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Madeleine McCann's brother and sister, Amelie and Sean, have told the court that their interactions with an alleged harasser were extremely upsetting and unsettling. They explained feeling anxious and scared by a woman who insisted she was their missing sister.

Relentless Contact Detailed as Scary

Testifying remotely, Amelie stated how the defendant, Julia Wandelt, reached out to her multiple times through online platforms and letters. Amelie explained the relentlessness was quite scary since you don’t know what she’ll do next.

Messages from Wandelt were presented in the trial, in which she recounted recollections of living in the family home that she claimed were recovered under hypnosis. She testified, It's very upsetting that she's inventing these alleged recollections, despite the fact she’s not Maddie.

Fabricated Pictures Heightened Unease

Jurors heard that the accused had created images of herself and Amelie as young girls, which the prosecution said were generated with ChatGPT. Some of these images were sent through online channels, while others were printed and enclosed in a mail to her.

Amelie said, I didn’t like it, it caused me to feel very uneasy. It was evident she edited 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

She also spoke about the impact of the alleged stalking on her mother, their mother, who testified about being confronted at home by Wandelt and her alleged accomplice, a 61-year-old woman.

In my opinion my mother found it the hardest. She was targeted by Julia to a greater extent than the others in the family and I believe it certainly had a negative effect on her and her wellbeing, Amelie testified. It’s upsetting when someone’s begging you to accept their claims and playing with your feelings, to the extent you are questioning yourself.

Brother's Statement on Anxiety and Digital Scrutiny

In a testimony presented to the court, her brother stated 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 nasty and unfair things about his mother and father.

If Wandelt was not mentally ill and was completely conscious she is not Madeleine, yet makes these claims, that would be very distressing for me, he testified. I am convinced she is my sibling. The reality that Julia is doing this has resulted in a significant amount of anxiety and I consider it profoundly disturbing.

The defendant and her co-defendant deny harassing the family household. The trial are ongoing.