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A WOMAN claiming to be Madeleine McCann stalked the missing toddler’s parents and siblings by turning up at their home, a court heard.
Julia Wandelt, also known as Julia Wandel, was arrested as she touched down at Bristol Airport at around 8pm on Wednesday night.
She had travelled from Wroclaw in Poland, and was due to meet with a friend who lives in Cardiff when she was detained.
The 23-year-old appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court today charged with four counts of stalking.
Wandelt is accused of causing serious alarm or distress against Kate and Gerry McCann between May 2, 2024, and February 15 this year.
She allegedly made unwanted contact with the McCanns, turned up at their address, sent letters and WhatsApp messages and made calls and voicemails.
Wandelt is also charged with stalking Madeleine’s sister Amelie between January 3 and April 21 last year.
She is accused of the same charge against Madeleine’s brother, Sean, between November 27 and December 29 last year.
Wandelt was remanded into custody ahead of a further hearing at Leicester Crown Court on April 7.
Her friend – who is thought to be in her 60s – has been released on police bail after also being arrested on suspicion of stalking.
Julia’s representative Surjit Singh Clair confirmed to The Sun that she was arrested after arriving in the UK.
Madeline McCann vanished while on holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal, with her parents Gerry and Kate.
There has been no trace of the three-year-old since the 2007 horror.
German police have repeatedly insisted Christian Brueckner is the prime suspect but so far have been unable to bring any other charges against him.
Julia became an internet sensation in February 2023 after claiming to be the missing toddler on Instagram under the handle, @IAmMadeleineMcCann.
She had previously shared DNA test results which concluded she is 100 per cent Polish, and therefore could not be missing Madeleine.
But this week, Julia posted “new” DNA results which she claimed revealed she is related to Gerry McCann.
She alleged the results were submitted to a “world expert” who compared them to DNA found at the crime scene in 2007 when Madeleine disappeared.
Julia also claimed so-called experts also matched her eyes, teeth and voice with the missing girl.
She added that her “source” believes the evidence “strongly supports that Gerry McCann could be Julia’s biological father”.
But private investigator Dr Fia Johansson shared Wandelt’s DNA results that said she was, in fact, fully Polish in 2023.
Julia said she had previously been “struggling to understand” those results and claimed Dr Johansson was not telling the truth, which the investigator categorically denied.
Earlier this week, Julia posted an audio clip on her Instagram account in which she claims to have tried to speak with Gerry McCann on the phone.
The man hung up on her a few seconds in to the call, saying she must have the wrong number.
Madeleine McCann’s disappearance
MADELEINE McCann vanished on May 3, 2007 – and cops believe Brueckner could have been behind her disappearance.
Almost 17 years on, no one has been charged in connection. These are the key dates
May 3, 2007 – Kate McCann finds Madeleine missing at 10pm
May 14, 2007 – Property developer Robert Murat is named an “arguido” or formal suspect
August 31, 2007 – The McCanns launch libel action against Tal e Qual – a newspaper that claimed the couple killed Madeleine
September 7, 2007 – Kate and Gerry McCann are made “arguidos”
September 9, 2007– Madeleine’s parents return to England with their two-year-old twins
October 2, 2007– Lead detective Goncalo Amaral is taken off the case after criticising British police in a newspaper interview
July 21, 2009 – Portuguese police lift the “arguido” status of both Robert Murat and the McCanns
May 12, 2011 – On Madeleine’s eighth birthday, Scotland Yard launches a review into the case
April 25, 2012 – Scotland Yard officers say they believe Madeleine McCann is still alive
July 4, 2013 – Two years into a review of the case, Scotland Yard launched its own investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance
October 24, 2013– Portuguese police reopen their case after new lines of inquiry are found
November 27, 2013 – Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe called for British and Portuguese police to work together
October 28, 2015 – Scotland Yard reduces the number of officers working on Madeleine’s disappearance
March 11, 2017 – The Home Office grants Operation Grange an extra £85,000 to continue from April until September
September 28, 2017 – British police are granted £154,000 to keep the probe going until March 2018
November 2017 – Cops moved the search to Bulgaria
May 2018 – Another round of funding, thought to be in the region of £150,000 is granted
September 2018 – An extra six months of funding is requested from the Home Office
November 2018 – More funding, thought to be in the region of £150,000 is granted
November 2018 – UK police re-examine a theory Madeleine left the apartment to look for her parents
June 2019 – Another round of funding, believed to be £300,000 of government cash is granted
June 2019 – Portuguese police are probing a “new clue and suspect” after talks with British officers
June 2020 – New prime suspect revealed as a German paedo Christian Brueckner
April 2022 – Brueckner formally made an “arguido”
May 2023 – Police search remote Algarve reservoir Brueckner called his “little paradise”
Julia previously told the BBC’s disinformation and social media correspondent, Marianna Spring, how she was sexually abused as a young child.
The Polish national told how she first started believing she was Madeleine McCann after noticing similarities between sketches of suspects and her abuser.
She claimed this led to her suffering from gaps in her memory which caused her to become suspicious about her upbringing after her parents dismissed questions on whether she was adopted.
Julia also said she was never shown photos of herself in her early years or a birth certificate.
However, her parents had quickly refuted this and provided evidence.
