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

Persistent Contact Described as Frightening

Testifying via video link, she stated how the defendant, the 24-year-old, contacted her multiple times through online platforms and written correspondence. Amelie explained the relentlessness was very frightening since you don’t know what she’ll do next.

Messages from Wandelt were presented in court, in which she recounted memories of living in the family home that she said were recalled during hypnotherapy. She testified, It's very upsetting that she’s coming up with these supposed recollections, even though she isn't Madeleine.

Fabricated Pictures Increased Distress

The court heard that Wandelt had created pictures of herself and Amelie as children, which the state said were made with ChatGPT. Some of these images were transmitted through social media, while additional ones were printed and included in a mail to Amelie.

Amelie stated, I didn’t like it, it caused me to feel very uneasy. 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 knew it had been manipulated.

Emotional Toll on the Family

Amelie also discussed the impact of the alleged harassment on her parent, Kate, who testified about being confronted at home by Wandelt and her co-defendant, Karen Spragg.

I think my mum experienced it as the most difficult. My mother was targeted by Julia to a greater extent than the others in the family and I think it certainly took its toll on her and her mental health, Amelie said. It's distressing when a person is pleading with you to believe them and playing with your emotions, to the point you are doubting your own judgment.

Brother's Statement on Anxiety and Online Scrutiny

In a testimony presented to the trial, her brother said that personally, he had not been too badly impacted by Wandelt's accused stalking. However he had been upset that she was drawing online attention, with people saying hurtful and unjust comments about his parents.

In the event that she was not mentally ill and was fully aware she is not Madeleine, yet continues to assert she is, that would be very distressing for me, he said. I do not believe she is my sister. The reality that Julia is doing this has caused me a significant amount of anxiety and I find it profoundly disturbing.

The defendant and her co-defendant have pleaded not guilty to harassing the family family. Proceedings continue.