Suspected Harasser Asked: 'Yet Imagine I Could Be Madeleine?'

Courtroom sketch
Karen Spragg - according to court testimony believes she is missing Madeleine McCann - contest the accusations

A woman accused with harassing Kate McCann apparently recorded her a phone message which posed: "suppose I am Madeleine?"

Julia Wandelt, 24, who court testimony revealed has persistently declared she was the vanished Madeleine McCann, and Karen Spragg are on trial charged with harassing Kate and Gerry McCann between June 2022 and February 2025.

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

On Monday, Leicester Crown Court was told communication data and evidence recovered from phones documented Ms Wandelt repeatedly demanding Madeleine's mother for a genetic test throughout the past two years.

Madeleine's case in 2007 - when she was three years old during a family holiday in Portugal - is among the most covered missing child cases and remains open.

'I Do Not Need Money'

A separate voicemail, played in court, captured Ms Wandelt saying: "I realize I'm fat and not pretty like Madeleine had been, but I feel what I believe."

While another instance of Ms Wandelt's one-way conversations with Mrs McCann's voicemail stated: "Imagine there is a slight possibility that I am Madeleine? What happens next? Wouldn't that be important for you?"

"I do not need money, I have a life here in Poland, I just want to know," the message continued.

The jury was advised that by means of emails, mobile messages and communications, Ms Wandelt requested a DNA test, forwarded early photographs to her phone in a bid to demonstrate a similarity to Mrs McCann's missing daughter, and claimed to have "flashbacks" from a childhood with the McCanns.

An intelligence analyst, an investigator with Leicestershire Police who collated the information, told the court there "didn't appear to be any answers" from Mrs McCann.

Ms Wandelt additionally reached out to acquaintances of the McCanns, according to the communication logs.

On 9 October 2024, Gerry McCann answered a communication 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 voicemail saying "I won't give up and I will prove my position."

Court proceedings
Kate and Gerry McCann testified to the court from behind a security measure on Wednesday

The court learned Mrs Spragg established a relationship through digital means with Ms Wandelt preceding accompanying her on a appearance to the McCanns' residence in the county in that winter.

Phone records demonstrated Mrs Spragg had communicated via messaging service to Mrs McCann to state the news outlets had depicted Ms Wandelt as "emotionally disturbed" but that she ought to be considered genuine in the time leading up to the trip to that location, the county, in last December.

The court learned communications between the two individuals, in that autumn, considering trying to get Mrs McCann's biological evidence from her trash or from utensils at a dining venue.

"We need to take action," the co-defendant advised Ms Wandelt.

On the evening of the visit to their home, Mrs Spragg transmitted a message which expressed: "We find ourselves positioned adjacent to the McCanns' residence with our headlights off resembling detectives. I had hoped to achieve this with someone else I didn't imagine I would be involved in this with the McCanns."

The trial proceeds.

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