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Madeleine McCann's twin siblings, Sean and Amelie, have told the court that their encounters with an alleged harasser were deeply upsetting and creepy. The siblings described feeling anxious and scared by a woman who claimed she was their long-lost sister.

Relentless Contact Described as Frightening

Testifying via video link, she described how the accused, the 24-year-old, reached out to her repeatedly through online platforms and letters. Amelie explained the persistence was very frightening because you don’t know what she’ll do next.

Communications from Wandelt were presented in court, in which she recounted memories of living in the McCann household that she claimed were recovered under hypnosis. Amelie testified, It’s quite upsetting that she’s coming up with these alleged memories, despite the fact she’s not Madeleine.

Fabricated Pictures Heightened Distress

The court learned that Wandelt had produced pictures of Amelie and herself as children, which the state alleged were made with ChatGPT. Some of these images were sent through social media, while additional ones were produced physically and enclosed in a mail to Amelie.

Amelie said, I didn’t like it, it caused me to feel very uncomfortable. It was evident she altered the pictures to make me appear similar to her, which was quite distressing. I was aware I didn't resemble that, I knew it had been changed.

Psychological Toll on the Household

She also spoke about the impact of the supposed harassment on her mother, their mother, who gave evidence about being confronted at home by Wandelt and her alleged accomplice, a 61-year-old woman.

In my opinion my mother found it the most difficult. My mother was harassed by Julia more than the others in the family and I think it definitely took its toll on her and her wellbeing, she testified. It’s upsetting when a person is pleading with you to accept their claims and manipulating your emotions, to the extent you are questioning yourself.

Brother's Testimony on Stress and Online Scrutiny

In a witness statement read to the trial, her brother stated that personally, he had not been too badly impacted by the defendant's accused stalking. But he had been distressed that she was attracting online attention, with people saying hurtful and unjust things about his mother and father.

In the event that Wandelt was not mentally ill and was fully aware she is not Maddie, yet continues to assert she is, that would be very distressing for me, he said. I am convinced she is my sibling. The reality that the defendant is doing this has resulted in a significant amount of anxiety and I consider it deeply troubling.

Wandelt and Spragg deny harassing the McCann household. The trial are ongoing.