Woman Accused of Pretending to Be Madeleine McCann and Stalking Parents Speaks Out in Court By Nicole Acosta

The Polish woman accused of stalking Madeleine McCann’s parents and claiming to be the missing girl has spoken out in court.

Julia Wandelt, 24, is on trial at Leicester Crown Court in England following an incident in December 2024 when she showed up at the McCann home demanding they take a DNA test, PEOPLE previously reported. She was subsequently charged with stalking.

While under cross-examination, Wandelt became emotional and testified, “Actually, I don’t care any more. I’m just exhausted with it,” BBC reported.

Wandelt has claimed for years to be Madeleine and finally got in contact with Madeleine’s younger sister, Amelie McCann, on social media in January 2024 after failed attempts to contact her parents. Amelie previously testified that she thought she could deal with the stalking herself, according to BBC.

Amelie also told the court that Wandelt tried to convince her that she was her sister, and even went so far as to share memories she had of the time she had spent with her sister before her disappearance. She added that her mother was affected the most by Wandelt’s actions, saying “it took a toll on her well-being,” BBC reported.

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By December 2024, Wandelt traveled to Madeleine’s parents’ home where she demanded the missing girl’s father submit to a DNA test. The next day, Wandelt returned to the home and left a letter on their door that she addressed to Kate McCann and signed as her missing daughter, per BBC.

However, a DNA test showed that she was not the missing girl, who was born two years after her.

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Madeleine — who was 3 years old at the time — vanished from her bed at her family’s vacation apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal on May 3, 2007. The McCanns were visiting from the United Kingdom, where they lived. She had been left with her 2-year-old twin siblings in the unlocked rental while Kate and Gerry McCann dined with friends at a restaurant 130 feet away.

The parents were initially deemed suspects in Madeleine’s disappearance, but they were later cleared by authorities. No charges have ever been brought in connection with the girl’s disappearance and it’s unclear if she’s still alive.