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An alleged stalker who asserted to be Madeleine McCann was eliminated after a covert DNA test proved conclusively she was not the long-lost child, investigators stated in court.

Harassment Campaign Towards McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, faces charges for a campaign of harassment against the relatives 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 adult children, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, 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, explained he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said over a dozen persons had in the past insisted to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA only if convinced that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.

“If it got out in the media I had taken DNA off an individual probably not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about contacting the family to say I aim to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been very traumatic 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 older by two years than the missing girl. But, he said, after finding out Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

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

Jury Hearings

The court heard that in April this year, the detective visited Wandelt under arrest and told her that her DNA had been compared to Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt while speaking with her: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

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

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have tampered with the sample”, stating: “There existed a chance she would refuse to acknowledge she isn't Madeleine despite being given scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

In prior court sessions, testimony revealed how the relatives were left terrified and traumatized by their “unnerving” and “profoundly unsettling” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to demand a DNA test.

The jury were told how the defendants made progressively odd plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

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