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A suspected stalker who claimed to be Madeleine McCann was eliminated after a confidential DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the missing girl, authorities disclosed in court.

Harassment Campaign Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is accused of a campaign of harassment against the relatives of Madeleine, who disappeared from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The woman from Poland bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with hundreds of calls, messages, voicemails and letters between 2022 and earlier this year, and turned up at their home requesting a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Police Testimony

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Madeleine's disappearance, stated he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her actions 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 only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I did not want setting a precedent.

“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA from someone probably not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had a lot of people 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 challenging for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said authorities had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to a lack of resemblance and that she was not the same age than the child. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on stalking charges, he “decided that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

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

Legal Testimony

Jurors learned that in April this year, Cranwell saw Wandelt while detained and informed her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. The jury heard he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

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

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have interfered with the sample”, adding: “There existed a chance she would not believe she is not Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

Earlier in the trial, jurors learned how the family were left terrified and traumatized by their “creepy” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the two women attempted to demand a DNA test.

Jurors heard how the pair made progressively odd plans” to obtain Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that the family visited.

Wandelt and Spragg both contest one count of stalking. The trial continues.