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Woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann disproved by DNA test
A DNA test has conclusively disproven the claims of Julia Wandelt, a 24-year-old Polish woman, who for years insisted she was Madeleine McCann, the British girl who vanished in 2007 in Portugal.
During a hearing at the Leicester Crown Court on Monday, October 20, forensic expert Rosalyn Hammond stated that “there is no DNA match” between Wandelt and Madeleine McCann. “Julia Wandelt cannot be Madeleine McCann,” Hammond told the court, confirming that the genetic profile showed no biological relation to Kate and Gerry McCann, the missing child’s parents.
Wandelt, who is currently on trial for harassing the McCann family over the course of two and a half years, allegedly sent letters and made repeated calls to the family, insisting she was their missing daughter.
Police had taken a DNA sample from Wandelt at the time of her arrest in February 2025 and compared it to genetic material preserved from Madeleine’s belongings, specifically her pillowcase, collected shortly after her disappearance.
The expert testimony has put an end to the speculation that has reignited public interest in one of the world’s most famous missing persons cases. Madeleine McCann was just three years old when she disappeared from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, while her parents dined nearby. Despite global attention, the case remains unsolved.
Since the beginning of Wandelt’s trial, the McCann family has described the anguish and distress caused by her claims, calling them a painful intrusion into their private lives.