Maddie McCann's Brother and Sister Describe Alleged Harasser's Behavior as Deeply Disturbing and Creepy

Madeleine McCann's twin siblings, Sean and Amelie, have told the court that their encounters with an accused stalker were extremely upsetting and unsettling. The siblings explained feeling anxious and scared by a woman who claimed she was their missing sister.

Persistent Communication Described as Frightening

Testifying remotely, Amelie described how the accused, the 24-year-old, contacted her repeatedly through social media and written correspondence. She said the relentlessness was quite scary since you don’t know what her next move might be.

Communications from the defendant were read in the trial, in which she described recollections of living in the family home that she said were recovered under hypnosis. Amelie testified, It’s quite disturbing that she's inventing these supposed memories, even though she’s not Maddie.

Fabricated Pictures Increased Unease

Jurors learned that Wandelt had created images of Amelie and herself as children, which the state said were generated with AI tools. A number of these images were sent through online channels, while additional ones were printed and enclosed in a letter to Amelie.

She said, I didn’t like it, it made me feel very uncomfortable. It was evident she edited the images to make me look more like her, which was very distressing. I knew I didn't resemble that, I knew it had been manipulated.

Psychological Impact on the Family

Amelie also discussed the effect of the alleged harassment on her mother, their mother, who gave evidence about being approached at home by the defendant and her co-defendant, Karen Spragg.

In my opinion my mum found it the most difficult. She was targeted by Julia more than the others in the family and I believe it definitely took its toll on her and her mental health, she testified. It’s upsetting when someone’s begging you to believe them and manipulating your emotions, to the extent you are questioning yourself.

Sibling's Testimony on Anxiety and Digital Attention

In a testimony read to the court, her brother said that personally, he had not been severely affected by the defendant's accused stalking. But he had been upset that she was attracting social media scrutiny, with people posting hurtful and unjust things about his mother and father.

If she was not suffering from a psychological condition and was completely conscious she is not Madeleine, yet makes these claims, that would be very distressing for me, he testified. I am convinced she is my sibling. The fact that Julia is engaging in this behavior has caused me a significant amount of stress and I consider it profoundly disturbing.

Wandelt and Spragg deny stalking the McCann household. Proceedings are ongoing.