Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Kate and Gerry McCann Testify in Trial of Women Accused of Stalking Over False Madeleine Claim

Prosecutors say forensic testing rules out any link to their daughter.

Overview

  • Julia Wandelt, 24, and Karen Spragg, 61, are on trial at Leicester Crown Court accused of stalking the McCanns between June 2022 and February 2025, charges both deny.
  • Kate McCann told jurors she chose not to engage with the contacts and said Wandelt’s approach to her daughter Amelie was the final straw that led her to involve police.
  • Jurors heard Wandelt called and messaged Kate more than 60 times in a single day and left a voicemail pleading to be believed and requesting a DNA test.
  • Gerry McCann testified the false-identity claims are distressing and risk damaging the ongoing search for their missing daughter.
  • The prosecution described a home confrontation, a letter signed "Lots of love, Madeleine," discussions about obtaining DNA from the family’s bins, attendance at a village vigil, and reported a courtroom outburst in which Wandelt sobbed and shouted as Kate gave evidence; the trial continues without a verdict.