Julia Wandelt, 24, from Poland, who has falsely claimed to be Madeleine McCann, is on trial along with Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, accused of stalking the family
A Polish woman wrote a “cruel signature” on a disturbing letter she gave to Kate McCann while falsely claiming to be Madeleine, a court has heard.
Julia Wandelt, 24, from Lubin in south-west Poland, and Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, deny a count of stalking causing serious alarm and distress to Kate and Gerry McCann between June 2022 and February this year. Jurors at Leicester Crown Court were told from the start that there was “unequivocal scientific evidence” that Wandelt has no familial link to the McCanns despite her claiming to have memories of the girl’s childhood and disappearance.
And the court was told that McCanns received a letter to their house from Wandelt where she again claimed to be Madeleine and that Mrs McCann “knew in her heart” that she was her daughter. The letter was signed off with what the prosecutor called a “final, cruel signature”.
It read: “Dear mum (Kate), I’m so sorry for causing you so much distress, but when I saw you yesterday my emotions were so strong. I felt a close connection to you. I don’t like to see you being upset. All I want is to find out the truth. I have memories and have gathered a lot of evidence supporting my case.
“I think that inside your heart you believe and know who I am and I am your daughter. I don’t understand why you don’t want to do a DNA test with me. I think you are scared, but whatever makes you scared, just remember that you are stronger than that. Yesterday, I heard a lot of care and love in your voice.
“I believe and hope that you will find a way to contact me. Lots of love, Madeleine x.” Prosecutor Michael Duck said it was a “final, cruel signature”.
The letter was posted after Wandelt and Spragg eventually decided to confront the McCanns at their home last December, the court heard.
In a message, Spragg allegedly told a friend: “We are sat outside the McCanns’ home waiting for them to come home. We are sat like private investigators with car lights out … Never thought I would be stalking the McCanns xxx.” Mr Duck said Wandelt and Spragg “recognised that what they were doing was wrong and the upset” it would cause the family.
He said their attendance outside the house “was the result of complex planning and the expenditure of not insignificant amounts of money”.
“Whatever their beliefs/understandings they do not afford anybody the right to lie in wait for their targets, outside their own home, and attempt to enforce their will upon them – but that is precisely what happened,” he said.
“Kate McCann was unfortunate enough to be the first of the couple to arrive home that evening. As she emerged from her vehicle she was accosted, not physically, by Wandelt and demands made for a DNA test. Spragg was also present and her behaviour was such that Kate was unnerved by it.
“Kate told them that they were causing distress and they should leave the property. She then opened her front door and as she attempted to enter her house, Wandelt tried to stop her closing the door but she managed to get herself inside. Kate was upset by what had happened.
“She made a call to Gerry once in the sanctuary of her house, whilst people continued to bang on the front door of her own home. Gerry was on his way home anyway but when he arrived the defendants were still present. Both women were shouting at him and Wandelt was trying to force a letter into his hand.
“Kate was noted as being visibly upset by the actions of the women and the incident caused both to be more vigilant when unfamiliar cars were seen in the vicinity of their home. It was the plainest of intrusions and the fear and concern it caused was inevitable.” The two women left the scene but the following day the letter was posted to Mrs McCann.
Opening the Crown’s case on Monday, Mr Duck told the jury of five men and seven women that from June 2022, Wandelt began attempting to persuade “anybody prepared to listen” that she was Madeleine.
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. 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. Madeleine McCann disappeared on May 3 2007. You know she disappeared from an apartment in Praia da Luz on the coast of Portugal. Her disappearance generated worldwide media attention. She was nine days short of her fourth birthday.
“One of many tragic consequences for Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, has been their constant inability to escape the glare of publicity that came with that tragedy. The attention they have received has not always been compassionate, sometimes far from it.
“There remains a group of individuals who continue to fail to acknowledge their plight and perpetuate conspiracy theories. Unfortunately, these two defendants belong to that latter group. 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.”
The trial continues.