Woman who claimed she was Madeleine McCann tells court she meant no harm

An alleged stalker who claimed to be Madeleine McCann told a court she had “sympathy” for the missing girl’s family and “never” meant any harm.

- Sammy Gecsoyler

Gerry and Kate McCann, the parents of Madeleine, pictured in 2011

(SHUTTERSTOCK)

Polish national Julia Wandelt, 24, claimed the McCann family had been “misled” about Madeleine’s case by police, who are still “abusing cases”.

The girl, then aged three, disappeared from her bed in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal on the evening of 3 May 2007.

Wandelt, from Lubin in southwest Poland, is alleged to have peddled the myth she is Madeleine, while stalking Kate and Gerry McCann by sending emails, making phone calls and turning up at their home.

During her evidence at Leicester crown court yesterday, she told jurors: “I actually even have sympathy for them [the McCanns].

“Even though I am in prison for eight months, because they look for their child and I look for my parents.”

She added that she “can’t imagine” how it feels for them as their daughter’s case remains unsolved. “But three years of finding out my journey and who I am, it feels like ages, so actually I can’t imagine ...”