Accused Harasser Asked: 'Yet Suppose I Could Be Madeleine?'

Courtroom sketch
Julia Wandelt - who a court has heard asserts she is missing Madeleine McCann - deny the accusations

A woman charged with stalking Kate McCann reportedly left her a recorded message which asked: "imagine I am Madeleine?"

The defendant, 24, who a jury heard has repeatedly declared she was the missing Madeleine McCann, and Karen Spragg are on trial accused with harassing Kate and Gerry McCann from June 2022 and February this year.

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

On Monday, the court was told phone records and information retrieved from phones logged Ms Wandelt consistently requesting Madeleine's mother for a genetic test throughout the past two years.

Madeleine's vanishing in 2007 - as a three-year-old during a family holiday in Portugal - is considered the most widely reported investigations and remains open.

'I Do Not Need Money'

Another recorded message, presented in court, documented Ms Wandelt saying: "I realize I'm fat and plain like Madeleine was, but I believe what I feel."

While another instance of Ms Wandelt's monologues with Mrs McCann's voicemail said: "Suppose there is a slight possibility that I am she? What then? Is that not important for you?"

"I am not seeking money, I have a existence here in Poland, I only wish to discover," the message continued.

The panel was informed that via emails, mobile messages and communications, Ms Wandelt demanded a genetic test, forwarded childhood photos to her phone in a bid to demonstrate a resemblance to Mrs McCann's disappeared daughter, and stated to have "memories" from a childhood with the McCanns.

Robert Jones, a data specialist with law enforcement who collated the evidence, told the court there "didn't appear to be any replies" from Mrs McCann.

Ms Wandelt also contacted close associates of the McCanns, according to the call data.

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

During that incident Ms Wandelt deposited a message on Mrs McCann's recording saying "I will persist and I plan to establish my position."

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

The court was informed Mrs Spragg developed a association online with Ms Wandelt before joining her on a appearance to the McCanns' residence in that area in December 2024.

Communication data showed Mrs Spragg had reached out using messaging service to Mrs McCann to say the media had depicted Ms Wandelt as "emotionally disturbed" but that she deserved to be taken seriously in the period leading up to the appearance to that location, Leicestershire, in that winter.

The court heard communications between the two accused, in November 2024, planning trying to get Mrs McCann's DNA samples from her bins or from utensils at a eating establishment.

"We must take action," the co-defendant told Ms Wandelt.

On the evening of the trip to their home, Mrs Spragg dispatched a text which expressed: "We're currently sat near the McCanns' home with our headlights off resembling investigators. I had hoped to accomplish this with Peter Andrew I never thought I would be involved in this with the McCanns."

The case proceeds.

Matthew White
Matthew White

A tech enthusiast and business strategist with over a decade of experience in digital transformation and startup consulting.