Polish 'stalker' who claims to be Madeleine McCann tells court she is '50-50' on whether or not she is missing British toddler

Polish 'stalker' who claims to be Madeleine McCann tells court she is '50-50' on whether or not she is missing British toddler LISTEN: The Trial of the 'McCann Stalkers'. Listen to the latest on this Daily Mail podcast By ANDY DOLAN, GENERAL REPORTER Published: 15:28 GMT, 29 October 2025 | Updated: 15:28 GMT, 29 October 2025 A Polish woman accused of stalking the parents of Madeleine McCann told a court today (WED) that she still believed she may be their missing daughter. Julia Wandelt is said to have bombarded Kate and Gerry McCann with phone calls, letters and messages – and even confronted the couple at their home in Rothley, Leicestershire, to demand a DNA test. Prosecutors say the 24-year-old carried out a 'well-planned campaign of harassment' against the McCanns that lasted almost three years, and was later joined by 'supporter and confidante' Karen Spragg, 61, who 'adopted her claims with gusto' from last year onwards. Wandelt also told the court today that a relative of a Post Office scandal victim had at one point offered to pay for a DNA test because 'I'm a victim of a miscarriage of justice as well'. Leicester Crown Court has previously heard DNA taken when she was arrested and tested against a sample from Madeleine's pillow case 'conclusively' proved she was not the McCann's child. Giving evidence in her own defence, Wandelt said today that she 'still didn't know who she was'. But under cross-examination from Michael Duck KC, prosecuting, she told jurors she was '50-50' when asked if she 'entertained the belief' she was Madeleine – claiming she hadn't seen all the paperwork around the negative DNA test. She added: 'It is neither yes nor no. Julia Wandelt, 24, denies stalking Kate and Gerry McCann. Pictured in a photo on Facebook Kate and Gerry McCann have both given evidence during the trial in Leicester 'It is very easy to provide me with the documentation, so if I am not her and it really is negative I would like to see the documentation, and I would say 'Yes'. 'Now I am 50-50. What is the issue with providing me the paperwork?' Asked again by Mr Duck, 'Do you, Julia Wandelt, believe you may still be Madeleine McCann?', she replied: 'It will be neither yes nor no. It is not yes, and not no, because I am in between.' Then quizzed by the prosecutor as to what was 'ever going to satisfy her', Wandelt broke down and sobbed as she replied: 'The investigation into my disappearance, into what happened to me, why am I here?' Wandelt also told the jury she had memories of being abducted as a child, and said she thought Gerry McCann may have been involved in Madeleine's vanishing. Asked by Mr Duck what this was based on, Wandelt told the court: 'Mostly based on memories, also based on the way he came across, not letting Kate tell anything. 'The memories are the main reason I think that was the case. Being in the room before it happened is the first thing. 'Second thing, saying this is the only way to help your parents, repeatedly. 'I didn't want to say the thing that would incriminate him. I don't want to say anything bad about them.' Wandelt told jurors Ms Johansson 'took over my Instagram account even before she came to Poland'. LISTEN: The Trial of the 'McCann Stalkers'. Listen to the latest on this Daily Mail podcast The exchange came after Wandelt said she thought Kate McCann may not have replied to her multiple messages because she was being threatened, either by Gerry or by officers from Operation Grange. Asked by Mr Duck why it was that she thought Gerry might be threatening his own wife, she replied: 'I would have to explain my memories, and I don't feel like it.' Earlier, Wandelt said she 'never intended' to cause significant harm or distress to Mr or Mrs McCann – or thought what she was doing would. Instead, Wandelt said she was asking 'for help'. Adding that she had felt 'different to her Polish family' since around the end of 2020, Wandelt said she 'still didn't know' who she was when asked by her barrister, Tom Price KC, if she had 'discovered her identity now'. Wandelt also claimed that if police had carried out a DNA test comparing her sample to one provided by the McCanns in 2022 when she first contacted officers, 'None of us would be here today'. She told jurors: 'I think with all the millions they received for the investigation and financial resources, the cost of DNA would not be huge. 'I will never understand why this case has such big funds when there are hundreds of missing children.' She went on to say the husband of a sub-postmaster caught up in the Post Office Horizon scandal had paid for her to undergo a DNA test at a laboratory in Cardiff and a flight to the UK, because he 'believed she was a victim of a miscarriage of justice as well'. And Wandelt agreed with a suggestion from Spragg's barrister, Simon Russell Flint KC, that 'what she and Karen Spragg were doing was investigating a crime – the taking of Madeleine McCann'. She replied: 'Yes. Because no-one wanted to help me.' Asked by Mr Russell Flint about Kate McCann's reaction when she and Spragg confronted her outside her home last December, Wandelt replied: 'She was crying. 'From what I saw and what Karen saw, the moment she started crying was the moment she saw me, almost straight away. 'The impression I got was that she was crying because of the emotions, the chance of me being her daughter… I don't know how she could feel distressed because she wants to find Madeleine.' Wandeltalso told the court she has concerns for her safety, especially after someone in prison allegedly 'slipped something' in her drink days before her trial. When answering questions Spragg's barrister Simon Russell Flint KC, Wandelt said: 'Even in prison, a few days before my trial, someone slipped something in my drink and the officers didn't want to help. 'I have been concerned about my safety since I told my story.' Wandelt's alleged actions also included unwanted attempts to contact Madeleine's younger twin siblings, Amelie and Sean McCann, via social media – and even an appearance at a vigil on the anniversary of the disappearance in a bid to speak to the family. Madeleine vanished from the McCann family's holiday apartment in Praia Da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007. Four years later the Metropolitan Police launched Operation Grange – a large-scale investigation into the disappearance. The probe's senior officer, Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell, told the trial 12 women, including Wandelt, had claimed to be Madeleine – but all had been ruled out. Wandelt, of Lubin, Poland, and Spragg, of Cardiff, each deny one count of stalking involving serious alarm or distress between June 2022 and February this year. The trial continues. Share or comment on this article: Polish 'stalker' who claims to be Madeleine McCann tells court she is '50-50' on whether or not she is missing British toddler