‘She called me mum’: After three years, Kate McCann speaks out about girl claiming she’s Madeleine

Today is the second day of the trial of Julia Wandelt, who has been accused of stalking Kate and Gerry McCann, and telling them she believes she is their missing daughter, Madeleine. Kate McCann has given evidence in the trial, and spoken out about what she alleges happened for the first time.

At the start of 2023, Wandelt went viral because she believed she was missing girl, Madeleine McCann. She started sharing her “evidence”, doing Instagram lives and even called for a DNA test. Now, she is on trial over claims she stalked Kate and Gerry McCann. Julia has denied the claims against her.

A court has heard that Julia allegedly sent unwanted emails, made multiple phone calls and even turned up at the home of the McCanns. Wandelt has been accused alongside 61-year-old Karen Spragg. They both deny stalking and causing serious distress to Kate and Gerry, between June 2022 and February this year.

DNA results said Wandelt is not Madeleine. Jurors at the trial were told Wandelt tried to persuade “anybody prepared to listen” that she is Maddie, who disappeared in May 2007. Today (Wednesday 8th) Kate McCann appeared in court to give her evidence.

Kate McCann said she first became aware of Julia Wandelt three years ago, when she tried to contact her husband Gerry McCann with a call to the hospital that he works at. She said she was aware Wandelt had emailed the Find Madeleine campaign, but had not initially been told any details of what her message said. Kate claimed the first direct contact she had from Wandelt was early in 2024.

via Instagram

‘She called me mum’

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In her court evidence, Kate McCann recalled a time where Julia Wandelt and Karen Spragg came to the family home. Kate McCann claimed she returned home in December 2024, and was opening her car boot when “someone said Kate”.

According to Sky News, Kate told the court her immediate reaction was fear. She said she “pretty quickly” identified that it was Wandelt and another woman.  “She called me mum,” Kate McCann told the court, and added this was “the usual stuff” from Wandelt. Kate also told the court she had journalists coming to her home to ask her about Wandelt.

Wandelt was allegedly holding a letter when she turned up at the house. McCann said: “I was aware she was holding something. She was pleading. She was asking about the DNA test again.”

The court heard more about the letter Julia wrote to Kate McCann

Kate and Gerry McCann in 2014,via Tiago Petinga/EPA/Shutterstock

A court was told more about how Wandelt had written a letter to the McCanns. “All I want is to find out the truth,” the letter said, and Wandelt claimed to “have memories” of being Madeleine. Kate McCann told the court all she wanted at the time was to have Madeleine back, so she found the letter “really stressing”.

The letter also called Kate McCann “mum”, and Kate said: “Her referring to me as her mum was hard.” Kate McCann said she “felt concerned” and thought Wandelt might have been suffering from mental health problems.

Kate also found out the Julia had attended a vigil for Madeleine, in the family’s home village of Rothley.

Wandelt is accused of contacting the McCann children

The other children Kate and Gerry have together have kept out of the public eye, and Kate said it was the “final straw” for her when Wandelt contacted her children. Julia Wandelt had messaged her 20-year-old daughter, Amelie.

Kate said she blocked Wandelt’s number on her phone, but claimed Wandelt would then ring without caller ID, “which was a problem” as the police would often call without caller ID.

Kate explained many people have tried to contact her over the years but said “not many” have gone as far as to claim they are Madeleine.

She said she is “pretty sure I never, ever responded” to Julia Wandelt’s attempts to contact her. Speaking of Wandelt’s claims to be Madeleine, Kate added: “I knew none of it made any sense.”

via Dr Phil/YouTube

Kate McCann said she considered a DNA test

The trial continues, and is expected to last around five weeks.

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