Disturbing voicemail woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann sent to mum Kate is played in court
A disturbing voicemail from the woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann sent to her mother has been played in court.
Kate McCann is currently giving evidence at the trial of two women accused of stalking her family.
Julia Wandelt, 24, and Karen Spragg, 61, both deny stalking Kate and Gerry McCann causing serious alarm or distress between June 2022 and February this year.
The mum explained she found out in September 2024 that Wandelt had been contacting her daughter, Amelie, since January that year.
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"It was the final straw for me. I discussed it with the police,” the mother told Leicester Crown Court.
The woman from Lubin in South Poland believed she was their elder daughter Madeleine, the three-year-old girl who went missing during a family holiday in Portugal back in 2007.
During the trial's opening yesterday (7 October), the court heard how Wandelt had messaged Madeleine’s younger sister saying there were ‘many things’ she could remember and that she would ‘never lie’.
The jury was also told that the alleged stalker had called and messaged Kate’s phone more than 60 times in one day in April last year.
With the mother not responding, a voicemail left on her phone was played as the woman told her: “You have nothing to lose, if I’m her then everybody should be okay but if I’m not, as you probably think, then I will leave you alone.
“I know my accent is Polish because I live here, I know I look fat and I know I’m not pretty like Madeleine was in the past, but I know what I know, I know what I remember.
“Please just give me a chance, I’m not a liar, I’m not crazy – I just want to know the truth. Call me or message me or whatever please.”
During the prosecutions opening, Michael Duck KC explained Kate was 'unnerved' when Wandelt and Spragg turned up at their family home last year, before leaving behind a disturbing letter.
"She [Kate] told Julia Wandelt and Karen Spragg they were causing distress and they should leave the property," he explained.
“Whatever they suggest are their beliefs, they do not afford someone the right to lie in wait for their targets, outside their own home, and enforce their will upon them. That is precisely what happened.”
Duck said when the mum managed to get into her home, she recalls Wandelt tried to prevent her from closing the door before a letter was left the next day.
Wandelt wrote: “Dear mum [Kate], I’m so sorry for causing you so much distress.
“I felt a connection to you. I don’t like to see you being upset. All I want is to find out the truth. Yesterday I heard a lot of care and love in your voice.”
She signed the note 'Lots of love, Madeleine', the court heard.
The trial continues.
Topics: Madeleine McCann, True Crime, UK News
Jess Battison