Madeleine McCann’s dad Gerry has broken down in tears at the trial of a woman accused of stalking his family, as he admitted the family still “hope” that Madeleine is alive.
He gave evidence – like his wife earlier in the day, shielded from the defendants by a curtain – of “multiple” calls and messages to Kate’s phone, which left her “very distressed”. He also told the trial police showed them a photo of Julia Wandelt and he was “very confident” she was not their grown up three-year-old who disappeared during a family holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal in 2007, which agreed with Kate’s earlier evidence.
He also revealed that despite Madeleine having been missing for almost 20 years: “We hope, and we know it is only a glimmer, that Madeleine is still alive”. Adding: “So when people claim to be your daughter it inevitably pulls your heartstrings.”
Wandelt is accused of sending a letter, calls, voicemails and WhatsApp messages to Kate and Gerry McCann, and sending Maddie’s younger siblings, twins Amelie and Sean McCann, Instagram messages claiming to be the missing girl. She is on trial alongside co-accused Karen Spragg who is accused of one count of stalking involving serious alarm or distress. She is alleged to have made calls, sent letters and attended the home address of Mr and Mrs McCann.
Fiona Leishman
Trial resumes tomorrow
The trial will resume tomorrow morning.
Tim Hanlon
Gerry McCann said he was ‘very confident’ that Wandelt wasn’t Madeleine
Gerry McCann told the jury today that after being asked to look at a photograph of Julia Wandelt, he was “very confident” that she was not Madeleine.
He said an officer from Operation Grange told him they were “pretty confident” that Wandelt was not the missing girl but asked Mr McCann and his wife Kate to look at it.
Mr McCann said: “I was very confident looking at the picture, it was not Madeleine.”
Tim Hanlon
Kate McCann told how she found out that Wandelt believed she was Madeleine
Kate McCann spoke earlier in today’s proceedings where she said she became aware through officers working on Operation Grange, the Met Police inquiry into her daughter’s 2007 disappearance, that Wandelt believed herself to be Madeleine.
Prosecutor Michael Duck KC then read excerpts of messages Wandelt sent to Mrs McCann, in which the defendant said “let me prove I am not a liar” and “give me a chance, I don’t want money”.
After confirming that she could remember the messages “arriving” at her mobile phone, Mrs McCann was asked by Mr Duck if she had responded to the messages.
Mrs McCann answered: “No. I did not want to engage.”
Tim Hanlon
‘You’re not Madeleine please stop calling’
Gerry McCann told the court while giving evidence how he was getting “frustrated and angry” by unwanted calls.
Asked by prosecutor Michael Duck about one occasion, possibly in the summer of last year, where he took hold of the phone in his kitchen and spoke to the caller, Mr McCann said: “Kate was upset. I was getting frustrated and angry that these calls were coming.
“The phone went and I picked it up and answered it. I said ‘you’re not Madeleine, please stop calling’ and then hung up very, very quickly.
“I made it very clear these were unwanted calls. To be honest, it was a bit of a blur.”
KEY EVENT
Gerry McCann finishes giving evidence
Gerry McCann has now finished giving evidence in the stalking trial.
He told the court he wanted to protect his children after the “horrible things” that have been written about the family since Madeleine’s disappearance.
Mr McCann said: “As a parent you try and protect your children and we know social media can be really damaging. All the horrible things that have been written about us.
“The nasty stuff online, obviously we want to protect them from that.”
Asked about not attending the vigil held for Madeleine in May last year when Wandelt turned up, he said: “It was mixed feelings… family, friends and residents coming out to show support.
“But absolute relief at not being confronted in a public space by her. Any confrontation is likely to be reported in the media and that’s certainly something we don’t want.”
Tim Hanlon
Gerry McCann tells trial of three reasons why they didn’t do DNA test
Gerry McCann has told the stalking trial that there were three reasons why he and his wife Kate did not do a DNA test, as requested by Wandelt.
He said: “It’s very clear. First of all, we did not believe she was Madeleine.
“Secondly, we had been reassured by the Metropolitan Police that following inquiries undertaken in Poland… she was definitely not Madeleine.
“Thirdly, it is not our responsibility to do a DNA test. That’s a matter for the investigator forces.” He added: “I was aware Julia had supporters and people supporting her claim which we knew not to be true.”
Martin Fricker
‘When people claim to be your daughter it inevitably pulls your heartstrings’
Gerry McCann spoke emotionally about Wandelt’s claims to be his missing daughter.
“We know she is not our daughter,” he said. “It has many effects. We don’t know what happened to Madeleine. There is no evidence she is dead. We hope, and we know it is only a glimmer, that Madeleine is alive. So when people claim to be your daughter it inevitably pulls your heartstrings.”
