Confidential DNA Examination Verified Suspected Stalker Was Not Madeleine McCann, Reports Investigator

An alleged stalker who insisted to be Madeleine McCann was ruled out after a secret DNA test proved conclusively she was not the missing girl, authorities disclosed in court.

Stalking Allegations Targeting McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, is accused of a stalking campaign against the parents of Madeleine, who disappeared from a Portuguese resort 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 between 2022 and earlier this year, and appeared at their home requesting a DNA test, jurors learned during proceedings.

Official Statements

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the lead detective on the missing person’s case, said he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said 13 people had earlier asserted to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA without strong belief 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 many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I genuinely have major concerns about contacting the family to say I intend to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been quite emotionally damaging and challenging for the family.”

DNA Comparison

He said authorities had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of no physical similarity and that she was two years older than Madeleine. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on harassment allegations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He declared: “Testing was conducted. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

Jurors learned that in April this year, the detective met with Wandelt in custody and told her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that during their conversation, Wandelt inquired: “Do you sincerely wish to find Madeleine?”, and the detective told the jury he answered: “Yes.”

He said even with the results, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have interfered with the sample”, remarking: “It was possible she would not believe she isn't Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Psychological Toll

Earlier in the trial, the court heard how the family were left frightened 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 demand a DNA test.

The court learned how both women made ever more strange plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included rummaging in the McCanns’ bins and removing cutlery from restaurants that the McCanns dined at.

Wandelt and Spragg both refute one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.