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A suspected stalker who insisted to be the abducted child was ruled out after a secret DNA test definitively confirmed she was not the long-lost child, police have revealed in court.

Stalking Allegations Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, faces charges for a pattern of threatening behavior against the relatives of Madeleine, who vanished from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The woman from Poland bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their adult children, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone 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.

Police Testimony

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the chief investigator on the missing person’s case, stated he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said over a dozen persons had in the past insisted 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 was revealed in the media I had taken DNA from someone quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about approaching 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.”

Genetic Testing

He said authorities had already judged Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of dissimilar appearance and that she was two years older than the child. But, he said, after learning Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on stalking charges, he “made the decision that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

He declared: “Testing was conducted. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Legal Testimony

The court heard that in April this year, Cranwell visited Wandelt while detained and informed her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

The court heard that while they spoke, Wandelt said: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he answered: “Yes.”

He said notwithstanding the evidence, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have manipulated the sample”, stating: “There was a possibility she would never accept she is not Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

In prior court sessions, testimony revealed how the McCanns were left frightened and upset by their “creepy” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to insist on a DNA test.

The court learned how both women made “increasingly bizarre plans” to collect 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 deny one count of stalking. The trial continues.