He added her claims also had a “wider effect”, which he described as “damaging the search” for Madeleine.
Asked how the alleged stalking affected their lives, Gerry said the family now have CCTV outside their home.
“It impacted us virtually every day. You are driving in and you are worried,” he said. “Every time you drive home you wonder if someone is going to be there. You are nervous for the ten seconds
“There was no violence threatened. We were told Julia has mental health issues. You do wonder what else can happen? You do have at the back of your head that this could result in physical violence. virtually everyone in the world knows how to find us.”
Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Accused McCanns of being Masons
Gerry told the jury: “She had some papers in her left hand and a phone in her right hand.
“The other lady walked pretty close to me during the incident. I was probably much calmer than I would have been if Kate hadn’t warned me.
“The other woman said something about a cover-up and accused me of being a member of the Masons. It was pretty astounded. I didn’t know much about the Masons – I didn’t even know if they let Catholics in.
“They kept trying to force information on me – whatever Julia had in her left hand. I was trying to get inside the house and they were making it a little bit difficult, Julia in particular, by forcing the paper in front of me.
“Then I got inside. I pulled the curtains over the door and went straight into the kitchen to see Kate.
“They kept banging on the door, for about ten or 15 minutes. They were banging and shouting.
“Kate was still pretty shaken, she was in the house on her own, she felt frightened.”
Martin Fricker
‘Kate was very distressed’
Recalling the alleged visit to the McCann home by Wandelt and Spragg in December last year, Gerry said: “Kate called me.
“It was a warning call, to say that Julia and another woman were outside the property, that Julia had accosted her outside the property.
“Kate was very distressed. Her voice, she was clearly upset. I was five minutes away. When I arrived there was a small white car parked on the crescent, which was very unusual.
“I saw two women on the drive. I had seen a photo of Julia and it looked very much like the same woman.”
Martin Fricker
‘Appalled’ messages were sent to Maddie’s sister Amelie
Gerry became emotional as he spoke about his daughter Amelie allegedly receiving messages from Wandelt.
“I was appalled,” he said. “We had done our best to try to protect Sean and Amelie.
“Given what has happened to Madeleine, we try to keep them out of the media as much as possible.
“We know they want to be identified as Sean and Amelie McCann, and not missing Madeleine’s brother and sister.
“As a parent you want to try to protect your children.
“We know social media can be damaging and there is nasty stuff online about us, so obviously we want to protect them from that.”
Kelly-Ann Kiernan
‘It was pretty horrible’ Gerry tells jury
“Yeah, it was pretty horrible,” Gerry told the court.
“On one occasion Kate was upset, I was getting frustrated and angry. I remember being in the kitchen and the phone went.
“I took the phone and said something like, ‘You’re not Madeleine, please stop calling’. I made it very clear these were unwanted calls.”
Martin Fricker
Gerry breaks down in witness box
Maddie’s dad Gerry broke down in the witness box as he described the effect the alleged stalking had on his family.
“There were multiple times when I was present where Kate’s phone was going off continuously, one after another,” he said.
“She was obviously very distressed, irritated, irritable, struggling to concentrate.
“They were often from a no-caller id, just ring and ring and ring, messages from WhatsApp saying she was Madeleine.”
Martin Fricker
Gerry confident photo of Wandelt wasn’t Maddie
Gerry told the court of the first time he saw a photo of Wandelt.
“We were hearing murmurings of someone claiming to be Madeleine,” he said.
“Roger (Met Police family liaison officer) sent us a photo.
“He said, ‘This is the girl who has been in contact who thinks she is Madeleine. We are pretty confident she isn’t but can you look at the photo?
“We both looked at the picture independently.
“I was very confident just looking at the picture that it was not Madeleine.”
KEY EVENT
Maddie’s dad Gerry on the stand
Gerry McCann is now giving evidence behind a curtain at Leicester Crown Court.
Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Trial set to resume
The trial is expected to resume at 2.30pm
Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Hearing adjourned
The court has taken a break for lunch.
Court sketch Karen Spragg (left) and Julia Wandelt (right) in court today (
Image:
PA)
Martin Fricker
Kate had ‘tiny niggle’
Asked about Wandelt’s claims to be her daughter and her demands for DNA, Kate said: “A little bit of my brain was saying ‘what if?’
“Having seen a photo, she’s Polish, none of it makes sense
“I couldn’t say what Madeline looks like now but if I saw a photo I would recognise her.
“But you just have that little niggle, of ‘just do it’.
“But when I say a little niggle, it was tiny.”
Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Kate being cross-examined
Simon Russell Flint KC, representing Spragg, is now cross-examining Kate.
Asked how many other people had contacted her claiming to be Madeleine, Kate said: “Not many. Maybe single figures.”
Martin Fricker
Others have turned up at McCann family home
Under cross-examination by Wandelt’s barrister, Tom Price KC, Kate revealed other strangers had turned up at her home.
“I remember someone sitting on the floor outside the front door. I think she was American,” she said.
“She wasn’t aggressive or anything. She started to tell me that she was missing. I just told her to go to the police.
“Sometimes we had journalists or the odd person saying they had information.
“It’s been over 18 years. It was frequent then but less frequent now, just sporadically now.”
Martin Fricker
Kate wants attention off younger children
Asked about Wandelt’s alleged contact with Maddie’s siblings Sean and Amelie, Kate said: “I don’t want them to have any media attention.
“What they have had to deal with, and still have to deal with, is a lot. I want that kept to a minimum, I don’t want any attention on them, media or otherwise.”
Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Wandelt is sobbing uncontrollably
As Kate finished her direct evidence Wandelt began sobbing uncontrollably.
She could be heard screaming as she was led out of the back of the dock, asking: “Why are you doing this to me?”
Moments earlier Kate told the jury of the effect the alleged stalking had on her.
“It was like it escalated,” she said. “The level of stress and anxiety it caused.
“When the phone rings, driving home from work, checking who is there.”
Martin Fricker
Mental health issues
Referring to Wandelt, Kate said: “I always thought her behaviour indicated she had mental health problems.”
Martin Fricker
‘Wandelt calling me mum is hard’
Kate told jurors she received a letter from Wandelt signed ‘Madeleine x’ the day after the alleged visit to her home.
Asked about the impact of that letter, Kate said: “That’s an example of the thing that was getting to me.
“It’s obvious the thing I want most is for Madeleine to be back, I want Madeleine to call me ‘mum’, so that was really distressing for me.
“Referring to me as her mum is hard.”
Asked by Mr Duck if there was any truth to the claims allegedly made by Wandelt that Gerry is “controlling”, Kate replied: “None at all.”
Martin Fricker
‘Spragg more aggressive’ Kate tells jury
“The other lady was slightly more aggressive. She was a bit more kind of ‘don’t you want to find your daughter?’
“I asked them to leave I told them I was in distress and they could not be on our property and asked them to leave
“They followed me, I was trying to close the door, Julia was kind of putting her hands out to try to stop me closing the door.
“I then closed the door and locked it.
“They kept banging on the door.”
Kelly-Ann Kiernan
‘I realised it was Julia’
“I had a momentary kind of ‘who is it?’, because there were two women, and finally I realised it was Julia. I had seen a photo of her in the past, plus I guess she was quite vivid in my mind because of all the communications that had gone on before.
“She was saying the usual stuff, ‘I’m your daughter’. She called me mum. She was asking for a DNA test, pleading with me
“I got a fright anyway and when I realised who it was I was quite distressed. I was on edge anyway, and it bubbled up. I felt quite invaded, in my home.”
Martin Fricker
‘I knew someone was behind me’
Jurors were told yesterday how Wandelt and Spragg accosted Kate and Gerry outside their home in December last year.
Asked about that visit, Kate said: “I remember it was the weekend of really bad gales. I was getting stuff out of the boot and I heard someone call Kate.
“I knew it was someone behind me but didn’t know who it was. I got a fright. I had no idea who it was.”
Martin Fricker
Kate: ‘I wanted to take a DNA test just to put it to bed’
Asked if she considered taking the DNA test that Wandelt requested, Kate replied: “Well, no.
“If I’m honest, the persistence of Julia’s behaviour, It started getting to me. In some ways I wanted to take a DNA test just to put it to bed, even though having seen the photograph I knew it was not her.”
At this point Wandelt began sobbing in the dock.
Martin Fricker
‘I’m not a liar, I’m not crazy’
Asked if she responded to the messages from Wandelt, Kate said: “No I didn’t. I didn’t want to engage.”
Kate was played a voicemail that Wandelt allegedly left on her mobile phone in which she claimed to be Madeleine.
Wandelt said: “Don’t give up on your daughter, I’m not a liar, I’m not crazy, I just want to know the truth, please don’t reject me.”
Martin Fricker
Relieved vigil meeting didn’t happen
Jurors have previously been told Wandelt turned up at a vigil in Rothley to mark the anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance.
By chance, Kate and Gerry were not present at the annual event that year, jurors heard.
Asked how she felt when she heard Wandelt was present, Kate said: “I was totally relieved we were not there.
