Two women go on trial for stalking Madeleine McCann's family

Two women have gone on trial at Leicester Crown Court accused of stalking the family of missing child Madeleine McCann. Prosecutors allege that 24 year old Julia Wandelt, a Polish national from Lubin, and 61 year old Karen Spragg, of Caerau in Cardiff, pursued the McCann family by phone calls, messages, letters and visits between mid 2022 and February 2025, causing serious alarm or distress. Both defendants deny the charges.

Opening the prosecution case, Michael Duck KC told jurors that Wandelt repeatedly contacted Madeleine McCann’s parents, Kate and Gerry, and their younger children, Sean and Amelie, and that the behaviour formed a sustained campaign of harassment. The indictment alleges Wandelt sent voicemails, WhatsApp and Instagram messages, emailed and posted letters, attended the family home in Rothley, Leicestershire on multiple occasions, and on one day in April last year made more than 60 calls and messages to Mrs McCann. Spragg is accused of making calls, sending letters and attending the couple’s home between May 2024 and February 2025.

The court heard that Wandelt has claimed she was Madeleine McCann, a contention the prosecution said is contradicted by scientific...