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Madeleine McCann twin siblings, Amelie and Sean, have told the court that their encounters with an accused stalker were deeply upsetting and creepy. They described feeling stressed and scared by a woman who claimed she was their missing sister.

Relentless Communication Described as Scary

Appearing remotely, she described how the defendant, the 24-year-old, reached out to her repeatedly through online platforms and written correspondence. She said the relentlessness was quite scary since it's impossible to predict what her next move might be.

Messages from the defendant were read in court, in which she described memories of being in the McCann household that she claimed were recovered under hypnosis. Amelie told the court, It's very upsetting that she's inventing these supposed recollections, despite the fact she isn't Maddie.

Fabricated Pictures Heightened Distress

Jurors heard that the accused had produced pictures of Amelie and herself as children, which the state said were generated with ChatGPT. Some of these images were transmitted through social media, while others were produced physically and enclosed in a mail to Amelie.

She stated, It was unpleasant, it made me feel very uncomfortable. It was evident she edited the images to make me appear similar to her, which was very disturbing. I was aware I didn't resemble that, I knew it had been changed.

Emotional Impact on the Family

Amelie also discussed the effect of the supposed harassment on her mother, their mother, who testified about being confronted at home by the defendant and her alleged accomplice, a 61-year-old woman.

I think my mum found it the hardest. My mother was targeted by the defendant to a greater extent than the rest of us and I believe it certainly had a negative effect on her and her mental health, she said. It's distressing when someone’s begging you to accept their claims and playing with your feelings, to the point you are doubting your own judgment.

Sibling's Testimony on Anxiety and Online Attention

In a witness statement presented to the court, Sean McCann said that personally, he had not been too badly impacted by the defendant's accused harassment. However he had been distressed that she was attracting online attention, with people saying hurtful and unjust things about his parents.

If Wandelt was not mentally ill and was fully aware she is not Madeleine, yet continues to assert she is, that will be very distressing for me, he said. I am convinced she is my sister. The fact that Julia is doing this has caused me a significant amount of anxiety and I find it deeply troubling.

Wandelt and Spragg deny harassing the family household. Proceedings are ongoing.