Stalker' who claimed she was Madeleine McCann contacted mother 60 times in a day'

"Jurors were told that there was unequivocal scientific evidence that Julia Wandelt, 24, from Lubin in south-west Poland, has no familial link to the McCanns. However, she repeatedly contacted the missing girl's parents in a string of messages and phone calls and turned up at their address, the court heard, on one occasion begging please don't give up on your daughter."

"Opening their trial at Leicester Crown Court on Monday, prosecutor Michael Duck KC told a jury of five men and seven women that from June 2022, Wandelt began attempting to persuade anybody prepared to listen that she was Madeleine. 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, Mr Duck told the court."

"Julia Wandelt broke down in tears in the dock as the prosecutor told the jury she is not Madeleine McCann (PA Archive) Ms Wandelt broke down in tears and went to the back of the dock when the prosecutor told the jury: Can we at this very early stage in the trial make this position clear that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann. She returned to the dock beside Ms Spragg after a 10-minute break to listen to the rest of hearing."

Julia Wandelt, 24, claimed to be missing toddler Madeleine McCann and repeatedly contacted the child's parents, including bombarding them with 60 calls and messages in one day and turning up at their address. Scientific evidence presented to jurors showed no familial link between Wandelt and the McCanns. Prosecutors said Wandelt persisted from June 2022 over two and a half years asserting she had been abducted and taken to Poland and had lived with people she was told were her parents. Wandelt and Karen Spragg deny charges of stalking causing serious alarm or distress; the matter is on trial at Leicester Crown Court.

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