“It’s quite a hard experience anyway and I would have ended up really upset and it would have taken away from the reason we were there.”
(
Image:
PA)
Martin Fricker
‘Final straw’ when Maddie’s sister approached
Kate said the “final straw” came when her daughter Amelie revealed Wandelt had tried to contact her.
“That was a final straw for me,” she told the court. “Amelie and Sean, I don’t want them involved, so I discussed it with the police.”
Martin Fricker
Wandelt ‘clearly not Madeleine’
Asked when Wandelt first contacted her directly, Kate said it was the early part of last year.
Kate told jurors that when she first saw a photo of Wandelt “it was clear it was not Madeleine”.
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Kate McCann doesn’t use social media
Kate told jurors she does not use social media.
“After Madeleine was taken we decided to avoid all things like that,” she said.
“People will make us aware of things on there but we try and stay away as it doesn’t help.”
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
‘Find Madeleine’ group
Mr Duck asked Kate about the ‘Find Madeleine’ group.
She said: “After Madeleine went missing a group of people who we did not know set up an organisation called Find Madeleine.
“A subset of those people went on to help us with the Find Madeleine campaign and set up the website.”
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Kate “aware of Wandelt three years ago”
Prosecutor Michael Duck has begun by asking Kate when she first became aware of Wandelt.
Speaking in hushed tones, Kate said: “It was about three years ago. I think the first contact was a call to the switchboard at the hospital where we work.
“Gerry told me the switchboard had alerted him that it had happened and he told me.”
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KEY EVENT
Kate McCann is on the stand
Maddie’s mum Kate is giving evidence in the witness box but is shielded from view of the defendants, media and public by a blue curtain.
Only the jury, judge and barristers can see her.
She has just sworn on the oath.
The judge has asked her to keep her voice up.
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Who are the defendants?
Julia Wandelt is 24 and from Poland.
She is accused of stalking Maddie’s parents Kate and Gerry McCann and is alleged to have attended the family home in Leicestershire. She is also accused of sending a letter, calls, voicemails and WhatsApp messages to Kate and Gerry McCann, and sending Maddie’s siblings Amelie and Sean McCann messages.
Julie Wandelt is accused of stalking
Her co-accused is Karen Spragg, 61, of Caerau in Cardiff.
She is charged with one count of stalking. The offences are alleged to have taken place between June 2022 and February 2025.
Karen Spragg arrives at Leicester Crown Court (Image: PA)
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Wandelt accused McCanns of ‘knowing truth’
In yesterday’s opening statement, prosecutor Mr Duck told the jury that Wandelt alleged the McCanns’ “lack of empathy, leads me to believe that they already know the truth, and that they might have been involved in the planned kidnapping and abduction”, the court heard.
Mr Duck told the jury: “None of that information, of course, can be true.”
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Tim Hanlon
Court told how Wandelt ‘unnerved’ Kate McCann before hearing ends for the day
Continuing the prosecution’s opening at Leicester Crown Court on Tuesday, Michael Duck KC said Mrs McCann was “unnerved” when they both waited outside her home last year, were “banging on the door” and “tried to force a letter” into Mr McCann’s hand.
Mr Duck told the jury: “She told Julia Wandelt and Karen Spragg they were causing distress and they should leave the property.
“Whatever they suggest are their beliefs, they do not afford someone the right to lie in wait for their targets, outside their own home, and enforce their will upon them. That is precisely what happened.”
The trial will continue on Wednesday.
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Martin Fricker
Wandelt told Kate McCann ‘I know Gerry is controlling and you’re probably scared of him’
The court heard Wandelt even sent a message to Kate on Christmas Eve last year which simply read: “Merry Christmas”.
Then just days before her arrest Wandelt allegedly sent her a message which read: “I know you’re my real Mummy. Help me please. I know Gerry is controlling and you’re probably scared of him but please get in touch with me…”
Mr Duck said Wandelt was arrested at Bristol airport in February after flying to the UK to allegedly confront the McCanns again.
Spragg was arrested by officers as she waited in her car for Wandelt at the airport.
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Wandelt claims to remember night ‘she was abducted’
Wandelt turned up at a police station in Leicester and claimed to remember the night ‘she’ was abducted in Portugal, the court heard.
She allegedly told an officer: “Someone gave me to the person who took me.
“Before it happened I remember being abused by one man in the room. A few other people were there too.
“Someone injected me with something that made me feel paralysed.
“I saw the man who took me from the other person through the window, had tanned skin, dark hair and was slim.
“I remember a lot. I prefer not to go into details before getting a crime reference number.”
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Cruel
Mr Duck said it was a “final, cruel signature”.
