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An alleged stalker who claimed to be the abducted child was eliminated after a covert DNA test established beyond doubt she was not the long-lost child, police have revealed in court.

Targeted Behavior Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, faces charges for a pattern of threatening behavior against the parents of Madeleine, who disappeared from a holiday destination in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The Polish citizen bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters over a period spanning 2022 to this year, and turned up at their home insisting on a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Official Statements

Testifying on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on the missing person’s case, stated he had gone against procedure to test Wandelt “in the hope she may stop her actions towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said over a dozen persons had earlier asserted to be the abducted child 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 a person probably not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had a lot of people coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I sincerely hold major concerns about contacting 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 challenging for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said authorities had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine due to a lack of resemblance and that she was older by two years than the child. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police were going to take into custody Wandelt on stalking charges, he “determined that the DNA would be taken upon arrest”.

He stated: “A comparison took place. It absolutely confirmed that Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann.”

Legal Testimony

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

Evidence showed that while they spoke, Wandelt inquired: “Do you truly desire to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he answered: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “might claim we have tampered with the sample”, adding: “There existed a chance she would not believe she cannot be Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

In prior court sessions, the court heard how the relatives were left scared and traumatized by their “disturbing” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as the pair attempted to push for a DNA test.

The jury were told how the pair made progressively odd plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that the family visited.

The accused women both contest one count of stalking. The trial continues.