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Madeleine McCann twin siblings, Sean and Amelie, have testified in court that their encounters with an accused stalker were extremely disturbing and creepy. The siblings explained feeling stressed and scared by a woman who insisted she was their missing sister.

Relentless Communication Detailed as Frightening

Testifying remotely, Amelie described how the accused, Julia Wandelt, contacted her repeatedly through social media and letters. She said the relentlessness was quite frightening since you don’t know what she’ll do next.

Messages from the defendant were read in court, in which she recounted memories of living in the family home that she claimed were recalled during hypnotherapy. She told the court, It’s quite upsetting that she's inventing these alleged memories, even though she’s not Madeleine.

Fabricated Images Heightened Distress

The court learned that the accused had created pictures of herself and Amelie as young girls, which the state said were generated with AI tools. Some of these photos were sent through social media, while others were printed and enclosed in a letter to her.

Amelie said, It was unpleasant, it made me feel very uneasy. She had clearly altered the images to make me appear similar to her, which was quite disturbing. I was aware I didn't resemble that, I understood it had been changed.

Emotional Impact on the Family

She also spoke about the impact of the alleged harassment on her mother, their mother, who gave evidence about being approached at her residence by Wandelt and her alleged accomplice, a 61-year-old woman.

In my opinion my mum experienced it as the most difficult. She was harassed by the defendant to a greater extent than the others in the family and I believe it definitely took its toll on her and her wellbeing, she said. It’s upsetting when someone’s pleading with you to believe them and playing with your feelings, to the point you are questioning yourself.

Sibling's Testimony on Anxiety and Online Attention

In a witness statement read to the trial, Sean McCann said that for him, he had not been severely impacted by Wandelt's alleged harassment. But he had been distressed that she was drawing social media scrutiny, with people saying hurtful and unjust things about his parents.

If she was not suffering from a psychological condition and was fully aware she is not Madeleine, yet makes these claims, that will be very distressing for me, he said. I am convinced she is my sibling. The reality that Julia is doing this has caused me a great deal of stress and I consider it profoundly troubling.

Wandelt and Spragg deny stalking the McCann family. Proceedings are ongoing.