Accused Stalker Inquired: 'But What If I Might Be Madeleine?'

Courtroom sketch
Julia Wandelt - who a court has heard believes she is missing Madeleine McCann - contest the charges

A woman indicted with stalking Kate McCann allegedly deposited her a recorded message which questioned: "what if I am Madeleine?"

Julia Wandelt, 24, who a jury heard has repeatedly claimed she was the disappeared Madeleine McCann, and her co-defendant are standing trial charged with stalking Kate and Gerry McCann between June 2022 and February the current year.

Madeleine McCann photo
Madeleine McCann's vanishing has not yet been concluded

On Monday, Leicester Crown Court learned communication data and data obtained from phones recorded Ms Wandelt consistently asking Madeleine's mother for a biological test over the past two years.

Madeleine's case in 2007 - at the age of three during a vacation in Portugal - is among the most publicized child disappearance cases and continues to be open.

'I Do Not Need Money'

One phone message, shared in court, captured Ms Wandelt stating: "I know I'm overweight and unattractive like Madeleine had been, but I feel what I feel."

While a separate message of Ms Wandelt's monologues with Mrs McCann's answerphone stated: "Suppose there is a small chance that I am she? What happens next? Wouldn't that be significant for you?"

"I don't want money, I maintain a living here in Poland, I just want to know," the recording stated.

The panel was advised that via emails, text messages and communications, Ms Wandelt demanded a genetic test, transmitted youth pictures to her phone in a attempt to display a likeness to Mrs McCann's disappeared daughter, and claimed to have "flashbacks" from a early life with the McCanns.

The investigator, an intelligence analyst with the police force who compiled the evidence, advised the court there "showed no any replies" from Mrs McCann.

Ms Wandelt also contacted family friends of the McCanns, based on the communication logs.

On 9 October 2024, the father responded to a communication from Ms Wandelt to his wife's phone, stating she had "a wrong number."

That day Ms Wandelt recorded a message on Mrs McCann's recording saying "I will continue and I intend to demonstrate my claim."

Court proceedings
Kate and Gerry McCann gave evidence to the court from protected by a privacy screen on Wednesday

The court heard Mrs Spragg established a relationship via internet with Ms Wandelt prior to accompanying her on a visit to the McCanns' home in Leicestershire in that winter.

Communication data revealed Mrs Spragg had reached out through communication app to Mrs McCann to state the press had characterized Ms Wandelt as "mentally unstable" but that she ought to be considered genuine in the time leading up to the visit to that location, that area, in last December.

The court was told correspondence between the two accused, in last November, discussing endeavoring to acquire Mrs McCann's DNA samples from her trash or from utensils at a dining venue.

"We must assert ourselves," the co-defendant informed Ms Wandelt.

On the occasion of the trip to their house, the defendant dispatched a text which said: "We find ourselves positioned near the McCanns' residence with our headlights off similar to private investigators. I desired to achieve this with someone else I never thought I would be engaged in this with the McCanns."

The trial proceeds.

Mark Miles
Mark Miles

A seasoned statistician and gambling analyst with over a decade of experience in probability theory and game strategy.

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