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Maddie McCann brother and sister, Amelie and Sean, have told the court that their interactions with an alleged harasser were extremely upsetting and unsettling. The siblings explained feeling anxious and scared by a woman who insisted she was their missing sister.

Persistent Communication Described as Frightening

Testifying via video link, Amelie stated how the accused, Julia Wandelt, reached out to her repeatedly through social media and letters. She said the persistence was very scary because you don’t know what she’ll do next.

Messages from the defendant were presented in the trial, in which she recounted recollections of being in the family home that she claimed were recovered during hypnotherapy. Amelie told the court, It's very upsetting that she’s coming up with these alleged recollections, even though she isn't Maddie.

Fabricated Pictures Increased Distress

The court learned that the accused had created pictures of herself and Amelie as young girls, which the state alleged were generated with ChatGPT. A number of these images were sent through social media, while others were produced physically and enclosed in a mail to her.

She stated, I didn’t like it, it made me feel very uncomfortable. She had clearly altered the pictures to make me appear similar to her, which was very disturbing. I was aware I didn't resemble that, I knew it had been manipulated.

Emotional Toll on the Family

She also spoke about the impact of the alleged stalking on her parent, Kate, who gave evidence about being approached at her residence by Wandelt and her co-defendant, a 61-year-old woman.

In my opinion my mother found it the most difficult. My mother was targeted by the defendant to a greater extent than the others in the family and I believe it definitely had a negative effect on her and her wellbeing, Amelie said. It’s upsetting when someone’s pleading with you to accept their claims and playing with your emotions, to the point you are doubting your own judgment.

Sibling's Statement on Stress and Online Scrutiny

In a testimony presented to the trial, Sean McCann stated that for him, he had not been severely impacted by the defendant's alleged stalking. However he had been distressed that she was drawing online attention, with people posting nasty and unfair comments about his mother and father.

In the event that Wandelt was not mentally ill and was completely conscious she is not Madeleine, yet makes these claims, that would be very distressing for me, he testified. I do not believe she is my sister. The reality that the defendant is engaging in this behavior has resulted in a significant amount of stress and I find it profoundly troubling.

The defendant and her co-defendant deny harassing the family household. The trial continue.