Alleged Stalker Asked: 'But Suppose I Am Madeleine?'
A female indicted with stalking Kate McCann apparently left her a phone message which posed: "suppose I am Madeleine?"
Julia Wandelt, twenty-four, who a jury heard has persistently declared she was the disappeared Madeleine McCann, and Karen Spragg are on trial indicted with stalking Kate and Gerry McCann between June 2022 and February 2025.
On Monday, Leicester Crown Court heard communication data and evidence recovered from phones logged Ms Wandelt repeatedly asking Madeleine's mother for a DNA test over 2023 and 2024.
Madeleine's vanishing in 2007 - when she was three years old during a family holiday in Portugal - is considered the most widely reported child disappearance cases and is still unresolved.
'I Am Not Seeking Money'
A separate recorded message, played in court, captured Ms Wandelt saying: "I realize I'm heavy and plain like Madeleine used to be, but I feel what I feel."
While another instance of Ms Wandelt's monologues with Mrs McCann's voicemail stated: "What if there is a small chance that I'm her? Then what? Is that not significant for you?"
"I am not seeking money, I possess a life here in Poland, I simply desire to discover," the recording stated.
The panel was advised that through electronic messages, SMS messages and communications, Ms Wandelt asked for a DNA test, sent early photographs to her phone in a effort to show a likeness to Mrs McCann's vanished daughter, and asserted to have "flashbacks" from a youth with the McCanns.
An intelligence analyst, a data specialist with law enforcement who gathered the information, told the court there "seemed to lack any replies" from Mrs McCann.
Ms Wandelt also reached out to acquaintances of the McCanns, according to the communication logs.
On October 9th, 2024, the father picked up a phone call from Ms Wandelt to his wife's phone, declaring she had "a wrong number."
That day Ms Wandelt deposited a recording on Mrs McCann's recording stating "I won't give up and I plan to establish my claim."
The court heard Mrs Spragg developed a connection via internet with Ms Wandelt preceding assisting her on a trip to the McCanns' home in the county in December 2024.
Communication data revealed Mrs Spragg had communicated using communication app to Mrs McCann to say the news outlets had portrayed Ms Wandelt as "a crazy person" but that she should be considered genuine in the time preceding the visit to the village, Leicestershire, in December 2024.
The court learned message exchanges between the two accused, in that autumn, considering attempting to acquire Mrs McCann's genetic material from her garbage or from utensils at a eating establishment.
"We must take action," the co-defendant informed Ms Wandelt.
On the night of the trip to their home, the defendant sent a text which expressed: "We find ourselves sat near the McCanns' home with our headlights off resembling investigators. I wanted to do this with Peter Andrew I hadn't anticipated I would be doing that with the McCanns."
The proceedings ongoing.