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KEY EVENT
Letter “love Madeleine”
The two women left the scene but the following day a letter was posted through the family’s front door, the court heard.
It read: “Dear mum (Kate), I’m so sorry for causing you so much distress, but when I saw you yesterday my emotions were so strong.
“I felt a close connection to you. I don’t like to see you being upset.
“All I want is to find out the truth.
“I have memories and have gathered a lot of evidence supporting my case.
“I think that inside your heart you believe and know who I am and I am your daughter.
“I don’t understand why you don’t want to do a DNA test with me.
“I think you are scared, but whatever makes you scared, just remember that you are stronger than that.
“Yesterday, I heard a lot of care and love in your voice.
“I believe and hope that you will find a way to contact me.
“Lots of love, Madeleine x”
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Gerry arrived home and was “shouted at”
“She made a call to Gerry once in the sanctuary of her house, whilst people continued to bang on the front door of her own home,” Mr Duck said.
“Gerry was on his way home anyway but when he arrived the defendants were still present.
“Both women were shouting at him and Wandelt was trying to force a letter into his hand.
“Kate was noted as being visibly upset by the actions of the women and the incident caused both to be more vigilant when unfamiliar cars were seen in the vicinity of their home.
“It was the plainest of intrusions and the fear and concern it caused was inevitable.”
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Kate arrived home alone, court hears
“Kate McCann was unfortunate enough to be the first of the couple to arrive home that evening,” the prosecutor said.
“As she emerged from her vehicle she was accosted, not physically, by Wandelt and demands made for a DNA test.
“Spragg was also present and her behaviour was such that Kate was unnerved by it.
“Kate told them that they were causing distress and they should leave the property.
“She then opened her front door and as she attempted to enter her house, Wandelt tried to stop her closing the door but she managed to get herself inside.
“Kate was upset by what had happened.”
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Defendants “sat outside McCann home”
In a message, Spragg allegedly told a friend: “We are sat outside the McCanns’ home waiting for them to come home.
“We are sat like private investigators with car lights out … Never thought I would be stalking the McCanns xxx”
Mr Duck said Wandelt and Spragg “recognised that what they were doing was wrong and the “upset” it would cause the family.
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Maddie’s brother contacted, jurors heard
In November last year Wandelt turned her attention to Madeleine’s brother Sean and contacted him on Instagram, it is claimed.
Jurors were told he ignored her messages.
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Pair “considered taking bin bags”
Wandelt and Spragg considered removing rubbish bags from the McCanns’ home to retrieve DNA, Mr Duck said.
Mr Duck said: “The ends to which they were prepared to go were pretty extraordinary.”
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Maddie’s sister contacted, court told
Mr Duck said Maddie’s younger sister Amelie told their mum Kate she had received unwanted contact from Wandelt in the autumn of last year.
He said: “Kate and Gerry always sought to ensure, as best they were able, their younger twins were kept out of any glare of publicity.
“As a result, Kate reported that contact to Operation Grange.”
Wandelt also repeatedly contacted David Payne, who was with the McCanns on the night Madeleine vanished, it is claimed.
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Wandelt and Spragg “conspired”
Mr Duck said Wandelt began to communicate with her co-accused Spragg in mid-2024.
He described her as a “forthright supporter” of the conspiracy the McCanns were involved in their daughter’s disappearance.
In a message to police she allegedly said: “Everyone knows the McCanns are guilty and you know the truth and a massive cover up is happening.”
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
“I presume I am your missing daughter”
Jurors were told Wandelt wrote in the letter: “I presume I am your missing daughter.”
Before leaving the UK she walked into a central London police station and claimed she was Madeleine.
A DNA sample was taken but later destroyed, the court was told.
The following month detectives warned Wandelt to stay away from the McCanns but she refused, it is claimed.
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
She begged for DNA test, jurors told
Mr Duck said the following day the McCanns discovered a bottle of wine on their doorstep alongside a note from Wandelt.
In the hand-written letter she begged the couple to take a DNA test to find out if they were her parents, the court heard.
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Wandelt “spoke to village priest”
Wandelt handed a letter to Kate’s great aunt Janet Kennedy and also spoke to the village priest, jurors were told.
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Wandelt “disappointed plan failed”
Mr Duck said Wandelt’s plan failed after Kate and Gerry decided to stay away from the event.
“The absence of her targets was clearly a disappointment to Wandelt,” he said.
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Kate McCann “called police”
Mr Duck told jurors that Kate McCann alerted police about Wandelt’s attempts to contact her in April 2024.
