McCanns 'installed panic button' after Polish fake Madeleine turned up at family home, sister tells court
Amelie McCann told the court that her parents had taken the measure in case Julia Wandelt turned up at their family home again
Madeleine McCann's sister has revealed that Kate and Gerry installed a panic button at their family home after being spooked by alleged stalking from a woman pretending to be the missing girl.
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Amelie McCann, 20, made the bombshell revelation during her afternoon testimony at the stalking trial of Julia Wandelt, 24, and Karen Spragg, 61.
The younger sister of Madeleine told Leicester Crown Court that the device was set up in case Wandelt was to turn up at their family home again.
She said: "It's connected to the police in Leicestershire, so if we pressed it, it would alert them and they would know where to come."
Amelie added: "That's not normal. That's impinging on your life. The thought of her potentially turning up is very scary for me."
She added it was “creepy” that Julia Wandelt sent her messages detailing apparent memories she had from their childhood.
Read More: Read in full: Letter 'Polish Madeleine' posted through McCann's letterbox
Giving evidence remotely, Ms McCann said Facebook messages from Wandelt, 24, in January 2024 made her feel uncomfortable.
Prosecutor Nadia Silver said the messages from Wandelt, who has claimed to be the missing girl, included requests for a DNA test and alleged memories from their childhood such as playing Ring-A-Ring-A-Roses with other children.
Asked how the messages made her feel, Ms McCann said: “It makes me feel quite uncomfortable because it is quite creepy she is giving those details and trying to play with my emotions.”
Wandelt's message reportedly said that she would "do whatever to prove my identity" as her missing sister.
Ms McCann said she blocked Wandelt from viewing her profile on social media platform TikTok as a result.
She said: "I think at the time I must have blocked her on quite a few platforms. On TikTok you can see when someone is viewing your profile and it was such a regular occurrence, I felt uncomfortable about that so I definitely blocked her on that."
Ms McCann said she felt “guilty” for not listening to Wandelt’s messages, but added that she was not persuaded to ask her parents to do a DNA test.
“No, I did not find it persuasive. But it does make you feel quite guilty because she’s desperate to connect and reach out to me.
“It makes me feel guilty for not listening to her request but at the same time, I know deep down it was not Madeleine so I did not feel persuaded by her,” she told the court.
The court heard that in one message Wandelt said she was writing “with hope” that Amelie could make Kate and Gerry McCann “believe there’s still hope”, adding: “I think they gave up.”
Amelie added: “It’s clear that she thinks she’s Madeleine and she can’t understand why no one is helping her to kind of get proof or whatever and she thinks that I would have told my parents to listen to her.”
She told the jury that there was a “sound of desperation” in these messages.
The court heard that in the first message to Amelie in January 2024, Wandelt said she had “so many flashbacks”, adding: “I know so many things. I don’t know if this is the real account for Amelie McCann but I can tell you my memories.”