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Maddie McCann's twin siblings, Amelie and Sean, have told the court that their interactions with an accused harasser were extremely disturbing and unsettling. The siblings described feeling anxious and scared by a woman who insisted she was their missing sister.

Persistent Contact Detailed as Scary

Appearing remotely, she stated how the accused, Julia Wandelt, reached out to her multiple times through social media and letters. Amelie explained the relentlessness was quite scary because it's impossible to predict what her next move might be.

Messages from the defendant were read in the trial, in which she described memories of living in the McCann household that she claimed were recovered during hypnotherapy. Amelie told the court, It's very disturbing that she's inventing these supposed memories, despite the fact she’s not Madeleine.

Fabricated Images Increased Distress

The court heard that the accused had created images of Amelie and herself as young girls, which the prosecution said were made with ChatGPT. A number of these photos were sent through social media, while others were printed and included in a mail to Amelie.

Amelie said, I didn’t like it, it made me feel very uncomfortable. She had clearly altered the pictures to make me look more like her, which was quite disturbing. I was aware I didn’t look like that, I understood it had been manipulated.

Psychological Impact on the Household

Amelie also spoke about the impact of the supposed stalking on her mother, Kate, who gave evidence about being confronted at her residence by the defendant and her co-defendant, Karen Spragg.

I think my mum found it the hardest. She was targeted by the defendant to a greater extent than the others in the family and I think it definitely had a negative effect on her and her mental health, Amelie testified. It’s upsetting when a person is begging you to believe them and manipulating your feelings, to the extent you are doubting your own judgment.

Sibling's Statement on Anxiety and Digital Attention

In a testimony read to the trial, her brother stated that personally, he had not been too badly affected by Wandelt's accused harassment. But he had been distressed that she was attracting online attention, with people saying nasty and unfair comments about his parents.

In the event that Wandelt was not suffering from a psychological condition and was completely conscious she is not Maddie, yet makes these claims, that would be very upsetting for me, he said. I am convinced she is my sibling. The fact that Julia is doing this has caused me a great deal of stress and I consider it deeply troubling.

Wandelt and her co-defendant have pleaded not guilty to harassing the family family. The trial are ongoing.