Covert DNA Examination Verified Suspected Stalker Could Not Be Madeleine McCann, Reports Detective

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

Harassment Campaign Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, 24, faces charges for a campaign of harassment against the parents of Madeleine, who went missing from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 when she was three.

The Polish citizen overwhelmed Kate and Gerry McCann and their older offspring, Sean and Amelie, with countless communications, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and turned up at their home requesting a DNA test, the court was earlier informed.

Official Statements

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the senior investigating officer on the missing person’s case, explained he had deviated from protocol to test Wandelt “intending she may stop her behavior towards the McCann family”.

The senior officer said over a dozen persons had previously claimed to be the missing girl but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I wished to avoid setting a precedent.

“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA from a person quite likely not to be Madeleine, I was anxious I would have had numerous individuals coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I truly possess major concerns about reaching out to the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have built up their expectations. It could have been highly distressing and difficult for the family.”

Forensic Analysis

He said investigators had earlier determined Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of no physical similarity and that she was two years older than the missing girl. But, he said, after learning Leicester police planned to arrest Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “decided that the DNA would be taken during detention”.

He stated: “A comparison took place. It definitively established that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Jury Hearings

Jurors learned that in April this year, the officer visited Wandelt while detained and told her that her DNA had been tested alongside Madeleine’s and that the samples did not match. The court learned he told Wandelt at that meeting: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

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

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “could allege we have manipulated the sample”, remarking: “There was a possibility she would refuse to acknowledge she cannot be Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Family Impact

During previous hearings, the court heard how the relatives were left terrified and traumatized by their “disturbing” and “extremely troubling” interactions with Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to insist on a DNA test.

The jury were told how the defendants made progressively odd plans” to collect Kate McCann’s DNA, which included going through the McCanns’ bins and taking forks from restaurants that the family visited.

The accused women both refute one count of stalking. Proceedings are ongoing.