Accused Stalker Questioned: 'Yet What If I Might Be Madeleine?'

Courtroom sketch
Karen Spragg - who a court has heard claims she is missing Madeleine McCann - contest the charges

A individual charged with harassing Kate McCann allegedly left her a phone message which posed: "imagine I am Madeleine?"

Julia Wandelt, 24, who witnesses stated has consistently claimed she was the disappeared Madeleine McCann, and Karen Spragg are standing trial accused with harassing Kate and Gerry McCann from June 2022 and February 2025.

Madeleine McCann photo
Madeleine McCann's vanishing has never been resolved

On Monday, Leicester Crown Court learned communication data and evidence obtained from phones recorded Ms Wandelt consistently demanding Madeleine's mother for a genetic test over the past two years.

Madeleine's vanishing in 2007 - as a three-year-old during a family holiday in Portugal - is among the most covered investigations and is still open.

'I Don't Want Money'

One recorded message, presented in court, recorded Ms Wandelt saying: "I understand I'm overweight and plain like Madeleine was, but I feel what I feel."

While a separate message of Ms Wandelt's recordings with Mrs McCann's voicemail said: "Imagine there is a tiny probability that I am she? What then? Wouldn't that be significant for you?"

"I don't want money, I have a living here in Poland, I simply desire to know," the recording stated.

The panel was advised that through emails, SMS messages and phone calls, Ms Wandelt requested a biological test, transmitted early photographs to her phone in a bid to display a likeness to Mrs McCann's vanished daughter, and asserted to have "recollections" from a early life with the McCanns.

An intelligence analyst, an investigator with Leicestershire Police who compiled the evidence, told the court there "showed no any replies" from Mrs McCann.

Ms Wandelt also reached out to close associates of the McCanns, based on the communication logs.

On that date, the father picked up a phone call from Ms Wandelt to his wife's phone, stating she had "incorrect contact information."

During that incident Ms Wandelt left a recording on Mrs McCann's voicemail saying "I will persist and I plan to establish my point."

Court proceedings
Kate and Gerry McCann provided testimony to the court from using a protective barrier on Wednesday

The court heard Mrs Spragg established a connection through digital means with Ms Wandelt before joining her on a appearance to the McCanns' home in Leicestershire in last December.

Phone records demonstrated Mrs Spragg had reached out through WhatsApp to Mrs McCann to say the news outlets had portrayed Ms Wandelt as "a crazy person" but that she should be treated respectfully in the months before the trip to that location, Leicestershire, in last December.

The court was told message exchanges between the two individuals, in November 2024, planning trying to acquire Mrs McCann's genetic material from her bins or from utensils at a restaurant.

"We must assert ourselves," the co-defendant informed Ms Wandelt.

On the occasion of the appearance to their house, Mrs Spragg dispatched a text which expressed: "We're currently positioned near the McCanns' house with our vehicle dark similar to investigators. I had hoped to accomplish this with someone else I didn't imagine I would be doing that with the McCanns."

The proceedings proceeds.

Jorge Kennedy
Jorge Kennedy

A passionate gamer and content creator with years of experience in strategy guides and loot optimization.