3 bombshell moments as Madeleine McCann's sister shares messages from 'fake Maddie'

Madeleine McCann's 20-year-old sister Amelie has delivered evidence in court today about her family's alleged stalker. Giving evidence remotely, Miss McCann told how Julia Wandelt, who has claimed to be the missing girl, had alleged memories from their childhood, such as playing Ring-A-Ring-A-Roses with other children.

She also told the court that she believed Wandelt "clearly believes she is Madeleine" and, heartbreakingly, that when Wandelt first got in touch with her, she didn't tell her parents, as she didn't want to add any more stress for them.

Miss McCann has told a court that messages from her family's "creepy" alleged stalker left her feeling uncomfortable because it was "playing with my emotions".

She said she did not want to do a DNA test with Julia Wandelt after she told her she wanted to prove she was the missing youngster, explaining: "I always knew that she wasn't Madeleine, so I didn't need to do one."

Giving evidence via video link at Leicester Crown Court on Thursday, Miss McCann said Wandelt had sent images of herself which were "clearly altered or edited ... to make it look more like her".

She told the jury she thought there might be something she would recognise if Wandelt was her missing sister Madeleine.

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 her parents by sending emails, making phone calls and turning up at their address.

Madeleine's sister told the jury her mother, Kate McCann, was "stressed and on edge" after Wandelt visited her family home, calling it an "invasion" of their privacy.

Miss McCann said the messages she received had a "sound of desperation" which made her feel "uncomfortable".

Asked about how she felt after she received the first batch of messages in January 2024, she said: "It was quite distressing to see the messages. As you can see, it's a long message and there's a sound of desperation in her message which puts quite a lot of stress on me.

"I felt uncomfortable about it because I don't want to receive messages like that."

Miss McCann also said Wandelt had messaged her about Madeleine's childhood.

Questioned about how she felt about those messages, she said: "It is quite disturbing that she's coming up with these supposed memories even though she's not Madeleine."

Prosecutor Nadia Silver said the messages from Wandelt included requests for a DNA test and alleged memories from their childhood, such as playing ring-a-ring-a-roses with other children.

When asked how the messages made her feel, Miss McCann said, "It makes me feel quite uncomfortable because it is quite creepy that she is giving those details and trying to play with my emotions."

Questioned on whether she replied to any of Wandelt's messages, Miss McCann said, "No, I didn't think it was appropriate to get involved, and I don't usually reply to people I don't know, to protect myself, really."

Ms Silver continued: "At any point, did you want to do a DNA test with Julia Wandelt?"

Miss McCann replied: "No."

Asked why she did not want to do a DNA test, the witness continued: "Because I always knew that she wasn't Madeleine, so I didn't need to do one and the, not guidance, but the people around me didn't think it was appropriate either for her to get a DNA test."

She said she felt "guilty" for not listening to Wandelt's messages, but said she was not persuaded to ask her parents to do a DNA test.

Miss McCann told the court: "No, I did not find it persuasive. But it does make you feel quite guilty because she's desperate to connect and reach out to me.

"It makes me feel guilty for not listening to her request but, at the same time, I know deep down it was not Madeleine, so I did not feel persuaded by her."

She added: "It's clear that she thinks she's Madeleine and she can't understand why no-one is helping her to kind of get proof or whatever, and she thinks that I would have told my parents to listen to her."

One message from Wandelt said she would "do whatever to prove my identity" as her missing sister, the court was told.

Asked by Ms Silver how the message made her feel, Miss McCann said: "It made me feel ... not scared, but it shows you the lengths she would go to to try and get heard, which is a bit scary because you don't know what she would do next."

Questioned on why she took the view Wandelt was not her missing sister, Miss McCann said: "I think because she was on the radar of the police and my family since 2022, and nothing had happened in that time, I think, by 2024, I just knew that if that got dismissed and if the police were saying to my parents they were not going to do a DNA test, I knew it was not her.

"I had a feeling there would be something about her I would maybe recognise or believe more, whereas I did not think she looked like us, and she's Polish and has Polish family who are her parents. So, it did not make sense to me."

Wandelt and Karen Spragg, 61, of Caerau Court Road in Caerau, Cardiff, both deny one count of stalking.

The trial continues.