Woman who claimed to be Madeleine McCann denies stalking her family

A Polish woman who claimed to be missing British toddler Madeleine McCann has pleaded not guilty to stalking McCann’s parents and siblings.

Julia Wandel, 23, from Lubin in south-west Poland, appeared in the dock at Leicester Crown Court accused of making calls, leaving voicemails, and sending a letter and WhatsApp messages to Kate and Gerry McCann.

She is also accused of turning up at their family home on two occasions last year and sending Sean and Amelie McCann Instagram messages.

Wandel previously had her bail application denied in late March.

Karen Spragg, 60, from Caerau in Cardiff, who is alleged to have made calls, sent letters and attended the home address of Mr and Mrs McCann, also denied a charge of stalking the family.

Wandel was remanded back into custody while Spragg was granted conditional bail.

Both will appear at the same court for trial on October 2.

Wandel, 23, from Lubin in south-west Poland, claimed to be the missing girl on Instagram in 2023, but a DNA test said she was Polish.

Prosecutor Ravinder Daroch previously told the court Wandel is alleged to have made ‘persistent’ contact with the McCanns since 2022, which ‘increased in frequency and became more alarming’.

She said the defendant was accused of attempting to make the McCanns aware ‘she was their missing daughter, Madeleine’.

Wandel was said to have travelled to the annual vigil held in Rothley, Leicestershire, in 2024, which marks the anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance.

The court heard Madeleine’s parents were not present, but Wandel delivered a letter to their address.

She is accused of stalking, causing serious alarm or distress against Kate and Gerry McCann between May 2 last year and February 15 this year.

Wandel is also accused of sending Amelie and Sean McCann Instagram messages between January 3 and December 29 last year.

The charges state the alleged context ‘had a substantial adverse effect’ on the family’s day-to-day activities when ‘you knew or ought to have known that your course of conduct would cause alarm or distress.’

All four stalking offences carry a maximum penalty of 12 months in custody and/or an unlimited fine.

Madeleine McCann’s disappearance at the age of three in Portugal’s Algarve in 2007, during a family holiday, remains unsolved.

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