Alleged stalker tells court she is still ‘50/50’ about whether she is Madeleine McCann
The man who allegedly stalked Madeleine McCann’s parents said he was still “50/50” on whether she was their missing daughter.
Julia Wandelt, 24, told jurors she would “walk away” if she saw all the paperwork proving she was not the girl who disappeared during a family holiday in Portugal in 2007.
Prosecutors allege Wandelt, from Lubin in southwestern Poland, sold the myth that she was Madeleine while secretly stalking Kate and Gerry McCann by sending emails, making phone calls and showing up at their addresses.
During cross-examination at Leicester Crown Court on Wednesday, prosecutor Michael Duck KC asked Wandelt: “As you stand here, do you still have the belief that you could be Madeleine McCann?”
“It’s neither yes nor no. Because it’s very easy to provide me with the documents, so if I’m not that and the outcome is really negative, I want to see the documents,” Wandelt told the court.
“I’d say I’m 50/50 now. What’s the problem with providing all the paperwork?”
Mr. Duck asked again: “Do you, Julia Wandelt, still believe that you can be Madeleine McCann?”
Wandelt replied: “It will be neither yes nor no. It will be neither yes nor no. I am in between.”
When asked what would satisfy him, Wandelt raised his voice and told the jury through tears: “An investigation into my disappearance, into what happened to me, why am I here?”
Mr Duck asked Wandelt: “If you saw a negative DNA test result, would you walk away?”
Wandelt replied: “If I had all the paperwork, yes, I would walk away.”
The Polish national told the jury he believed Mr McCann was involved in Madeleine’s disappearance.
When asked what this belief is based on, Wandelt said, “It’s mostly based on memories, but also based on the way Kate came across by not letting her say anything. The memories are the main reason why I think that’s the case.”
Wandelt recalled in court how he was told “over and over again” “this is the only way you can help your parents.”
He added: “I didn’t want to say anything to incriminate him (Mr McCann). I don’t want to say anything bad about them.”
Mr Duck asked Wandelt about a memory he claimed was of Ms McCann coming into his room before she was kidnapped, rubbing his head and telling him she would find him.
The prosecutor asked: “Is this a real memory, Miss Wandelt?”
Wandelt said: “Yes.”
Mr Duck asked: “Are you claiming to the jury that Kate McCann knew about the kidnapping and told you she would find you?”
Wandelt replied: “Yes… I still believe Kate didn’t want this to happen.”
He also told the jury: “They (Mr and Mrs McCann) are not guilty as far as I am concerned, they had no choice.”
Mr Duck asked Wandelt about a letter he had written to Miss McCann, which said “Dear Mother (Kate)” and signed “Madeleine”.
In the letter heard by the jury, Wandelt wrote: “I am so sorry to have caused you so much trouble.”
Mr. Duck asked: “This is your apology for upsetting her, isn’t it?”
Wandelt responded: “He said I caused him distress, and I didn’t apologize because I take it as distress.”
Asked if his appearance at the McCanns’ home in December last year was scary, Wandelt said: “No, I don’t think it was scary.
“If I were looking for my daughter who had been missing for 18 years, I wouldn’t mind talking to the person who said she was my missing child.”
Wandelt and Karen Spragg, 61, of Caerau Court Road, Caerau, Cardiff, deny allegations of stalking between June 2022 and February this year.
The trial continues.
