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Maddie McCann's brother and sister, Amelie and Sean, have testified in court that their encounters with an alleged stalker were extremely disturbing and creepy. They explained feeling anxious and frightened by a woman who insisted she was their missing sister.

Persistent Contact Detailed as Frightening

Appearing via video link, Amelie described how the defendant, Julia Wandelt, reached out to her multiple times through social media and written correspondence. Amelie explained the relentlessness was very frightening since you don’t know what she’ll do next.

Messages from Wandelt were read in the trial, in which she recounted recollections of living in the McCann household that she said were recovered during hypnotherapy. She told the court, It’s quite upsetting that she’s coming up with these alleged recollections, even though she’s not Maddie.

Altered Images Heightened Distress

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

She stated, It was unpleasant, it made me feel very uncomfortable. She had clearly edited the pictures to make me look more like her, which was very distressing. I knew I didn’t look like that, I understood it had been manipulated.

Emotional Impact on the Family

She also spoke about the impact of the supposed harassment on her parent, their mother, who gave evidence about being confronted at home by the defendant and her alleged accomplice, a 61-year-old woman.

I think my mum experienced it as the most difficult. My mother was targeted by Julia more than the others in the family and I believe it certainly had a negative effect on her and her mental health, Amelie said. It's distressing when someone’s begging you to believe them and playing with your feelings, to the extent you are questioning yourself.

Sibling's Testimony on Anxiety and Digital Scrutiny

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

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

The defendant and Spragg deny stalking the McCann household. Proceedings continue.