The alleged Madeleine McCann stalker gave a chilling response in court when asked if she still believes she is the missing girl.
Julia Wandelt, a 24-year-old Polish woman, is facing charges of stalking after claiming to be the British child who went missing in 2007.
Wandelt allegedly stalked the McCann family, sending letters, emails, making calls, and even showing up at their home while asserting that she was their daughter.
Wandelt's Chilling Response About Her Belief
During the court session at Leicester Crown Court on Wednesday (October 28), prosecution lawyer Michael Duck KC asked Wandelt three times whether she still believed she was McCann. Her answer was troubling.
“It's neither yes or no,” Wandelt replied. When pressed further, she added, “I’m in between," Sky News reported.
Duck then asked Wandelt what would have satisfied her, to which she responded: “The investigation into what happened to me... why am I here?” Her answer was accompanied by tears, as she appeared overwhelmed.
Duck asked, “If you had seen a negative DNA test result, would you have walked away?” Wandelt’s response was equally unsettling: “If I received the entire paperwork, yes, I would walk away.”
Wandelt’s Sympathy for the McCanns
Despite the severity of her actions, the 24-year-old claimed she had “sympathy” for the missing girl's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann.
She told the court: “I actually even have sympathy for them [the McCanns], even though I am in prison for eight months, because they look for their child and I look for my parents," per The Guardian.
Wandelt explained that she couldn’t imagine the pain the McCanns were experiencing after their daughter’s disappearance, and emphasized that she never meant to harm them. “I always defended them, I still even now defend them,” she added.
Allegations of Police Misconduct
Wandelt also told the court that she believed the police had mishandled the investigation into the British girl's disappearance.
“I think they were misled because if the police treated their daughter’s case the way they treated me, I’m not surprised they didn’t find their daughter,” she argued. “The police are not interested in finding Kate and Gerry’s daughter, that is my opinion.”
She further claimed that the police were still “abusing cases” and not taking the investigation seriously.
Wandelt admitted to contacting the family directly and believing that they were being deceived by the authorities.
She claimed to have reached out to various organizations, including Interpol and the Metropolitan Police, before finally contacting the McCanns. “I did not want to contact Kate and Gerry and the McCann family until I contacted every single person I can,” she explained.
However, her actions sparked intense public backlash. Wandelt mentioned that she had received hate messages and even threats, including a bounty placed on her head. “I was getting a lot of hate, people wishing I would die,” she said.
She also shared with the court that her belief in being Madeleine stemmed from her traumatic childhood experiences. She recalled limited memories of her early years, many of which were marked by abuse at the hands of her step-grandfather.
Wandelt also mentioned that a police sketch of a suspect in the Madeleine case looked similar to her abuser and had the same surname, which she believed was a significant factor in her conviction that she was Madeleine.
She denied claiming to be Madeleine for attention or financial gain, instead suggesting that she was simply trying to understand her identity. “I could not be able to heal from my trauma if I never fully know who I am,” Wandelt said.
The Polish woman and her co-defendant, 61-year-old Karen Spragg, face charges of stalking in connection with their behavior between June 2022 and February 2023.
They have both denied the charges.