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Maddie McCann brother and sister, Amelie and Sean, have told the court that their encounters with an accused harasser were extremely upsetting and creepy. The siblings explained feeling stressed and frightened by a woman who insisted she was their missing sister.

Persistent Communication Described as Scary

Testifying via video link, Amelie stated how the defendant, Julia Wandelt, reached out to her repeatedly through online platforms and letters. She said the persistence was quite frightening since it's impossible to predict what her next move might be.

Communications from Wandelt were presented in the trial, in which she recounted memories of living in the family home that she said were recovered under hypnosis. Amelie testified, It's very upsetting that she's inventing these supposed memories, even though she isn't Maddie.

Fabricated Pictures Heightened Unease

The court learned that Wandelt had produced images of herself and Amelie as children, which the prosecution alleged were generated with AI tools. Some of these photos were transmitted through social media, while others were printed and enclosed in a mail to Amelie.

She said, I didn’t like it, it made me feel very uncomfortable. It was evident she edited the images to make me look more like her, which was very disturbing. I knew I didn’t look like that, I knew it had been changed.

Psychological Impact on the Family

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

In my opinion my mother found it the most difficult. My mother was harassed by Julia more than the rest of us and I believe it definitely had a negative effect on her and her mental health, Amelie testified. It’s upsetting when someone’s pleading with you to believe them and manipulating your emotions, to the point you are questioning yourself.

Brother's Testimony on Anxiety and Digital Attention

In a testimony read to the trial, Sean McCann said that personally, he had not been too badly affected by the defendant's accused stalking. But he had been upset that she was attracting social media scrutiny, with people posting nasty and unfair things about his mother and father.

In the event that she was not suffering from a psychological condition and was completely conscious she is not Maddie, yet continues to assert she is, that will be very upsetting for me, he said. I do not believe she is my sister. The reality that the defendant is engaging in this behavior has resulted in a significant amount of anxiety and I find it deeply troubling.

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