Madeleine McCann’s mother testifies against alleged stalker in court

LONDON: The mother of missing British girl Madeleine McCann testified in court that photographs clearly showed a Polish woman claiming to be her daughter was an imposter.

Kate McCann gave evidence at the trial of Julia Wandelt, who is accused of stalking her and husband Gerry McCann.

The 24-year-old Wandelt had attended a vigil last year for Madeleine, according to McCann’s testimony.

Wandelt and Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff in Wales, are both on trial accused of stalking causing serious alarm and distress to the McCanns.

Both defendants deny the charge against them.

Prosecutor Michael Duck said Wandelt left messages on Kate McCann’s mobile phone requesting her to “let me prove I am not a liar”.

Asked if she had been willing to take a DNA test as Wandelt wanted, McCann said she almost came round to the idea just to rule it out.

“If I’m honest, because of the persistence of Julia’s behaviour, it did start to get to me,“ she told Leicester Crown Court from behind a screen.

“I almost wanted a DNA test to put it to bed ... from the photographs... I knew it wasn’t her,“ she added.

On one occasion, Wandelt and Spragg visited the McCanns’ home, taking Kate McCann by surprise in the dark and leaving her “distressed”.

“She called me mum, I think, she was asking for a DNA test, ‘why won’t you do a DNA test?’ and pleading with me,“ she testified.

“I got a fright anyway, when I realised who it was I felt quite distressed.”

McCann described how the women followed her and tried to prevent her from closing the door.

“Then they followed me, I remember trying to close the door and Julia trying to put her hands out to stop me closing the door,“ she added.

Wandelt allegedly bombarded the McCanns with emails and calls between June 2022 and February 2025.

The prosecution revealed Wandelt called Kate McCann 60 times in a single day at one point.

The McCann parents, both doctors, have been in the international spotlight since Madeleine disappeared aged three on May 3, 2007.

The disappearance occurred from their holiday apartment in Portugal’s Praia da Luz seaside resort.

Prosecutors said there was “unequivocal scientific evidence” that Wandelt had no familial link to the McCanns.

Wandelt had claimed to have memories of Madeleine’s childhood and disappearance.

The court heard Wandelt had previously claimed to be two other missing girls.

Madeleine’s unsolved case returned to public attention last month after the top suspect was released from a German prison.

Christian Brueckner had finished a seven-year jail term for rape but was not charged in Madeleine’s case due to lack of evidence.

German prosecutors had named Brueckner as their top suspect in the Madeleine McCann investigation in 2020. – AFP