were told how the defendants made ever more strange plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that they had eaten in.

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