But a week later she turned up at an annual vigil held in Rothley in a bid to meet the McCanns face-to-face, it is claimed
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Wandelt “contacted Maddie’s sister”
Resuming the trial today, prosecutor Michael Duck KC said Wandelt told Amelie in one message: “I will do whatever is needed to prove my identity.”
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Voicemail played to jury
A voicemail left on Mrs McCann’s phone was played to the jury yesterday, in which defendant Wandelt said: “You have nothing to lose, if I’m her then everybody should be okay but if I’m not, as you probably think, then I will leave you alone.
“I know my accent is Polish because I live here, I know I look fat and I know I’m not pretty like Madeleine was in the past, but I know what I know, I know what I remember.
“Please just give me a chance, I’m not a liar, I’m not crazy – I just want to know the truth. Call me or message me or whatever please.”
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Wandelt claimed to be different missing girl
Yesterday, the court heard Wandelt contacted a charity called Missing Years Ago, which helps with historic missing person cases, in January or February 2023, dates which “coincided with Julia Wandelt’s assertion she was Madeleine McCann”.
Prosecutor Mr Duck told the jury: “The initial contact with the charity was not to contend that she was Madeleine McCann but rather to suggest that she was another missing girl, Inga Gehricke.
“Inga was a young girl who had disappeared in Germany, but as with Madeleine McCann, Julia Wandelt was precluded from being a realistic candidate by virtue of her age and obvious differences.”
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Defendant arrives
Karen Spragg has arrived for day two of her trial, where she is accused of stalking involving serious alarm or distress.
She is wearing a white blouse and grey cardigan and was walking hand-in-hand with a man.
Karen Spragg arrives at Leicester Crown Court (Image: PA)
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Trial restarts
Day two of the trial of Julia Wandelt and Karen Spragg is set to go ahead today in court two at Leicester Crown Court.
The hearing is in front of Mrs Justice Cutts.
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KEY EVENT
‘I know so many things. I can tell you my memories’
Wandelt sent a message to Madeleine’s sister Amelie in January 2024 where she claimed she “never lied about anything”, said the prosecuction.
The message, partly read out in court, said: “I know so many things. I can tell you my memories. Please don’t block me. I never lied about anything. I beg you Amelie.
“I remember so many things, the kitchen, the garden, I remember what game I was playing in the garden with you, I know what I was calling you when we were playing. You are my only hope.
“I remember feeding Sean. I remember Kate saying I make more of a mess than my brother. I remember playing ring a ring a roses. Can you take a DNA test? I’ll pay. I need you to believe me Amelie, maybe inside your heart you know.”
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KEY EVENT
Wandelt ‘called over 60 times in a day’ to Kate McCann
Mr Duck told jurors that Wandelt was “not deterred” by the refusal of the McCanns to engage with her.
The court heard she obtained Kate McCann’s mobile phone number and began ringing her. He claimed on a single day in April last year, she called and messaged her over 60 times.
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Tim Hanlon
Wandelt and Spragg ‘perpetuated’ conspiracy theories says prosecution
Prosecutor Mr Duck claimed that Wandelt and Spragg have “perpetuated” conspiracy theories.
“Madeleine McCann disappeared on May 3, 2007. You know she disappeared from an apartment in Praia da Luz on the coast of Portugal. Her disappearance generated worldwide media attention. She was nine days short of her fourth birthday,” he said.
“One of many tragic consequences for Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, has been their constant inability to escape the glare of publicity that came with that tragedy.
“The attention they have received has not always been compassionate, sometimes far from it. There remains a group of individuals who continue to fail to acknowledge their plight and perpetuate conspiracy theories. Unfortunately, these two defendants belong to that latter group.”
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Tim Hanlon
Wandelt tells Gerry McCann ‘I can be your daughter’
Jurors during the stalking trial heard Wandelt sent Gerry McCann an email with the subject line: “Read it, please , it’s very important”.
Part of it allegedly read: “In June 2022 I started to think I’m Madeleine McCann.. I’m not joking. Please take this email seriously.”
It continued: “I don’t know what’s going on but I have the same scars as your daughter did and a mark on my eye. I can be your daughter, it’s very possible I’m her. If you believe Maddie is alive, write to me or call me.”
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Tim Hanlon
Jury told ‘unequivocal scientific evidence’ that Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann
Jurors were told that there was “unequivocal scientific evidence” that Julia Wandelt, 24, from Lubin in south-west Poland, has no familial link to the McCanns despite her claiming to have memories of the girl’s childhood and disappearance.
Wandelt started audibly crying and went to the back of the dock when prosecutor Michael Duck KC said on Monday: “Can we at this very early stage in the trial make this position clear – that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”
She returned to the dock beside Spragg after a 10-minute break to listen to the rest of hearing.
