A Polish woman who allegedly stalked Madeleine McCann’s parents for more than two years — while claiming to be their missing daughter — is now on trial in the UK, with prosecutors revealing she once sent them a letter signed “Madeleine x”.
Prosecutors told Leicester Crown Court that Julia Wandelt, 24, repeatedly contacted Madeline’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, by email, social media and even in person.
Wandelt allegedly turned up at their home in Leicestershire and at one point called Kate McCann 60 times in a single day.
‘You are not Madeleine’
The court heard an audio recording captured by Wandelt herself during a visit to the McCanns’ house in December 2024, in which Kate can be heard asking her to stop, saying she was causing “a lot of distress”. Wandelt and her co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, could allegedly be heard banging on the family’s door and shouting after Kate retreated inside.
A transcript played to the jury revealed Gerry confronting the pair as he returned home, telling Wandelt: “You are not Madeleine … I don’t want this, please do not hassle us and leave the premises.”
According to The Guardian, Spragg then demanded a DNA test and later texted a friend saying, “Kate cried and Gerry was horrible”, showing “not one ounce of regret”, prosecutor Michael Duck KC said.
The pair reportedly came back the following day — this time leaving a letter addressed to “mum” and signed “Madeleine x”. Prosecutors described it as a “final, cruel signature”, telling the court that Wandelt also wrote she wanted to “hug” the McCanns and their adult children.
Bizarre plans and conspiracy claims
The prosecution told the jury the two women made increasingly strange attempts to gather the McCanns’ DNA, including going through their bins and taking cutlery from restaurants the couple had visited. They were both arrested at Bristol Airport in February 2025.
Both women deny one count of stalking causing serious alarm and distress. Wandelt was refused bail earlier this year.
During the hearing, the prosecution stressed there is “unequivocal scientific evidence” Wandelt is not Madeleine, referencing DNA testing results.
“At this very early stage in the trial, we can make it clear Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann,” Prosecutor Duck said.
According to the ABC, Wandelt had previously claimed to be other missing children, including German girl Inga Gehricke and American child Acacia Bishop. Duck called her “a manipulative conspiracy theorist who understood the upset she was causing”.
Kate and Gerry McCann have stayed largely out of the spotlight in recent years, but the trial has again placed them in public view. Their daughter Madeleine disappeared from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007, when she was three years old — a case that continues to draw global attention 18 years later.
The McCanns’ tragedy has been reignited in the media recently, especially after Christian Brueckner, the German man long considered the prime suspect, was released from prison last month after serving time for an unrelated crime. Portuguese police searches linked to Brueckner earlier this year found no new evidence.
The trial at Leicester Crown Court is ongoing.
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