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Madeleine McCann's brother and sister, Sean and Amelie, have testified in court that their encounters with an alleged stalker were extremely disturbing and unsettling. They explained feeling stressed and frightened by a woman who insisted she was their missing sister.

Relentless Communication Detailed as Frightening

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

Communications from Wandelt were read in court, in which she recounted recollections of living in the family home that she said were recalled during hypnotherapy. Amelie told the court, It's very disturbing that she's inventing these supposed memories, even though she’s not Madeleine.

Altered Images Increased Distress

The court heard that Wandelt had produced images of herself and Amelie as children, which the state said were made with ChatGPT. A number of these images were transmitted through online channels, while others were produced physically and enclosed in a letter to her.

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

Psychological Toll on the Household

Amelie also discussed the effect of the alleged harassment on her parent, their mother, who gave evidence about being approached at her residence by Wandelt and her co-defendant, a 61-year-old woman.

In my opinion my mother experienced it as the most difficult. My mother was harassed by Julia to a greater extent than the rest of us and I believe it certainly took its toll on her and her wellbeing, she testified. It’s upsetting when a person is pleading with you to accept their claims and manipulating your emotions, to the extent you are doubting your own judgment.

Brother's Testimony on Stress and Digital Attention

In a witness statement presented to the court, Sean McCann said that for him, he had not been severely impacted by the defendant's accused harassment. However he had been upset that she was attracting social media scrutiny, with people posting hurtful and unjust things about his mother and father.

If Wandelt was not suffering from a psychological condition and was completely conscious she is not Maddie, yet continues to assert she is, that would be very distressing for me, he testified. I am convinced she is my sister. The reality that Julia is engaging in this behavior has resulted in a great deal of stress and I find it profoundly troubling.

Wandelt and Spragg deny stalking the McCann household. Proceedings continue.