Opening the Crown’s case, Mr Duck told the jury of five men and seven women that from June 2022, Wandelt began attempting to persuade “anybody prepared to listen” that she was Madeleine.
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Tim Hanlon
‘Mrs McCann’s refusal to respond did not deter Julia Wandelt’
Mr Duck told the jury: “The refusal to respond by Mrs McCann did not deter Julia Wandelt.”
Wandelt also claimed to have “flashbacks” from hypnosis sessions, including one memory of spoon-feeding Madeleine’s younger brother.
The court heard Wandelt emailed Mr McCann in June 2023 and messaged Madeleine’s younger sister on other occasions saying there were “many things” she could remember, and that she would “never lie”.
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Tim Hanlon
Wandelt tells Mrs McCann ‘you have nothing to lose’
A voicemail left on Mrs McCann’s phone was played to the jury in which Wandelt said: “You have nothing to lose, if I’m her then everybody should be okay but if I’m not, as you probably think, then I will leave you alone.
“I know my accent is Polish because I live here, I know I look fat and I know I’m not pretty like Madeleine was in the past, but I know what I know, I know what I remember.
“Please just give me a chance, I’m not a liar, I’m not crazy – I just want to know the truth. Call me or message me or whatever please.”
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Tim Hanlon
Court heard how Wandelt had previously said she was ‘another missing girl’
The court heard that Wandelt contacted a charity called Missing Years Ago, which helps with historic missing person cases, in January or February 2023, dates which “coincided with Julia Wandelt’s assertion she was Madeleine McCann”.
Mr Duck said: “The initial contact with the charity was not to contend that she was Madeleine McCann but rather to suggest that she was another missing girl, Inga Gehricke.
“Inga was a young girl who had disappeared in Germany, but as with Madeleine McCann, Julia Wandelt was precluded from being a realistic candidate by virtue of her age and obvious differences.”
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Tim Hanlon
‘There could never be a legitimate belief by Julia Wandelt that she was Madeleine McCann’
The prosecutor Mr Duck said Wandelt has claimed to have memories of being part of the McCann family and remembers growing up with Madeleine’s younger siblings.
He added: “Nothing gives you the right to pursue and stalk people just because you want them to bend to your will and do as you demand or request.
“There could never have been a legitimate belief by Julia Wandelt that she was Madeleine McCann. At the time of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, Julia Wandelt was not of the same age.
“She obtained numerous images of Madeleine McCann but also other images of the McCann family and sought to compare them to images of herself.”
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Tim Hanlon
Court hears of ‘wicked proposition’ before hearing adjourned
Wandelt allegedly wrote a message to Kate McCann saying: “I remember how you hugged me and a pink teddy bear.
“I remember that you came to the room before the abduction happened and were rubbing my head and said you will find me.”
Mr Duck described that passage as a “particularly wicked proposition”.
The hearing has now been adjourned and will resume tomorrow.
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Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas
‘I remember how you hugged me and a pink teddy bear’, Wandelt allegedly said in messages
In another message Wandelt allegedly wrote: “I remember how you hugged me and a pink teddy bear.
“I remember that you came to the room before the abduction happened and were rubbing my head and said you will find me.”
Mr Duck described that passage as a “particularly wicked proposition”.
The hearing has now been adjourned and will resume tomorrow.
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Martin Fricker
‘I know things that only Madeleine and Gerry would know’ Wandelt allegedly told Kate McCann
Wandelt allegedly wrote to Kate McCann saying: “Hello I’m Julia and I think I’m your daughter Madeleine … I can prove it’s me. I know things that only Madeleine knew and Gerry would know.
“I beg you, you’re my real mother. Give me a chance to prove it. You are mommy, you know it’s me.”
Messages allegedly sent to Kate by Wandelt also included “I never lied, I’m not crazy, please let me prove it” and “I can prove it’s me.”
In a voicemail played to the court, Wandelt allegedly told Kate: “Please try you have nothing to lose. If I’m not then I will leave you alone. Just think about it. I know my accent is Polish because I lived here since I can remember.
“I know I’m fat and not pretty like Madeleine was in the past but I know what I know and I know what I remember. I don’t want money. I just want one call and then I’ll leave you alone. Give me a chance, don’t give up on your daughter. I’m not crazy, I just want to know the truth. You have no reason to reject me.”
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Martin Fricker
Wandelt told Madeleine’s sister ‘I need you to believe me Amelie, maybe inside your heart you know’
Mr Duck said Wandelt sent a message to Madeleine’s sister Amelie in January 2024.
The message, partly read out in court, said: “I know so many things. I can tell you my memories. Please don’t block me. I never lied about anything. I beg you Amelie.
