A woman standing trial for stalking approached a relative of Madeleine McCann at a vigil and claimed to be the missing girl, a court has heard. Julia Wandelt, 24, allegedly confronted Janet Kennedy, aunt of Madeleine's mother Kate, at a gathering in Rothely, Leicestershire, in May 2024.
Mrs Kennedy told jurors that Wandelt handed her an envelope containing documents she claimed would prove she was Madeleine, who vanished in Portugal in 2007. 'I was rather stunned by her approach. I looked at her and thought she is not Madeleine,' she said. 'There's just no way she could be Madeleine at all.' She added that differences in skin colour and eyes made the claim impossible to accept.
The court heard that Detective Constable Mark Draycott, who worked on the Metropolitan Police investigation for more than a decade, had phoned Wandelt in 2022 to reassure her she was not Madeleine. She reportedly said she was 'relieved' by the news. Despite this, she attended last year's vigil and approached Madeleine's great-aunt.
Wandelt is also accused of bombarding Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry, with phone calls and emails, and turning up at their home. Mrs Kennedy said she kept the envelope until Kate felt able to look at it, then eventually tore it up. 'By this time Julia was visiting the house and bombarding Kate and Gerry with emails and phone calls – it was becoming insistent and frequent,' she said.
Jurors also heard that Wandelt secretly recorded a phone call with DC Draycott and provided it for a 'true crime' documentary on YouTube. In the audio, the detective warns: 'If you cause any harassment you could be arrested.' Wandelt replies, 'Is this blackmail?' and later adds, 'I will never give up.' Wandelt, a Polish national, and Karen Spragg, 61, of Cardiff, both deny one count of stalking.
