A woman who sparked global controversy after claiming she was missing toddler Madeleine McCann has pleaded not guilty to stalking the girl's parents and siblings.
Julia Wandelt, 23, from Lubin in southwest Poland, made headlines in 2023 when she went viral on Instagram claiming she was Madeleine, the British child who vanished in Portugal in 2007.
A DNA test later confirmed she was Polish, but that didn’t stop her campaign.
Despite initially apologizing and saying that she "regretted" her claims, Wandelt resurfaced on social media with new "evidence" that she was the missing child.
She shared results on her Instagram account, claiming the McCanns had "refused" to partake in the DNA test, which she claims showed that she had British and Irish ancestry, rather than being 100 percent Polish.
She also claimed that experts have matched photos her own eyes - which feature a similar coloboma in the iris as Madeleine's - as well as her teeth and voice to those of the missing girl.
Wandelt claimed on Instagram that her "source" believes the DNA "strongly supports that Gerry McCann could be Julia Wandelt's biological father".
She has also previously addressed her claims publicly during an appearance on Dr. Phil.
Then, after arriving in the UK in February, Wandelt was arrested on suspicion of stalking.
Wandelt appeared at Leicester Crown Court on April 22, facing charges of causing serious alarm or distress to the McCann family between June 2022 and February 2025.
The court heard allegations that Wandelt sent WhatsApp messages and letters, made phone calls and voicemails, and even messaged Madeleine’s younger siblings, Sean and Amelie, on Instagram.
She’s also accused of physically turning up at the McCann family home in Leicestershire twice last year — once on May 2 and again on December 7. Prosecutors claim her behaviour was part of a persistent effort to convince the family she was their missing daughter, Sky News reports.
During the court hearing, Wandelt confirmed her name as Julia Wandelt "according to documents,” before entering her not guilty plea.
Prosecutor Ravinder Daroch told the court Wandelt's contact with the McCanns “increased in frequency and became more alarming,” alleging she attempted to make the McCanns aware "she was their missing daughter, Madeleine", per Metro.
The court also heard that Wandelt had travelled to Rothley in 2024 to attend the annual vigil marking Madeleine’s disappearance. Madeleine's parents were not present, but Wandelt allegedly left a letter at their home.
The stalking charges against her state that her conduct had “a substantial adverse effect” on the family’s daily life and that “you knew or ought to have known that your course of conduct would cause alarm or distress.”
Wandelt was arrested in February this year after landing at Bristol Airport alongside a friend. She had previously had a bail application denied in March and was remanded back into custody by Judge Timothy Spencer KC. She’s set to reappear in August for a bail hearing, and her trial is scheduled for October 2 at Leicester Crown Court.
Another woman, Karen Spragg, 60, from Caerau in Cardiff, has also been accused of stalking Kate and Gerry McCann. She allegedly made calls, sent letters, and visited the McCanns' home. Spragg also pleaded not guilty to a single charge of stalking, causing serious alarm or distress.
Unlike Wandelt, Spragg was granted conditional bail. Her bail conditions include not contacting the McCann family or their two friends, not entering Leicestershire unless attending court, and living at her listed home address.
Both women will face trial later this year.
The Disappearance Of Madeleine McCann
Madeleine McCann was just three years old when she vanished from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on the night of May 3, 2007. Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, had left her and her younger twin siblings asleep in the rental while they dined with friends at a nearby tapas bar — a routine they had followed throughout the trip.
When Kate returned to check on the children around 10:00PM, she discovered Madeleine was gone. The window was open, and the shutter had been raised. Despite extensive searches and global media attention, no trace of Madeleine was ever found.
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The case gripped the world and led to one of the most high-profile missing persons investigations in history. Over the years, numerous theories and leads emerged, but none have led to a definitive answer. In 2020, German authorities named a convicted sex offender as a formal suspect, but no charges have been brought.
To this day, Madeleine’s disappearance remains unsolved.