In the quiet suburbs of Rothley, Leicestershire, where the McCann family has tried to rebuild their shattered lives for nearly two decades, a new nightmare has slithered into their world. It’s October 2025, and the trial of Julia Wandelt, a 24-year-old Polish woman from Lubin, has gripped the nation like a vice. Accused alongside her co-defendant, 61-year-old Karen Spragg from Cardiff, Wandelt faces charges of stalking Kate and Gerry McCann – the parents of Madeleine McCann, the three-year-old who vanished without a trace from a Portuguese holiday apartment on May 3, 2007. What began as a desperate online plea for identity has escalated into a relentless campaign of harassment, leaving the family “stressed and on edge,” as one sibling poignantly described it.
The disappearance of Madeleine remains one of the most infamous unsolved mysteries in modern history. Snatched from her bed while her parents dined nearby in Praia da Luz, the case sparked global media frenzy, conspiracy theories, and endless heartache. Portuguese police investigations faltered amid criticism, and recent developments – including a 2024 apology from authorities for mishandling the probe and the release of prime suspect Christian Brueckner from an unrelated sentence – have only deepened the wound. Yet, amid this unresolved agony, enter Julia Wandelt: a young woman who, starting in June 2022, convinced herself – and a cadre of online supporters – that she was the long-lost Madeleine.
Wandelt’s obsession didn’t stay virtual. Prosecutors at Leicester Crown Court paint a picture of calculated intrusion. She bombarded the McCanns with emails and WhatsApp messages, signing one letter “Madeleine x” and addressing it to “Mum (Kate).” In vivid, fabricated detail, she claimed hypnotic “flashbacks” of the family’s Rothley home: playing Ring a Ring o’ Roses in the garden, feeding baby brother Sean, even a tender moment where Kate rubbed her head before the “abduction.” These weren’t idle fantasies; they were weapons designed to exploit the family’s raw grief. “When people claim to be your missing daughter you haven’t seen for this long, it pulls on your heartstrings,” Gerry McCann testified, his voice steady but eyes betraying the toll. “But it is damaging the search for Madeleine.”
The court’s emotional core unfolded this week as the McCann twins – Amelie and Sean, now 23, who were just two when their sister vanished – took the stand. Amelie, appearing via video link, delivered a gut-wrenching account that silenced the room. “It was quite scary because you don’t know what she’ll do next,” she said, her words laced with a mix of fear and fury. Wandelt had targeted her relentlessly since January 2024, sliding into her Instagram DMs under aliases like “Julia Julia.” The messages were a barrage: pleas for a DNA test, declarations of sisterly love, and most disturbingly, “proof” in the form of edited childhood photos. Using tools like ChatGPT, Wandelt morphed images of herself and Amelie into eerie composites – little girls side-by-side, faces unnaturally aligned to suggest a shared past. One package even arrived at the family home: printed versions of these alterations, accompanied by a note branding Amelie her “last hope.”
“It’s disturbing she’s coming up with these supposed memories when she’s not Madeleine,” Amelie continued, her voice cracking. The persistence – across platforms, unyielding despite blocks – left the family installing panic alarms and bolstering security after Wandelt’s audacious doorstep appearances. On December 7, 2024, she and Spragg showed up unannounced, demanding DNA swabs and rummaging through bins for “evidence.” Kate McCann, testifying behind a privacy screen, called contact with Amelie “the final straw,” her composure fracturing as audio played of her pleading, “You’re causing us a lot of distress – now stop it.” Gerry, fielding endless calls, bluntly told Wandelt: “You’re not Madeleine.” DNA tests, of course, confirmed the obvious: Wandelt’s Polish heritage bore no match to the McCanns.
Sean’s statement, read aloud, echoed his sister’s pain: “The fact Julia is doing this has caused me a great deal of stress and I find it deeply disturbing.” He blocked her advances but couldn’t escape the disrespect – a stranger hijacking their tragedy for attention. Family friends, like Linda and Ellie McQueen, corroborated the creep factor, recounting Wandelt’s manipulative outreach. Even vigil organizers, such as great-aunt Janet Kennedy, were “stunned” when Wandelt handed over an envelope at a Madeleine memorial, whispering claims of her “true” identity.
Wandelt and Spragg deny the stalking charge, which carries the allegation of causing “serious alarm and distress.” Wandelt sobs in court, crying “Why are you doing this to me?” – a plea that rings hollow against the evidence of her two-and-a-half-year siege. Prosecutors call her a “manipulative conspiracy theorist,” fully aware of the havoc. Yet, her online echo chamber persists, with social media buzzing about her “evidence” videos and pleas for support.
As the trial presses on, it forces a reckoning: In an age of deepfakes and digital delusions, how do grieving families shield themselves from those who weaponize hope? For the McCanns, every “sighting” reopens the abyss. “We don’t know what happened to Madeleine; there’s no evidence she’s dead,” Gerry reminds us. But Wandelt’s farce underscores a cruel truth: Some wounds never scar over. They just bleed anew.
