Wandelt, Spragg on Trial Over McCann Stalking

At Leicester Crown Court, Julia Wandelt, 24, and Karen Spragg are on trial accused of stalking Kate and Gerry McCann by repeatedly calling, messaging and turning up at their home while Wandelt claimed she might be their missing daughter, Madeleine McCann. Prosecutors say DNA taken on Wandelt’s arrest conclusively proved she is not Madeleine and allege the pair carried out a “well‑planned campaign of harassment” lasting almost three years that included travelling to the McCanns’ home to try to speak to them. Under cross‑examination Wandelt said she was “in between” or “50/50” about being Madeleine, tearfully demanded to see full DNA paperwork and said a negative test would make her “walk away.” Wandelt told jurors she has limited childhood memories, recalled abuse by a step‑grandfather and said therapy and mental‑health struggles sowed doubts about her identity; she also told the court she feared for her safety, alleging someone “slipped something” into her drink in custody. The McCanns, giving evidence from behind a privacy screen, described the contacts as distressing and damaging to the search; both defendants deny the stalking charge and the trial is ongoing.