Alleged stalker asked in court if she still believes she is Madeleine McCann

A Polish woman who claimed to be Madeleine McCann cried in court and said she was "in between" yes and no, when she was asked if she still believes she's the missing Briton.

Julia Wandelt, 24, from southwest Poland, entered the third day of giving evidence at Leicester Crown Court on Wednesday, facing the prosecution.

During questions from Michael Duck KC, she was asked if a DNA test proving that Wandelt was not Madeleine was "the end of this charade?"

The court also heard of repeated incidents in which Wandelt directly referred to herself as Madeleine, including when trying to contact Kate McCann and saying: "You are my real mother."

Wandelt also said she named her Instagram account "I am Madeleine" to try and "make noise for police".

As it happened

During cross-examination, Mr Duck asked Wandelt: "As we stand here, do you still entertain the belief that you could be Madeleine McCann?"

In response, Wandelt said: "It's neither yes nor no. Because it is very easy to provide me with the documentation, so if I am not her, and it really is negative, I would like to see the documentation [from DNA tests].

"Now, I would say I'm 50/50. What's the issue with providing the whole paperwork?"

Mr Duck asked again: "Do you, Julia Wandelt, believe you may still be Madeleine McCann?"

The defendant replied: "It will be neither yes nor no. It is not yes, and not no. I am in between."

Asked what would satisfy her, Wandelt raised her voice as she began crying and said: "An investigation into my disappearance, into what happened to me, why am I here?"

Wandelt previously claimed to the court that she was abducted and abused when she was younger.

She said if she saw the "entire paperwork" of a DNA test proving she was not Madeleine, she would "walk away".

'I don't think it's intimidating'

Also during proceedings, the prosecution asked Wandelt about when she and her co-defendant Karen Spragg travelled to Leicestershire to try and talk to Kate McCann, late last year.

In a letter written to Mrs McCann the day after, the court heard that Wandelt said: "I'm so sorry for causing you so much distress."

Mr Duck asked if this was Wandelt apologising for causing Mrs McCann distress, something she has repeatedly told the trial she does not believe she did.

Wandelt said: "She said I was causing her distress, I didn't apologise because I recognise it as distress."

Asked whether her travelling to their home was intimidating, Wandelt added: "No, I don't think it's intimidating.

"If I was looking for my daughter missing for 18 years, I would be okay speaking with the person saying they were my missing child."

Wandelt's claims about Gerry McCann

The Polish national also told the jury she thought Mr McCann was involved in Madeleine's disappearance.

She said this was "based on memories" and the way Mr McCann "came across, not letting Kate tell anything".

Wandelt claimed to have memories of what she said were the McCanns, but added she didn't want to "incriminate him [Mr McCann]".

One such memory, she claimed, was Mrs McCann rubbing her head and saying she would find her.

The prosecutor asked: "Is that, Miss Wandelt, a genuine memory?"

Wandelt claimed: "Yes."

Mr Duck asked: "Are you asserting to this jury that Kate McCann knew of the abduction and told you she would find you?"

Wandelt said: "Yes… I still believe Kate didn't want it to happen."

She also told the jury: "They [Mr and Mrs McCann] are not guilty in my point of view, they had no other choice."

Wandelt and 61-year-old Spragg, of Caerau Court Road in Caerau, Cardiff, both deny one count of stalking between June 2022 and February this year.

The trial continues.

(c) Sky News 2025: Alleged stalker asked in court if she still believes she is Madeleine McCann