'Fake' Madeleine McCann Sobs as Court Confirms She's Not Missing Toddler... After She 'Stalked' Family and Claimed to Be Young Girl
Wandelt is said to have reached out to Madeleine's sister to 'persuade' her they're 'somehow related.'
Oct. 7 2025, Published 2:40 p.m. ET
A disturbing individual, who had been falsely claiming to be Madeleine McCann, was finally confronted by a judge, who confirmed she is, in fact, not the missing toddler, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Julia Wandelt cried in court after hearing the news, as it was revealed the 24-year-old has no familial link to the McCanns.
What Did The Court Have To Say?
Julia Wandelt is accused of stalking Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry.
Wandelt is currently facing trial, accused of stalking Madeleine's parents, Gerry and Kate. During the trial, prosecutors explained Wandelt "pursued that myth" and the young Brit's parents by sending emails, making phone calls, and turning up at their home on more than one occasion.
Jurors also heard there was "unequivocal scientific evidence" that Wandelt is not related to the McCanns, despite her claiming to have memories of Madeleine's childhood and disappearance.
Wandelt broke down in tears during the trial, after prosecutor Michael Duck said, "Can we at this very early stage in the trial make this position clear – that Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann."
However, Wandelt is not the only one facing jurors – co-defendant Karen Spragg, 61, is also being accused of stalking, and causing serious distress to Kate and Gerry, starting in June 2022 to February 2025.
'She Pursued That Myth'
A DNA test 'conclusively' confirmed Wandelt is not the missing British toddler.
Duck went hard at Wandelt, as he declared: "Her contention over the two and a half years that followed was therefore that she must have been abducted and taken to Poland, where she lived with people who she was erroneously told were her parents.
"You will see and hear occasions upon which she claims to have evolving memories of what actually happened in May 2007. She pursued claims that she was Madeleine McCann, and she pursued Madeleine McCann’s parents over a period of time and pursued that myth."
He added Wandelt obtained Kate's number in April 2024 and "continued to pursue her false agenda with Madeleine's parents," and revealed Wandelt sent photos to Madeleine’s younger sister to "persuade" her that they "were somehow related."
Julia Wandelt Is Arrested For Stalking
'Upsetting' phone calls and messages Wandelt sent to the Paynes were shown in court.
"There could never have been a legitimate belief by Julia Wandelt that she was Madeleine McCann," he doubled down. "At the time of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, Julia Wandelt was not of the same age. She obtained numerous images of Madeleine McCann, but also other images of the McCann family, and sought to compare them to images of herself."
Earlier this year, Wandlet confronted the missing girl's mother at her UK home months before she was arrested at an airport and accused of harassment.
Wandelt is said to have flown to the UK in December with Spragg to plead her case and try to convince Kate she's her daughter, in an exchange that was recorded with a "phone (Wandelt) had in her pocket," an insider told RadarOnline.com.
In the recording, Kate is heard telling Wandelt and Spragg, "This is private property."
"Please, please! Only two minutes! I understand you!" Wandlet responds. After Kate once again attempts to have the duo leave her property, Spragg says, "I thought you wanted to find your daughter?"
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Madeleine has not been seen since going missing from a Portuguese hotel.
"I do, but I don't need this," Kate replies, and then threatens to call the police on both Wandelt and Spragg. Wandelt had multiple run-ins with Kate and Gerry, including one interaction when she claimed she had "results" from a new DNA test analyzed by "highly respected and recognized world expert, Dr. Monte Miller."
Wandelt was arrested at Bristol Airport on February 19, on suspicion of stalking and harassing the parents.
Madeleine disappeared from a Portuguese hotel in 2007. She has not been seen since. Christian Brueckner is considered the prime suspect.
