Alleged Stalker Questioned: 'But Suppose I Might Be Madeleine?'

Courtroom sketch
Karen Spragg - who a court has heard believes she is missing Madeleine McCann - dispute the accusations

A woman indicted with harassing Kate McCann apparently left her a phone message which asked: "what if I am Madeleine?"

Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, who a jury heard has consistently asserted she was the vanished Madeleine McCann, and Karen Spragg are on trial accused with stalking Kate and Gerry McCann from June 2022 and February the current year.

Madeleine McCann photo
Madeleine McCann's disappearance has not yet been solved

On Monday, the court was told phone records and evidence retrieved from phones documented Ms Wandelt consistently demanding Madeleine's mother for a biological test throughout 2023 and 2024.

Madeleine's vanishing in 2007 - when she was three years old during a family holiday in Portugal - is among the most widely reported missing child cases and is still unresolved.

'I Am Not Seeking Money'

One voicemail, played in court, recorded Ms Wandelt stating: "I realize I'm overweight and not pretty like Madeleine was, but I feel what I feel."

While one recording of Ms Wandelt's recordings with Mrs McCann's voicemail said: "Imagine there is a slight possibility that I'm her? Then what? Wouldn't that be crucial for you?"

"I do not need money, I have a life here in Poland, I simply desire to discover," she added.

The jury was told that through electronic messages, text messages and phone calls, Ms Wandelt requested a biological test, transmitted youth pictures to her phone in a attempt to display a likeness to Mrs McCann's disappeared daughter, and asserted to have "flashbacks" from a childhood with the McCanns.

The investigator, an intelligence analyst with Leicestershire Police who collated the evidence, advised the court there "didn't appear to be any replies" from Mrs McCann.

Ms Wandelt additionally reached out to family friends of the McCanns, as per the phone records.

On that date, Mr McCann picked up a call from Ms Wandelt to his wife's phone, declaring she had "a wrong number."

That day Ms Wandelt deposited a voicemail on Mrs McCann's voicemail declaring "I won't give up and I will prove my claim."

Court proceedings
Kate and Gerry McCann provided testimony to the court from protected by a privacy screen on Wednesday

The court was informed the co-defendant developed a relationship online with Ms Wandelt before accompanying her on a trip to the McCanns' residence in the county in December 2024.

Phone records revealed Mrs Spragg had communicated using WhatsApp to Mrs McCann to express the news outlets had characterized Ms Wandelt as "mentally unstable" but that she should be considered genuine in the period leading up to the trip to Rothley, Leicestershire, in last December.

The court was told correspondence between the two defendants, in that autumn, planning trying to obtain Mrs McCann's DNA samples from her trash or from cutlery at a dining venue.

"We have to assert ourselves," Mrs Spragg told Ms Wandelt.

On the evening of the visit to their home, the defendant transmitted a communication which expressed: "We are positioned near the McCanns' house with our lights out similar to detectives. I desired to achieve this with Peter Andrew I never thought I would be doing that with the McCanns."

The proceedings ongoing.

Lori Benitez
Lori Benitez

A certified wellness coach and mindfulness expert with over a decade of experience in holistic health practices.