Madeleine McCann's twin siblings, Amelie and Sean, have told the court that their interactions with an accused stalker were extremely upsetting and creepy. They described feeling anxious and scared by a woman who insisted she was their missing sister.
Relentless Contact Described as Frightening
Appearing remotely, she described how the defendant, Julia Wandelt, contacted her multiple times through social media and letters. Amelie explained the relentlessness was quite scary because it's impossible to predict what her next move might be.
Messages from the defendant were presented in the trial, in which she recounted recollections of being in the family home that she claimed were recalled under hypnosis. She testified, It’s quite disturbing that she’s coming up with these alleged recollections, even though she isn't Maddie.
Altered Pictures Increased Distress
Jurors learned that Wandelt had produced images of Amelie and herself as children, which the state said were generated with ChatGPT. A number of these images were sent through online channels, while additional ones were produced physically and enclosed in a letter to her.
Amelie stated, I didn’t like it, it made me feel very uncomfortable. She had clearly edited the pictures to make me appear similar to her, which was quite distressing. I was aware I didn't resemble that, I understood it had been changed.
Emotional Impact on the Household
Amelie also discussed the impact of the alleged harassment on her mother, their mother, who gave evidence about being approached at her residence by the defendant and her co-defendant, Karen Spragg.
In my opinion my mum experienced it as the most difficult. She was targeted by the defendant more than the others in the family and I think it definitely had a negative effect on her and her mental health, Amelie testified. It's distressing when a person is pleading with you to believe them and playing with your feelings, to the point you are questioning yourself.
Sibling's Testimony on Anxiety and Online Scrutiny
In a witness statement presented to the court, Sean McCann stated that for him, he had not been too badly impacted by the defendant's accused harassment. However he had been upset that she was drawing online attention, with people saying hurtful and unjust things about his mother and father.
If she was not mentally ill and was fully aware she is not Madeleine, yet continues to assert she is, that would be very upsetting for me, he testified. I do not believe she is my sister. The fact that the defendant is doing this has caused me a significant amount of anxiety and I consider it profoundly troubling.
Wandelt and her co-defendant have pleaded not guilty to stalking the McCann household. Proceedings continue.
