'Fake Madeleine McCann' found not guilty of stalking Kate and Gerry McCann

Polish national Julia Wandelt, 24, who claimed to be Madeleine McCann, has been found guilty at Leicester Crown Court of harassing Kate and Gerry McCann, but has been found not guilty of stalking.

During the trial, prosecutors alleged Wandelt, who had pleaded not guilty to one count of stalking, had peddled the myth that she is Madeleine, who disappeared aged three in Portugal in 2007, while stalking Mr and Mrs McCann by sending emails, leaving voicemails and turning up at their home between June 2022 and February this year. In addition, she was accused of sending Amelie and Sean McCann messages.

Wandelt's lawyer Tom Price KC alleged the Polish national, who jurors have been told wrongly believed she was Madeleine, behaved politely and had been protective of Mrs McCann when she visited her Leicestershire home in December last year.

In his closing speech to the jury on Tuesday, Mr Price described Wandelt as a "rather sad and pathetic young woman" who had not benefited in any way from attempting to contact the McCanns while requesting a DNA test.

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