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Maddie McCann brother and sister, Sean and Amelie, have testified in court that their encounters with an alleged harasser were deeply upsetting and unsettling. They explained feeling anxious and frightened by a woman who insisted she was their missing sister.

Relentless Communication Detailed as Frightening

Testifying remotely, she described how the defendant, Julia Wandelt, contacted her multiple times through social media and written correspondence. Amelie explained the persistence was quite scary because you don’t know what she’ll do next.

Communications from Wandelt were read in the trial, in which she described memories of living in the family home that she said were recalled under hypnosis. Amelie told the court, It's very disturbing that she’s coming up with these supposed recollections, even though she isn't Madeleine.

Altered Pictures Increased Distress

Jurors heard that the accused had created pictures of herself and Amelie as children, which the state said were generated with AI tools. A number of these images were sent through social media, while others were produced physically and included in a letter to Amelie.

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

Psychological Toll on the Household

Amelie also discussed the impact of the supposed stalking on her mother, Kate, who gave evidence about being confronted at home by the defendant and her co-defendant, a 61-year-old woman.

In my opinion my mother found it the most difficult. She was targeted by the defendant more than the rest of us and I think it definitely took its toll on her and her mental health, she said. It's distressing when someone’s begging you to accept their claims and manipulating your emotions, to the point you are doubting your own judgment.

Sibling's Statement on Anxiety and Digital Scrutiny

In a testimony presented to the court, her brother said that for him, he had not been too badly impacted by the defendant's alleged stalking. However he had been upset that she was attracting social media scrutiny, with people saying hurtful and unjust things about his parents.

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 would be very distressing for me, he said. I am convinced she is my sister. The reality that Julia is engaging in this behavior has resulted in a significant amount of anxiety and I find it profoundly troubling.

The defendant and Spragg deny harassing the McCann household. Proceedings are ongoing.