Alleged Stalker Questioned: 'Yet Suppose I Might Be Madeleine?'

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

A individual charged with pursuing Kate McCann allegedly deposited her a recorded message which questioned: "imagine I am Madeleine?"

Julia Wandelt, 24, who a jury heard has consistently declared she was the missing Madeleine McCann, and her co-defendant are on trial accused with harassing Kate and Gerry McCann from June 2022 and February 2025.

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

On Monday, Leicester Crown Court learned phone records and data recovered from phones recorded Ms Wandelt repeatedly demanding Madeleine's mother for a DNA test during 2023 and 2024.

Madeleine's vanishing in 2007 - when she was three years old during a trip in Portugal - is considered the most widely reported investigations and is still open.

'I Am Not Seeking Money'

One phone message, played in court, recorded Ms Wandelt stating: "I realize I'm heavy and plain like Madeleine was, but I believe what I know."

While a separate message of Ms Wandelt's monologues with Mrs McCann's voicemail said: "What if there is a tiny probability that I'm her? What happens next? Isn't that significant for you?"

"I don't want money, I maintain a existence here in Poland, I simply desire to understand," the message continued.

The tribunal was advised that by means of emails, text messages and communications, Ms Wandelt asked for a DNA test, forwarded early photographs to her phone in a bid to show a likeness to Mrs McCann's vanished daughter, and stated to have "memories" from a early life with the McCanns.

An intelligence analyst, an investigator with the police force who collated the evidence, advised the court there "didn't appear to be any answers" from Mrs McCann.

Ms Wandelt additionally communicated with family friends of the McCanns, based on the call data.

On that date, Gerry McCann responded to a call from Ms Wandelt to his wife's phone, saying she had "the wrong phone."

During that incident Ms Wandelt left a message on Mrs McCann's recording saying "I will continue and I will prove my point."

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

The court heard Mrs Spragg developed a connection online with Ms Wandelt before accompanying her on a visit to the McCanns' home in Leicestershire in last December.

Phone records showed Mrs Spragg had communicated using WhatsApp to Mrs McCann to say the media had portrayed Ms Wandelt as "mentally unstable" but that she ought to be taken seriously in the time before the appearance to the village, the county, in last December.

The court learned correspondence between the two defendants, in last November, considering trying to get Mrs McCann's DNA samples from her garbage or from utensils at a eating establishment.

"We need to make a stand," the co-defendant told Ms Wandelt.

On the occasion of the trip to their home, the defendant sent a text which said: "We're currently positioned near the McCanns' home with our vehicle dark similar to detectives. I desired to achieve this with another person I never thought I would be doing that with the McCanns."

The case ongoing.

Melanie Perry
Melanie Perry

Tech enthusiast and writer with a passion for exploring emerging technologies and sharing practical insights.