Woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann breaks down as court 'hears proof' she isn't missing girl
A Polish woman who claimed to be Madeleine McCann has been told in court that she is not the missing Brit.
The news left Julia Wandelt, 24, in tears while at the Leicester Crown Court this week after she had claimed to be the McCann's missing daughter in the past, recalling details of her disappearance and childhood.
It was reported yesterday (6 October) that Madeleine McCann - who vanished in Portugal at the age of three in 2003 - wasn't the only girl she'd tried to impersonate, as Prosecutor Michael Duck KC told the jury: "By the latter part of February 2023, she had now asserted she was potentially two different missing girls."
They were named as missing German girl Inga Gehricke, and missing American girl Acacia Bishop.
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Wandelt is currently on trial with Karen Spragg, 61, on charges of stalking Kate and Gerry McCann, and causing serious alarm or distress between June 2022 and February this year.
Jurors were told that there was 'unequivocal scientific evidence' that Wandelt has no link to the McCanns at all, as she 'pursued that myth', stalking the missing girl's parents and bombarding them with emails, phone calls, and an unwelcome surprise visit.
The prosecutor emphasised early on: “Can we at this very early stage in the trial make this position clear – that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann.”
Wandelt, who previously appeared on Dr Phil to speak about her claims, started crying and returned to the back of the dock alongside Spragg, before she tried to persuade the jury of five men and seven women that she was actually the missing girl.
“Her contention over the two and a half years that followed was therefore that she must have been abducted and taken to Poland where she lived with people who she was erroneously told were her parents," Duck added.
He went on: “You will see and hear occasions upon which she claims to have evolving memories of what actually happened in May 2007.
“She pursued claims that she was Madeleine McCann and she pursued Madeleine McCann’s parents over a period of time and pursued that myth.”
He went over the details of McCann's disappearance from a Portuguese apartment, explaining that her parents have struggled to 'escape the glare of publicity that came with that tragedy' but that 'there remains a group of individuals who continue to fail to acknowledge their plight and perpetuate conspiracy theories'.
Duck said that the two accused individuals belong to the group, further stating: “You will hear unequivocal scientific evidence in this case that Madeleine McCann is the natural daughter of Kate and Gerry McCann. Julia Wandelt has no familial link to them.”
Despite Wandelt's claims that she remembers being a part of the family, the prosecutor highlighted: "Nothing gives you the right to pursue and stalk people just because you want them to bend to your will and do as you demand or request."
He said that the Pole was not the same age as McCann at the time of her disappearance and that she'd got a hold of images of Madeleine to compare to photos of herself.
Duck revealed that she even tried to send snaps to Madeleine's younger sister to convince her that they 'were somehow related', despite the case of her disappearance remaining unsolved.
Topics: Madeleine McCann, Crime, UK News
Joshua Nair