A woman who claimed to be Madeleine McCann has been found guilty of harassing Kate and Gerry McCann by turning up at their home and sending sinister letters and messages repeatedly begging for a DNA test.
Julia Wandelt appeared at Leicester Crown Court today (7 November), having claimed to have been in custody since February following accusations of both harassment and stalking.
She was found not guilty of stalking the British parents, both 57, but was convicted of the less serious harassment charge, which carries a maximum sentence of six months.
Earlier in the trial, prosecutors made it clear that the 24-year-old from Poland wasn't Madeleine, who went missing in Portugal back in 2007, sparking arguably the biggest missing persons case in history.
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Prosecutor Michael Duck KC said: "Can we at this very early stage in the trial make this position clear – that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann."
The prosecutor went on to add more details about the case, which saw Wandelt accused of making the outlandish claims for two-and-a-half years, despite fresh search parties for Madeleine beginning again earlier this year.
He said: "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."
The prosecutor 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."
After seven-and-a-half hours of discussion between the jurors, they found Wandelt not guilty of stalking, but she will be sentenced for her harassment conviction later this afternoon.
Legal discussions are also currently taking place to see if a restraining order needs to be put in place.
Topics: Madeleine McCann, Crime, UK News
James Moorhouse