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Madeleine McCann's brother and sister, Sean and Amelie, have testified in court that their interactions with an accused stalker were deeply disturbing and unsettling. The siblings explained feeling anxious and frightened by a woman who claimed she was their long-lost sister.

Relentless Contact Described as Frightening

Testifying remotely, Amelie described how the accused, Julia Wandelt, contacted her repeatedly through social media and letters. Amelie explained the persistence was very frightening since it's impossible to predict what she’ll do next.

Communications from Wandelt were presented in court, in which she recounted recollections of living in the McCann household that she said were recovered under hypnosis. She testified, It’s quite disturbing that she's inventing these alleged recollections, even though she isn't Madeleine.

Fabricated Images Increased Unease

Jurors learned that the accused had produced images of herself and Amelie as children, which the state said were made with ChatGPT. Some of these photos were transmitted through social media, while additional ones were produced physically and included in a mail to Amelie.

Amelie said, I didn’t like it, it made me feel very uncomfortable. She had clearly altered the images to make me look more like her, which was very distressing. I knew I didn’t look like that, I knew it had been changed.

Psychological Toll on the Family

Amelie also spoke about the effect of the supposed harassment on her parent, their mother, who gave evidence about being confronted at home by the defendant and her alleged accomplice, Karen Spragg.

In my opinion my mum experienced it as the most difficult. She was harassed by the defendant to a greater extent than the rest of us and I believe it definitely took its toll on her and her wellbeing, she said. It’s upsetting when a person is pleading with you to accept their claims and playing with your feelings, to the extent you are questioning yourself.

Sibling's Testimony on Stress and Online Scrutiny

In a witness statement presented to the court, Sean McCann stated that for him, he had not been too badly affected by Wandelt's accused harassment. However he had been upset that she was attracting social media scrutiny, with people saying hurtful and unjust things about his parents.

In the event that Wandelt was not suffering from a psychological condition and was completely conscious she is not Madeleine, yet continues to assert she is, that will be very upsetting for me, he testified. I do not believe she is my sister. The reality that the defendant is doing this has resulted in a great deal of anxiety and I find it profoundly disturbing.

The defendant and her co-defendant deny harassing the McCann family. Proceedings continue.