A woman from Poland facing allegations of stalking Madeleine McCann reportedly engaged with ChatGPT, inquiring if she could potentially be the missing three-year-old, as disclosed in court proceedings. Jurors were informed that 24-year-old Julia Wandelt received feedback from the AI chatbot indicating a “possibility” of being Madeleine after comparing her DNA with other genetic profiles. However, the chatbot emphasized the need for additional evidence to confirm any connection.
At Leicester Crown Court, it was revealed that Wandelt requested the software to compare her DNA with a sample from the location where Madeleine vanished in Praia da Luz, Portugal. Notably, forensic analysis negated any match to Gerry McCann’s DNA profile.
During their exchanges, the chatbot indicated that the DNA profiles exhibited traits consistent with a father-child relationship, as relayed in court by prosecution barrister Michael Duck KC. In one of the 76 conversations stored on Wandelt’s phone, she inquired if she could indeed be Madeleine McCann, a claim refuted by prosecutors who accused her of propagating falsehoods while stalking the McCann family.
Wandelt, hailing from Lubin in south-west Poland, was said to have directed queries to ChatGPT assuming the second DNA sample belonged to Mr. McCann, despite evidence suggesting otherwise. The chatbot’s responses implied a potential biological connection with Gerry McCann but underscored the necessity for further verification through DNA testing to establish any relationship.
According to DNA expert Rosalyn Hammond’s testimony, test results strongly indicated that Wandelt is not biologically linked to the individual associated with the floor DNA profile. Hammond clarified that the DNA from the floor did not match Gerry McCann’s profile.
Earlier in the trial, Wandelt had to be convinced by a missing persons charity that she was not three different missing girls. The charity, based in Poland, interacted with Wandelt after she contacted them, initially drawing comparisons between herself and another missing girl from Germany. However, the charity swiftly dispelled these notions, leading to Wandelt proposing a new claim involving another missing individual, which was also dismissed due to lack of resemblance.
Wandelt and her co-defendant, Karen Spragg, 61, from Caerau, Cardiff, both pleaded not guilty to the charge of stalking. The trial is ongoing.
