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Madeleine McCann twin siblings, Amelie and Sean, have testified in court that their interactions with an accused stalker were extremely upsetting and creepy. The siblings described feeling anxious and scared by a woman who claimed she was their missing sister.

Relentless Communication Described as Scary

Testifying remotely, Amelie stated how the defendant, Julia Wandelt, reached out to her repeatedly through social media and written correspondence. She said the relentlessness was very frightening because you don’t know what her next move might be.

Messages from Wandelt were read in the trial, in which she described recollections of being in the family home that she claimed were recalled during hypnotherapy. Amelie testified, It’s quite upsetting that she’s coming up with these alleged memories, despite the fact she’s not Madeleine.

Altered Images Heightened Distress

Jurors heard that Wandelt had produced pictures of herself and Amelie as young girls, which the state said were generated with AI tools. Some of these images were sent through online channels, while others were produced physically and enclosed in a letter to her.

Amelie said, It was unpleasant, it made me feel very uneasy. It was evident she edited the images to make me appear similar to her, which was very disturbing. I was aware I didn't resemble that, I knew it had been changed.

Emotional Toll on the Family

She also spoke about the effect of the alleged stalking on her parent, their mother, who gave evidence about being approached at her residence by Wandelt and her co-defendant, Karen Spragg.

In my opinion my mother experienced it as the most difficult. My mother was targeted by Julia more than the rest of us and I believe it certainly had a negative effect on her and her mental health, she said. It’s upsetting when someone’s begging you to accept their claims and manipulating your emotions, to the point you are questioning yourself.

Sibling's Testimony on Stress and Online Scrutiny

In a testimony presented to the court, Sean McCann said that personally, he had not been severely impacted by Wandelt's alleged stalking. But he had been distressed that she was attracting online attention, with people posting hurtful and unjust things about his mother and father.

In the event that she was not suffering from a psychological condition and was completely conscious she is not Madeleine, yet makes these claims, that would be very distressing for me, he testified. I do not believe she is my sister. The reality that Julia is engaging in this behavior has caused me a great deal of stress and I consider it profoundly troubling.

The defendant and her co-defendant have pleaded not guilty to harassing the McCann family. Proceedings continue.