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Madeleine McCann twin siblings, Sean and Amelie, have told the court that their encounters with an alleged harasser were deeply disturbing and unsettling. The siblings explained feeling stressed and scared by a woman who claimed she was their long-lost sister.

Persistent Contact Detailed as Scary

Testifying remotely, Amelie described how the accused, Julia Wandelt, contacted her repeatedly through social media and written correspondence. She said the persistence was very scary since it's impossible to predict what her next move might be.

Messages from Wandelt were read in court, in which she described memories of being in the McCann household that she said were recovered under hypnosis. Amelie told the court, It's very disturbing that she’s coming up with these supposed memories, even though she’s not Madeleine.

Altered Images Heightened Unease

Jurors heard that the accused had produced pictures of Amelie and herself as young girls, which the prosecution said were made with ChatGPT. Some of these images were sent through online channels, while additional ones were produced physically and enclosed in a letter to Amelie.

Amelie stated, It was unpleasant, it made me feel very uncomfortable. She had clearly edited the images to make me look more like her, which was quite disturbing. I was aware I didn't resemble that, I knew it had been changed.

Psychological Toll on the Family

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

I think my mum experienced it as the hardest. She was targeted by the defendant more than the rest of us and I believe it definitely took its toll on her and her wellbeing, Amelie said. It's distressing when a person is pleading with you to accept their claims and playing with your feelings, to the point you are questioning yourself.

Brother's Testimony on Stress and Online Scrutiny

In a witness statement presented to the court, Sean McCann said that personally, he had not been severely affected by Wandelt's alleged stalking. However he had been upset that she was drawing online attention, with people posting nasty and unfair comments about his mother and father.

If she was not suffering from a psychological condition and was fully aware she is not Madeleine, yet makes these claims, that would be very distressing for me, he said. I am convinced she is my sibling. The reality that Julia is doing this has caused me a significant amount of stress and I find it profoundly disturbing.

The defendant and Spragg have pleaded not guilty to harassing the family household. Proceedings are ongoing.