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Maddie McCann's twin siblings, Sean and Amelie, have told the court that their interactions with an accused harasser were extremely disturbing and creepy. They described feeling stressed and scared by a woman who insisted she was their missing sister.

Persistent Contact Described as Scary

Appearing remotely, Amelie described how the accused, Julia Wandelt, reached out to her multiple times through social media and letters. She said the relentlessness was very scary because you don’t know what her next move might be.

Communications from Wandelt were presented in court, in which she recounted memories of living in the McCann household that she claimed were recalled during hypnotherapy. She testified, It’s quite upsetting that she’s coming up with these alleged memories, even though she’s not Maddie.

Altered Images Increased Distress

Jurors learned that the accused had produced pictures of Amelie and herself as young girls, which the prosecution alleged were made with AI tools. A number of these images were sent through social media, while others were produced physically and enclosed in a letter to Amelie.

She said, It was unpleasant, it caused me to feel very uncomfortable. She had clearly edited the pictures to make me appear similar to her, which was very disturbing. I was aware I didn’t look like that, I understood it had been changed.

Emotional Impact on the Family

Amelie also spoke about the impact of the supposed harassment on her parent, Kate, who gave evidence about being approached at her residence by the defendant and her alleged accomplice, a 61-year-old woman.

I think my mum experienced it as the most difficult. She was targeted by Julia to a greater extent than the others in the family and I believe it definitely took its toll on her and her wellbeing, Amelie testified. It’s upsetting when someone’s pleading with you to accept their claims and playing with your emotions, to the extent you are doubting your own judgment.

Brother's Testimony on Stress and Online Attention

In a testimony read to the court, Sean McCann stated that personally, he had not been severely impacted by Wandelt's accused harassment. However he had been upset that she was attracting online attention, with people posting nasty and unfair things about his mother and father.

If Wandelt was not mentally ill and was completely conscious she is not Maddie, yet continues to assert she is, that will be very upsetting for me, he testified. I am convinced she is my sister. The reality that Julia is doing this has resulted in a significant amount of anxiety and I consider it deeply troubling.

Wandelt and Spragg deny stalking the McCann household. The trial continue.