“I remember so many things, the kitchen, the garden, I remember what game I was playing in the garden with you, I know what I was calling you when we were playing. You are my only hope.
“I remember feeding Sean. I remember Kate saying I make more of a mess than my brother. I remember playing ring a ring a roses. Can you take a DNA test? I’ll pay. I need you to believe me Amelie, maybe inside your heart you know.”
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Martin Fricker
Wandelt ‘called and messaged Kate McCann over 60 times in one day’
Mr Duck told jurors that Wandelt was “not deterred” by the refusal of the McCanns to engage with her.
The court heard she obtained Kate’s mobile phone number and began ringing her. He said on a single day in April last year, she called and messaged her over 60 times.
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Wandelt not the same age as Maddie
Mr Duck added: “Nothing gives you the right to pursue and stalk people just because you want them to bend to your will and do as you demand or request.
“There could never have been a legitimate belief by Julia Wandelt that she was Madeleine McCann. At the time of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, Julia Wandelt was not of the same age.
“She obtained numerous images of Madeleine McCann but also other images of the McCann family and sought to compare them to images of herself.”
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Conspiracy theory
Mr Duck added: “Madeleine McCann disappeared on May 3 2007. You know she disappeared from an apartment in Praia da Luz on the coast of Portugal. Her disappearance generated worldwide media attention. She was nine days short of her fourth birthday.
“One of many tragic consequences for Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, has been their constant inability to escape the glare of publicity that came with that tragedy.
“The attention they have received has not always been compassionate, sometimes far from it.
“There remains a group of individuals who continue to fail to acknowledge their plight and perpetuate conspiracy theories.
“Unfortunately, these two defendants belong to that latter group.”
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Claimed she was abducted
Mr Duck said: “Her contention over the two and a half years that followed was therefore that she must have been abducted and taken to Poland where she lived with people who she was erroneously told were her parents.
“You will see and hear occasions upon which she claims to have evolving memories of what actually happened in May 2007.
“She pursued claims that she was Madeleine McCann and she pursued Madeleine McCann’s parents over a period of time and pursued that myth.
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Jury hear from prosecutor
Mr Duck told the jury of five men and seven women that from June 2022, Wandelt began attempting to persuade “anybody prepared to listen” that she was Madeleine.
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
No link between Wandelt and McCanns
Jurors were told that there was “unequivocal scientific evidence” that Wandelt, from Lubin in south-west Poland, has no familial link to the McCanns despite her claiming to have memories of the girl’s childhood and disappearance.
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Maddie’s sister sent images
Mr Duck said Wandelt forwarded digitally-altered images of herself to Madeleine’s youngster sister Amelie.
He told the court: “Those images were designed to persuade Amelie McCann there were similarities between Wandelt and Amelia and support the contention they were somehow related.”
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Trial resumes
Wandelt returned to the dock after a short break and the trial resumed.
Mr Duck told jurors: “You will hear unequivocal scientific evidence that Madeleine McCann is the natural daughter of Kate and Gerry McCann and that Julia Wandelt has no familial link to them at all.”
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Jury sent out of courtroom
Mrs Justice Cutts, the judge presiding over the case at Leicester Crown Court, halted the trial and ordered the jury out of the courtroom.
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Wandelt is not Maddie McCann
Mr Duck told jurors: “At this very early stage in the trial, can we make this clear, Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”
Julie Wandelt is accused of stalking
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Maddie’s siblings to give evidence
Prosecutor Mr Duck told jurors they will also hear evidence from Madeleine’s twin siblings Sean and Amelie.
Wandelt, wearing black leggings and white jumped, sobbed in the dock as the trial began.
She then broke down and walked to the back of the glass-fronted dock.
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Co-accused Karen Spragg
Karen Spragg is on trial alongside Julia Wandelt. Spragg is 61 and from Cardiff.
Karen Spragg arriving at Leicester Crown Court (Image: PA)
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Wandelt on trial
Julia Wandelt is 24 and accused of stalking the McCanns
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Kelly-Ann Kiernan
Pair in court accused of stalking
A woman who falsely claimed to be Madeleine McCann is on trial accused of stalking the missing youngster’s family.
Julia Wandelt, 24, carried out a “well-planned campaign of harassment” against Kate and Gerry McCann for nearly three years, jurors heard.
The Polish national allegedly “pursued” the couple by email, phone calls and visits to their home in Rothley, Leicestershire.
She is standing trial at Leicester crown court alongside co-accused Karen Spragg, 61, of Cardiff.
They are both accused of stalking.
Prosecutor Michael Duck KC said their behaviour caused the McCanns “significant harm and distress”.
