Accused Stalker Inquired: 'But Suppose I Am Madeleine?'
A woman indicted with stalking Kate McCann apparently left her a recorded message which posed: "imagine I am Madeleine?"
Julia Wandelt, 24, who court testimony revealed has persistently claimed she was the missing Madeleine McCann, and Karen Spragg are standing trial indicted with stalking Kate and Gerry McCann between June 2022 and February this year.
On Monday, the tribunal heard phone records and information retrieved from phones recorded Ms Wandelt consistently asking Madeleine's mother for a biological test during that period.
Madeleine's vanishing in 2007 - as a three-year-old during a family holiday in Portugal - is one of the most widely reported child disappearance cases and is still open.
'I Do Not Need Money'
A separate phone message, shared in court, documented Ms Wandelt saying: "I know I'm fat and plain like Madeleine was, but I know what I know."
While one recording of Ms Wandelt's one-way conversations with Mrs McCann's recording stated: "Suppose there is a small chance that I am Madeleine? Then what? Isn't that crucial for you?"
"I am not seeking money, I maintain a existence here in Poland, I simply desire to discover," she added.
The tribunal was advised that through emails, text messages and calls, Ms Wandelt asked for a DNA test, transmitted youth pictures to her phone in a bid to show a similarity to Mrs McCann's disappeared daughter, and stated to have "flashbacks" from a youth with the McCanns.
The investigator, a data specialist with the police force who compiled the data, advised the court there "seemed to lack any replies" from Mrs McCann.
Ms Wandelt additionally reached out to close associates of the McCanns, as per the communication logs.
On 9 October 2024, Gerry McCann responded to a call from Ms Wandelt to his wife's phone, saying she had "incorrect contact information."
During that incident Ms Wandelt deposited a voicemail on Mrs McCann's answerphone declaring "I will persist and I intend to demonstrate my position."
The court was informed Mrs Spragg developed a association via internet with Ms Wandelt prior to assisting her on a appearance to the McCanns' property in Leicestershire in that winter.
Phone records demonstrated Mrs Spragg had communicated through WhatsApp to Mrs McCann to express the news outlets had characterized Ms Wandelt as "emotionally disturbed" but that she deserved to be considered genuine in the months preceding the trip to Rothley, Leicestershire, in last December.
The court heard correspondence between the two defendants, in last November, considering endeavoring to get Mrs McCann's DNA samples from her trash or from silverware at a dining venue.
"We need to take action," the co-defendant informed Ms Wandelt.
On the occasion of the trip to their home, the defendant dispatched a message which expressed: "We are positioned adjacent to the McCanns' home with our vehicle dark like detectives. I wanted to accomplish this with another person I hadn't anticipated I would be engaged in this with the McCanns."
The proceedings ongoing.