McCANN FAMILY'S NEW NIGHTMARE

MADDIE'S LOVED ONES ARE IN COURT AFTER YEARS OF TORMENT

- Emma Levett

Polish woman Julia Wandelt has spent years convinced she is Madeleine McCann, the little girl who went missing on a family holiday in Portugal in 2007. So determined that Kate and Gerry McCann are her parents, 24-year-old Wandelt has allegedly bombarded the British family with hundreds of phone calls and messages and even turned up at their home.

She is now on trial in the UK, charged with stalking the family between June 2022 and February 2025, something she denies.

Karen Spragg, a 61-year-old Welsh woman who allegedly became convinced of Wandelt's story and contacted the McCanns about it, is also pleading not guilty to a stalking charge.

The court heard Wandelt's alleged campaign of harassment began with calls and voicemails to Kate, Gerry and their now 20-year-old children, twins Amelie and Sean, pleading for a DNA test to prove herself.

Voicemails were played in court with Wandelt claiming her DNA was almost a 70 per cent match to Kate's.