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An accused stalker who insisted to be Madeleine McCann was excluded after a secret DNA test established beyond doubt she was not Madeleine McCann, police have revealed in court.

Harassment Campaign Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is alleged to have conducted a stalking campaign against the parents of Madeleine, who vanished from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish national overwhelmed 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 insisting on a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Police Testimony

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Operation Grange, explained he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said 13 people had earlier asserted 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 was revealed in the media I had taken DNA from someone 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 reaching out to the family to say I intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have raised their hopes. It could have been very traumatic and difficult for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said authorities had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of dissimilar appearance and that she was not the same age than the child. But, he said, after learning Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He declared: “Analysis occurred. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Legal Testimony

Proceedings revealed that in April this year, the officer saw Wandelt under arrest and stated to her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the genetic markers did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that while they spoke, Wandelt inquired: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have tampered with the sample”, remarking: “There existed a chance she would never accept she isn't Madeleine even when provided with scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

Earlier in the trial, testimony revealed how the McCanns were left terrified and traumatized by their “unnerving” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to insist on a DNA test.

The court learned how both women made progressively odd plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that they had eaten in.

Both defendants both contest one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.