Madeleine McCann: How Kate and Gerry McCann’s emotional evidence helped to convict their harasser
Emotional court statements given by Kate and Gerry McCann formed part of the key evidence against a woman who claimed to be their missing daughter Madeleine.
Julia Wandelt, 24, was found guilty of harassing the couple on Friday. He was found not guilty of the stalking charge.
During the trial, the court heard Wandelt turned up at the McCanns’ home and repeatedly sent ominous letters and messages begging for DNA testing.
The couple spoke from behind a curtain in the courtroom so they did not have to see Wandelt face to face.
But Ms McCann shouted from the glass-fronted dock: “Why are you doing this to me?” When he shouted, he heard Wandelt’s voice. in the midst of his evidence.
In the follow-up case, prosecutors said the couple’s trauma from their daughter’s disappearance in Portugal in 2007 was compounded when they were subjected to “the most brutal taunts” by some members of the public.
The search for their daughter led conspiracy theorists to spread rumors about the couple’s involvement, and they later fell victim to trolling.
Wandelt’s co-defendant, Karen Spragg, described by prosecutors as “some sort of true crime tourist”, told police she believed Mr and Mrs McCann had arranged the kidnapping of their eldest daughter.
Giving evidence, an emotional Mr McCann said he and his wife still held out hope that Madeleine might be alive today.
Asked about the impact of Wandelt’s false claim, Mr McCann said: “It has a lot of implications; we don’t know what happened to Madeleine. There’s no evidence to say she’s dead. We really hope Madeleine is alive and we know it’s just a glimmer.”
“It inevitably breaks your heart to see so many people claiming to be our missing daughter, but there is a wider and more damaging impact.
“This is detrimental to any existing investigation and frankly we have always said that. [the inquiry] First.”
In December 2024, Wandelt left a letter at the McCanns’ home in Rothley, Leicestershire, in which he wrote “Dear Mum (Kate)” and signed “Much love, Madeleine.”
In other messages, Wandelt called Ms McCann “mom” and said “you are my mother”.
Speaking in court, Ms McCann said: “I think that’s what I want most, for Madeleine to come back and call me mum, and that’s the really sad part for me.”
Madeleine’s younger sister Amelie McCann, who was sleeping with her twin brother Sean at the Ocean Club holiday home in Praia da Luz, Portugal, when their sister disappeared, also told her side of the story.
The young woman, now 20 years old and a university student, calmly described the “frightening” messages she received and the distress Wandelt caused her family.
Ms McCann told jurors it was “sad” that Wandelt had begged the family to believe him.
She said: “My mum had a really hard time with this – saying ‘I’m your daughter’.”
Wandelt sent a message to the family, claiming to have memories of stealing roses, spoon-feeding Sean, and living in their home.
Asked how she felt about Wandelt’s messages about Madeleine’s childhood, Ms McCann said: “It’s quite disturbing that he’s bringing up these so-called memories, even if it wasn’t Madeleine.”
Spragg was found not guilty of stalking and harassment.
