Madeleine McCann’s great-aunt has told a jury that she was “stunned” when an alleged stalker of the family attended an annual vigil in their home village, adding that there was “no way” she was the missing girl.
Janet Kennedy, who is Kate McCann’s aunt, told Leicester Crown Court she “could not accept” that Julia Wandelt, 24, was her missing great-niece, adding that the “essential person that Madeleine is – was – was not there”.
Giving evidence on Friday, Mrs Kennedy said Wandelt confronted her and gave her an envelope with information “that would prove she was Madeleine” during the yearly gathering in Rothley, Leicestershire, on May 3 last year.
She told the jury: “She said that she was Madeleine and that she was sorry that the McCanns weren’t there, but she wished me to give them some information and she presented me with an envelope with information in that would prove she was Madeleine.
“I was rather stunned by her approach. I looked at her and thought ‘she is not Madeleine’. There’s just no way she could be Madeleine at all.
“I think one’s recognition of someone is something that is intuitive. You just know the person. The essential person that Madeleine is – was – was not there.
“Even though Madeleine was nearly four when she was abducted and now I’m now meeting someone 17 years later, the essential person would still be recognisable – even though the years had moved on.
“When Julia said she was Madeleine… with the colour of your skin, you are Polish, there are distinct differences in the way people look according to where they are from.
“And the eyes as well. The eyes did not look like Madeleine’s eyes. So I could not accept that.”
Prosecutors allege Wandelt, from Lubin in south-west Poland, peddled the myth that she was Madeleine – who went missing in Portugal in 2007 – while stalking the girl’s parents by sending emails, making phone calls and turning up at their address.
Mrs Kennedy said Wandelt was “insistent” and had a “determination” about giving her the envelope, and said the Polish national had been “dismissive” when she suggested taking it to the police.
Mrs Kennedy added: “On the other hand, she was somebody I had not met before. I did not know her state of mind. I was a bit apprehensive but tried to stay courteous and calm.
“I think it was just being confronted by the person who’s claiming to be someone that I know she wasn’t.
“I could see the repercussions of this because there had been, before this, some media attention given to her – this was yet another upsetting experience that the family would have to go through.”
Mrs Kennedy told the court that she took the letter and kept it until Mrs McCann, who refused to read it, felt “ready to be able to look at it”.
The witness continued: “Eventually, it would have been towards the end of that year, I did dispose of it – I tore it up.
“By this time Julia was visiting the house and bombarding Kate and Gerry with emails and phone calls – it was becoming insistent and frequent.”
She said of the interaction with Wandelt at the vigil last year: “I think she built herself up that she would have been able to talk to them (the McCanns). I did not feel in any way threatened by her.”
Detective Constable Mark Draycott from the Metropolitan Police, who helped in the Operation Grange investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance for more than a decade, told the court he spoke to Wandelt on the phone in 2022 after she claimed to be the youngster.
Explaining why he phoned the defendant, Dc Draycott said: “To reassure her she was not Madeleine McCann. I explained we had gone over all the material and used our professional expertise… to confirm she was not Madeleine McCann.
“She actually said she was relieved not to be Madeleine McCann.”
The audio of a second phone call between Dc Draycott and Wandelt last year, after she attended the vigil, which was secretly recorded by Wandelt and used in a Youtube crime podcast, was heard by the jury.
When Dc Draycott said: “If you cause any harassment you could be arrested”, Wandelt is heard to reply: “Is this blackmail?”
At the end of the call, Wandelt was heard saying: “I will never give up.”
Wandelt and Karen Spragg, 61, of Caerau Court Road in Caerau, Cardiff, both deny one count of stalking.
The trial continues.
