Accused Harasser Inquired: 'However What If I Might Be Madeleine?'

Courtroom sketch
Karen Spragg - according to court testimony claims she is disappeared Madeleine McCann - dispute the allegations

A woman accused with pursuing Kate McCann reportedly left her a voicemail message which posed: "imagine I am Madeleine?"

Julia Wandelt, 24, who a jury heard has repeatedly claimed she was the missing Madeleine McCann, and her co-defendant are standing trial accused with stalking Kate and Gerry McCann between June 2022 and February 2025.

Madeleine McCann photo
Madeleine McCann's disappearance has never been solved

On Monday, Leicester Crown Court heard call records and evidence retrieved from phones documented Ms Wandelt repeatedly demanding Madeleine's mother for a DNA test over that period.

Madeleine's case in 2007 - when she was three years old during a vacation in Portugal - is one of the most covered child disappearance cases and remains unsolved.

'I Am Not Seeking Money'

A separate voicemail, shared in court, recorded Ms Wandelt stating: "I understand I'm heavy and not pretty like Madeleine was, but I feel what I believe."

While a separate message of Ms Wandelt's one-way conversations with Mrs McCann's recording stated: "What if there is a small chance that I am Madeleine? What then? Isn't that crucial for you?"

"I do not need money, I possess a living here in Poland, I just want to discover," the recording stated.

The tribunal was told that via electronic messages, SMS messages and calls, Ms Wandelt demanded a biological test, sent childhood photos to her phone in a effort to demonstrate a similarity to Mrs McCann's disappeared daughter, and claimed to have "memories" from a youth with the McCanns.

An intelligence analyst, a data specialist with law enforcement who collated the information, told the court there "seemed to lack any replies" from Mrs McCann.

Ms Wandelt also contacted acquaintances of the McCanns, as per the communication logs.

On October 9th, 2024, the father answered a communication from Ms Wandelt to his wife's phone, stating she had "a wrong number."

On that occasion Ms Wandelt left a recording on Mrs McCann's voicemail declaring "I won't give up and I will prove my claim."

Court proceedings
Kate and Gerry McCann testified to the court from using a privacy screen on Wednesday

The court heard Mrs Spragg struck up a relationship online with Ms Wandelt before accompanying her on a trip to the McCanns' home in Leicestershire in December 2024.

Call logs demonstrated Mrs Spragg had contacted using communication app to Mrs McCann to say the news outlets had portrayed Ms Wandelt as "emotionally disturbed" but that she ought to be taken seriously in the time leading up to the appearance to that location, Leicestershire, in December 2024.

The court learned correspondence between the two accused, in last November, discussing trying to obtain Mrs McCann's biological evidence from her bins or from cutlery at a eating establishment.

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

On the night of the trip to their home, the defendant sent a communication which said: "We are sitting outside the McCanns' house with our vehicle dark similar to private investigators. I desired to do this with someone else I never thought I would be involved in this with the McCanns."

The case proceeds.

Donna Barber
Donna Barber

A passionate textile artist and educator with over a decade of experience in traditional and modern weaving techniques.

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