Suspected Harasser Questioned: 'Yet What If I Am Madeleine?'
A woman charged with pursuing Kate McCann reportedly recorded her a recorded message which asked: "imagine I am Madeleine?"
Julia Wandelt, 24, who witnesses stated has persistently claimed she was the missing Madeleine McCann, and Karen Spragg are standing trial accused with pursuing Kate and Gerry McCann from June 2022 and February 2025.
On Monday, Leicester Crown Court heard communication data and information recovered from phones recorded Ms Wandelt repeatedly demanding Madeleine's mother for a biological test during 2023 and 2024.
Madeleine's vanishing in 2007 - when she was three years old during a vacation in Portugal - is one of the most covered investigations and is still unsolved.
'I Am Not Seeking Money'
A separate recorded message, shared in court, recorded Ms Wandelt declaring: "I know I'm overweight and unattractive like Madeleine was, but I know what I feel."
While another instance of Ms Wandelt's one-way conversations with Mrs McCann's recording expressed: "Suppose there is a small chance that I am she? Then what? Is that not crucial for you?"
"I do not need money, I have a existence here in Poland, I just want to understand," she added.
The panel was told that through emails, SMS messages and communications, Ms Wandelt requested a biological test, transmitted early photographs to her phone in a bid to show a resemblance to Mrs McCann's missing daughter, and asserted to have "flashbacks" from a youth with the McCanns.
The investigator, a data specialist with Leicestershire Police who compiled the evidence, advised the court there "didn't appear to be any replies" from Mrs McCann.
Ms Wandelt furthermore communicated with acquaintances of the McCanns, according to the call data.
On October 9th, 2024, Gerry McCann picked up a phone call from Ms Wandelt to his wife's phone, declaring she had "incorrect contact information."
During that incident Ms Wandelt deposited a recording on Mrs McCann's answerphone declaring "I will persist and I will prove my point."
The court learned Mrs Spragg developed a association online with Ms Wandelt before assisting her on a visit to the McCanns' property in the county in December 2024.
Call logs revealed Mrs Spragg had reached out through WhatsApp to Mrs McCann to express the press had depicted Ms Wandelt as "mentally unstable" but that she deserved to be treated respectfully in the period before the visit to the village, that area, in December 2024.
The court heard communications between the two accused, in that autumn, considering attempting to obtain Mrs McCann's genetic material from her trash or from utensils at a dining venue.
"We need to make a stand," the co-defendant informed Ms Wandelt.
On the night of the visit to their home, Mrs Spragg transmitted a text which said: "We are sat near the McCanns' house with our headlights off like investigators. I desired to achieve this with Peter Andrew I never thought I would be involved in this with the McCanns."
The case continues.