SICK ACT

Chilling moment Madeleine McCann fantasist skulks outside family home before ambushing missing girl’s mum in darkness

Polish national was today convicted of harassing the family

THIS is the chilling moment a fantasist who believes she’s Madeleine McCann skulked outside the missing toddler’s family home and called her mother “mum”.

Julia Wandelt sent unwanted emails, made multiple phone calls and even turned up at the home of Kate and Gerry McCann.

Doorbell footage showed Julia Wandelt at the family homeCredit: CPS

The fantasist believed she was MadeleineCredit: Unpixs

She harassed Kate and Gerry McCannCredit: Getty

Maddie vanished in 2007Credit: PA
The 24-year-old falsely claimed she was Madeleine, who vanished on holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007.

She believed she had memories of the three-year-old’s childhood and disappearance before being supposedly trafficked to Poland.

Wandelt has now been found guilty of harassment but was cleared of stalking the family – including Madeleine’s brother Sean and sister Amelie.

Her co-accused Karen Spragg, 61, was cleared of all charges.

Judge Mrs Justice Cutts imposed a five-year restraining order as Wandelt poses a “significant risk of the harassment of the McCanns in future”.

She sentenced the fantasist to six months in prison but as Wandelt has been in custody since February, she has already served that time.

Wandelt is now facing deportation back to Poland.

Reacting to the verdict, a statement from the McCann family said: “Despite the jury’s guilty verdict of harassment, we take no pleasure in the result.

“Like most people, we did not want to go through a court process and only wanted the harassment to stop.

“The decision to prosecute was taken by the Crown Prosecution Service, based on the evidence gathered by the police.

“We hope Ms Wandelt will receive the appropriate care & support she needs and any vulnerability will not be exploited by others.

“If anyone has new evidence relating to Madeleine’s disappearance, please pass this on to the police.”

During the trial, Wandelt screamed “Why are you doing this to me?” to Kate as she gave evidence.

The deluded fantasist also wept and stormed out the dock after being told she was not Madeleine.

Kate told the court how she felt “distressed” when Wandelt and Spragg showed up at the family home in December 2024.

She said she was unloading the car in the dark and immediately felt “distressed” at the situation.

The mum added: “[Wandelt] called me mum”.

Kate told how the second woman was “slightly more aggressive” and was asking: “Don’t you want to find your daughter?”

She said she went inside and felt “invaded in my home” as the two women continued to bang on the front door.

Wandelt then posted a letter to the next day to “mum” and signed from “Madeleine”, the court heard.

Kate said: “It was the thing I wanted the most – through all this pain – for Madeleine to be back and calling me ‘mum’.”

Kate told jurors she first became aware of Wandelt in 2022 after she phoned Gerry at the hospital he works at.

The mum said Wandelt had also emailed the Find Madeleine campaign but she received no direct contact herself until 2024.

Kate said police officers investigating Madeleine’s disappearance sent her and Gerry a photo of the alleged stalker after she claimed she was the missing youngster.

Both parents concluded she was not Madeleine but Wandelt continued to contact them – claiming: “I never lied, I’m not crazy, please let me prove it.”

She also left a voicemail on Kate’s phone, saying: “If I am her, then everything should be OK but if I’m not, which you probably think, then I’ll leave you alone.

“I know my accent is Polish because I live here… I’m not pretty like Madeleine but I know what I know and I know and what I remember.

“Please give me a chance, you don’t give up on your daughter, I’m not crazy.”

But Kate said: “I know I can’t say what Madeleine looks like now, but I know I’d recognise her.”

The mum said the “final straw” came when she discovered Wandelt had messaged her 20-year-old daughter, Amelie.

In her own evidence, Amelie said it was “distressing” for her to receive messages from Wandelt and that she “felt uncomfortable”.

She added: “It’s quite disturbing. She’s coming up with these supposed memories even though she’s not Madeleine.

“It was quite distressing to see the messages. As you can see, it’s a long message and there’s a sound of desperation in her message which puts quite a lot of stress on me.”

Letter Wandelt posted through McCann’s front door

“Dear Mum [Kate],

“I’m so sorry for causing you so much distress, but when I saw you yesterday, my emotions were so strong.

“I felt a close connection to you. I don’t like seeing you upset.

“All I want is to find out the truth. I have memories and I have gathered a lot of evidence supporting my case.

“I think that inside your heart you believe and know who I am and I am your daughter.

“I don’t understand why you don’t want to do a DNA test with me.

“I think you are scared, but whatever makes you scared, just remember that you are stronger than that.

“Yesterday, I heard a lot of care and love in your voice. I hope you will find a way to contact me.”

The letter was signed off with “Madeleine”.

Amelie told jurors about one message that read: “I know how I was calling you when we were playing once, I know what happened.”

In another message, Wandelt claimed she memories with her and Sean of “playing Ring a Ring o’ Roses with other kids”.

Amelie said: “It made me feel quite uncomfortable… quite creepy.”

She said Wandelt sent her edited images of the pair of them together in an attempt to prove she was Madeleine.

Amelie told jurors the pictures were “disturbing” as her own face had been tweaked to look more like Wandelt’s.

Jurors heard how Wandelt tried to persuade “anybody prepared to listen” that she was the British toddler.

The fantasist, from Lubin in south west Poland, burst into tears and had to take a 10-minute break after the court was told she is not Madeleine.

added: “There could never have been a legitimate belief by Julia Wandelt that she was Madeleine McCann.

“At the time of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, Julia Wandelt was not of the same age.”

Prosecutor Michael Duck KC said: “There could never have been a legitimate belief by Julia Wandelt that she was Madeleine McCann.

“At the time of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, Julia Wandelt was not of the same age.”

The court heard she compared herself to images of Madeleine and tried to convince the younger McCann daughter, Amelie, they were related.

She even signed letters to the McCann family from Madeleine, it was said.

Mr Duck said the “well-planned campaign of harassment” had a “substantial adverse effect on the day-to-day activities” of the McCann parents.

Madeleine’s siblings Amelie and Sean also gave evidence in the trialCredit: Rex Features

Amelie said she found the campaign ‘disturbing’Credit: PA
The court heard Wandelt initially called the hospital where they work and emailed the Met Police investigation codenamed Operation Grange.

She later messaged Gerry: “In June 2022 I started to think maybe I am Madeleine McCann. I am not joking, please take this seriously.”

Jurors heard she went on to call and message Kate over 60 times during a single day in April 2024, writing: “I never lied. I am not crazy. Please let me prove it.”

Recorded voicemail messages were played in court where Wandelt was heard pleading: “I beg you, you are my real mother, I remember you and our home, give me a chance to prove it

“You are mummy. You know it’s me. I remember how you hugged me and a pink teddy bear.”

Mr Duck said: “One of the many tragic consequences for Madeleine’s parents has been their consequent inability to escape that unwanted glare of publicity that came with that tragedy.

“Their faces have become immediately recognisable to a worldwide audience and the attention they have received has not always been compassionate. Far from it.

“They have been embraced by millions of people around the world who sympathise with their position. But there remains a group of individuals which continues to fail to acknowledge their plight and perpetuates conspiracy theories which simply heap further misery upon them.

“Unfortunately, these two defendants belong to that latter group – but as far as they are concerned, their observations and behaviour are not an offhand comments or a Facebook/Instagram posting, but a well-planned campaign of harassment which extended, in Julia Wandelt’s case, for over two-and-half years.”

Wandelt and co-accused Spragg will be sentenced at a later date.

Wandelt stormed out of court when she was told she isn’t Madeleine