Emotional court testimonies given by Kate and Gerry McCann formed part of the key evidence against a woman claiming to be their missing daughter, Madeleine.
Julia Wandelt, 24, was found guilty on Friday of harassing the couple. She was found not guilty of a charge of stalking.
During the trial, the court heard that Wandelt turned up at the McCanns’ home and sent sinister letters and messages repeatedly begging for a DNA test.
The couple both spoke from behind a curtain in the courtroom, so they did not have to see Wandelt face to face.
Mrs McCann did, however, hear Wandelt’s voice when she cried out from the glass-fronted dock, “Why are you doing this to me?” partway through her evidence.
The couple’s trauma from their daughter’s disappearance in Portugal in 2007 was compounded by the vitriol of some members of the public who subjected them to the “cruellest of taunts”, prosecutors told the stalking trial.
The search for their daughter led to conspiracy theorists peddling rumours about the couple’s involvement, and they have subsequently been victims of trolling.
Wandelt’s co-defendant Karen Spragg, who was described by prosecutors as a “true crime tourist of sorts”, told police she believed Mr and Mrs McCann arranged the abduction of their eldest daughter.
While giving evidence, an emotional Mr McCann said he and his wife still cling to hope that Madeleine may be alive today.
When asked about the impact of Wandelt’s false claim, Mr McCann responded: “It has many effects – we don’t know what happened to Madeleine. There’s no evidence to say she’s dead. We really hope, and we know it’s only a glimmer, that Madeleine is alive.
“When so many people claim to be our missing daughter, it inevitably pulls your heartstrings, but there is a wider effect that is more damaging.
“That’s detrimental to any existing investigation, and, obviously, we have always put that [the inquiry] first.”
In December 2024, Wandelt left a letter at the McCanns’ home in Rothley, Leicestershire, in which she wrote “Dear Mum (Kate)” and signed “Lots of love, Madeleine”.
Wandelt also called Mrs McCann “mummy” and said “you are my mother” in other messages.
Speaking in court, Mrs McCann said: “I think it’s obvious that’s the thing I want most, for Madeleine to be back and calling me mum – that was the aspect that was really distressing for me.”
Madeleine’s younger sister, Amelie McCann, who had been sleeping in the Ocean Club resort apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, with her twin brother Sean when their sister disappeared, also told her side of the story.
The young woman, now aged 20 and a university student, spoke calmly about “creepy” messages she received and the distress caused to her family by Wandelt.
Ms McCann told jurors it was “upsetting” that Wandelt begged the family to believe her.
She said: “My mum really struggled with that – her saying ‘I’m your daughter.’”
Wandelt messaged the family claiming to have memories of playing ring-a-ring-a-roses, spoon-feeding Sean, and living in their home.
Questioned on how she felt about Wandelt’s messages regarding Madeleine’s childhood, Ms McCann said: “It is quite disturbing that she’s coming up with these supposed memories even though she’s not Madeleine.”
Spragg was found not guilty of stalking and harassment.
