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Madeleine McCann brother and sister, Amelie and Sean, have told the court that their interactions with an alleged stalker were extremely upsetting and unsettling. The siblings described feeling anxious and scared by a woman who insisted she was their missing sister.

Persistent Communication Described as Frightening

Appearing via video link, she stated how the accused, the 24-year-old, contacted her repeatedly through online platforms and letters. She said the persistence was very frightening since you don’t know what she’ll do next.

Communications from Wandelt were presented in the trial, in which she described memories of being in the McCann household that she said were recovered during hypnotherapy. She told the court, It’s quite upsetting that she’s coming up with these supposed memories, even though she’s not Maddie.

Altered Pictures Heightened Unease

The court heard that the accused had produced images of herself and Amelie as young girls, which the state alleged were generated with ChatGPT. Some of these images were transmitted through social media, while others were printed and enclosed in a letter to Amelie.

She stated, It was unpleasant, it caused me to feel very uncomfortable. She had clearly edited the pictures to make me appear similar to her, which was very disturbing. I knew I didn't resemble that, I understood it had been manipulated.

Psychological Impact on the Household

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

In my opinion my mother experienced it as the hardest. She was targeted by Julia to a greater extent than the others in the family and I think it certainly took its toll on her and her mental health, Amelie testified. It's distressing when someone’s begging you to accept their claims and manipulating your feelings, to the extent you are doubting your own judgment.

Sibling's Testimony on Anxiety and Online Scrutiny

In a testimony read to the trial, her brother stated that personally, he had not been too badly impacted by the defendant's accused stalking. 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 she was not mentally ill and was completely conscious she is not Maddie, yet continues to assert she is, that would be very upsetting for me, he testified. I do not believe she is my sibling. The fact that the defendant is engaging in this behavior has caused me a significant amount of anxiety and I find it deeply disturbing.

The defendant and her co-defendant have pleaded not guilty to stalking the McCann household. The trial are ongoing.