A woman who claims to be the missing child Madeleine McCann is on trial for allegedly stalking her parents and sending a haunting letter that left them distressed.
Julia Wandelt, a 21-year-old from Poland, appeared at Leicester Crown Court alongside co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff.
Both are accused of stalking Kate and Gerry McCann over a two-and-a-half-year period, including hundreds of unwanted messages, in-person visits, and increasingly bizarre efforts to collect DNA from the couple.
The prosecution alleges that the young woman, who claimed she remembered being abducted from the McCanns’ Portuguese holiday apartment in 2007, was definitively proven not to be Madeleine and is instead a conspiracy theorist who deliberately manipulated the situation.
In one police recording, obtained by The Guardian, Wandelt described being “injected with something that made [her] feel paralyzed” and claimed to recall abuse.
McCanns confronted outside their home
The court heard that in December 2024, Wandelt and Spragg showed up outside the McCanns’ home. An audio recording played for the jury captured Kate pleading: “You’re causing us a lot of distress, now stop it.”
Kate recalled returning home one evening and hearing someone say her name. She told the court that her immediate reaction was fear and said it was very dark at the time.
She quickly recognized the woman as Wandelt, who was accompanied by Spragg. “She called me mum,” Kate said, describing the interaction as deeply upsetting. Spragg, she added, was “slightly more aggressive,” confronting her with the question: “Don’t you want to find your daughter?” per Sky News.
Kate told the women to leave, but Wandelt allegedly tried to block her from closing the front door. After locking herself inside, she called her husband Gerry, who arrived home shortly afterward and also encountered the women outside.
In another recording played for the court, he was heard saying: “You are not Madeleine… I don’t want this, please do not hassle us and leave the premises.”
Spragg reportedly demanded a DNA test, prompting Gerry to reply: “The police are well aware of Julia and her situation. We are not having a discussion. Please leave, you are not welcome.”
The next day: A letter signed ‘Madeleine x’
On December 7, the day after the confrontation, Kate found a letter pushed through the door. Addressed to “Mum (Kate),” it was signed “Madeleine x.”
The full contents of the letter were read out in court: "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 seeing you upset."
"All I want is to find out the truth. I have memories, and I 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 hope you will find a way to contact me," she concluded.
Prosecutor Michael Duck KC described the letter as a “final, cruel signature,” noting that Wandelt also expressed a wish to “hug” Kate and the couple’s two adult children. “It would be difficult to think of anything the McCann family would like less,” he said.
“Bizarre” plans and no remorse
The jury also heard that Wandelt and Spragg allegedly plotted ways to obtain Kate's DNA - such as collecting used forks from restaurants or going through the family’s bins.
Messages retrieved from Spragg’s phone showed no remorse, the prosecution added. In one text to a friend, Spragg wrote: “Kate cried and Gerry was horrible.” In another to Wandelt, she added, “lol we do our stakeout again.”
The two women were arrested on February 19 at Bristol Airport, with Wandelt arriving for a follow-up visit while Spragg waited in the car.
Both deny stalking, causing serious alarm and distress.
The trial continues.