Julia Wandelt, who falsely claimed to be Madeleine McCann, has been proven to have no familial connection to the missing child, according to scientific evidence presented in court. Madeleine vanished in May 2007, just before her fourth birthday, during a family vacation in Portugal’s Algarve region.
During a trial at Leicester Crown Court, prosecutors highlighted “unequivocal scientific evidence” that disproved Wandelt’s claim, causing her to break down in tears while in the dock.
The 24-year-old Wandelt faced charges of stalking Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann. The charges stemmed from a series of emails, messages, and phone calls she allegedly made between June 2022 and her arrest in February.
Alongside Wandelt, 61-year-old Karen Spragg, who was accused of supporting Wandelt’s claims, faced similar charges. However, a jury acquitted both women of stalking the McCanns.
Despite the acquittal on stalking charges, Wandelt was convicted of harassment. She received the maximum sentence of six months, which she has already served in custody. Judge Johannah Cutts also issued a notice of deportation for Wandelt and imposed an indefinite restraining order, barring her from contacting the McCanns.
In response to the court’s decision, Kate and Gerry McCann released a statement expressing no satisfaction with the outcome. They urged anyone with information about their daughter’s disappearance to report it to the authorities.
“We hope Ms Wandelt will receive the appropriate care and support she needs and any vulnerability will not be exploited by others,” they added.
McCanns tell jurors of their distrress
Kate McCann gave evidence last month saying that Wandelt made her feel distressed and “invaded” by approaching her at her house and claiming to be her daughter in December 2024.
She also said Wandelt sent a letter the following day addressed to “mum”, which Kate McCann said she found “really distressing”.
Wandelt appeared to wipe away tears during parts of Kate McCann’s evidence and wailed loudly in the dock at the end of the prosecution’s questions.
Gerry McCann and Madeleine’s younger sister Amelie also gave evidence about the impact on them of Wandelt’s attempts to contact them.
Wandelt, however, told jurors that she never meant to cause any harm to the McCanns and simply wanted to find out if she might be their missing daughter.
“I even have sympathy for them … because they look for their child and I look for my parents,” she said.
Madeleine’s parents continue to campaign to find their daughter, who would now be 22, and issue a statement each year on the anniversary of the day she went missing.
The main suspect in her disappearance was released from a German prison in September after serving a seven-year sentence for an unrelated sex crime.
