DNA testing has answered questions about whether Julia Wandelt, a 24-year-old woman, is Madeleine McCann, the missing child of Kate and Gerry McCann.
Madeleine McCann’s disappearance dates back nearly 20 years, when the three-year-old vanished from the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz, Portugal, during a family vacation in 2007.
On the night of her disappearance, Kate and Gerry were dining with friends at the resort while their children, including Madeleine, stayed in the apartment. Upon checking on them, Kate discovered Madeleine was missing.
This incident led to a prolonged investigation that took a new direction when Wandelt began asserting that she was Madeleine McCann three years ago.
In February 2025, Wandelt was arrested alongside Karen Spragg for allegedly stalking the McCann family, during which time a DNA sample was obtained from Wandelt.
During their trial on Tuesday (October 14), the jury was informed that Wandelt received the DNA test results in April while detained at Peterborough Prison.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell stated: “It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”
The choice to conduct a DNA test on Wandelt was made even though investigators had declined to test others who claimed to be Madeleine.
Cranwell elaborated: “‘We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I did not want to set a precedent.”
The decision was driven by the hope that the DNA results would deter Wandelt’s actions towards the McCann family.
The Chief Inspector added: “It weighed heavy on my mind. The threshold remained the same, but it was outside the framework.”
Initially, Wandelt contested the results when informed, but the findings likely did not surprise Kate and Gerry, who had previously expressed confidence, based on a photo, that Wandelt was not their daughter.
Despite the McCanns’ denial, Wandelt is accused of persistently contacting the family through various means and demanding a DNA test. The family also reportedly received messages from a ‘Welsh-sounding woman’, as noted by family liaison officer Det Sgt Roger Bearn.
This was later attributed to Spragg from Cardiff, Wales, who, according to prosecutors, had formed a relationship with Wandelt and supported her claims.
Both Wandelt, originally from Jana Kochanowskiego in Lubin, Poland, and 61-year-old Spragg have denied the accusations against them.