Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
The parents of Madeleine McCann’s alleged stalker were told in court it was “blatantly obvious” that his DNA did not match their daughter.
Julia Wandelt, 24, is accused of spreading the myth that she was Madeleine by sending emails, making phone calls, leaving voicemails and visiting their addresses to Kate McCann and her husband Gerry.
Wandelt, a Polish national from Lublin, south-west Poland, covered her face in tissue in places during her testimony, began crying, saying “I did nothing wrong” and told the court she should not be in the witness box.
Prosecutor Michael Duck Casey asked Wandelt if he still believed Mr. McCann could be his father, to which he replied: “It’s neither no nor yes.”
Mr Duck said it was “blatantly obvious” that Wandelt’s DNA profile did not match Madeleine’s.
The prosecutor asked: “Assuming that the profile is Madeleine’s, do you accept after looking at it that it has nothing to do with you?”
Wandelt said: “Assuming it’s Madeleine’s, then yes.”
Wandelt said Mrs. McCann hid things from the police investigation and the jury at her trial.
She told the jury at Leicester Crown Court on Thursday during her fourth day of giving evidence: “If my memories are wrong, why did Kate McCann hide much of her contact with me when I told her about my memories? She didn’t tell that in court.
“If I’m wrong, why did he hide the fact that most of the voicemails were about my memories?
“If I’m wrong, why did he hide this part? Why did he hide this or some relevant information.”
Mr Duck asked if she was suggesting that Mrs McCann hid information from the jury or the investigation, and she replied: “Both.”
The jury heard that Wandelt claimed he had memories of his kidnapping and living with the McCann family.
Mr. Duck asked: “Do you understand that your advances were unwanted?” And Wandelt responded: “No, because at the end of the day, this is a person who is looking out for their child so I didn’t think that this contact was not wanted.”
The prosecutor asked: “You were being ignored, weren’t you?” And Wandelt replied: “Yes, I was a person looking for my child.”
Asked why he thought they did not respond, Wandelt said: “Maybe they weren’t allowed to. I couldn’t believe, and still don’t believe, a parent of a missing child not wanting to follow a lead.”
Wandelt said: “But I wasted three and a half years of my life trying to figure out who I am… I guess I’m in the wrong place. I shouldn’t be in the witness box today.”
He said he felt the McCanns did not respond to him because he was “threatened”.
“Why am I standing here? I didn’t do anything wrong,” Wandelt cried, holding a tissue in her hand.
The court heard that Wandelt sent a message to Mrs McCann saying “You are corrupt” and “You were never meant to find Madeleine, that’s too sad”.
Talking about why she sent it, Wandelt said: “I was very sad and emotional. I just said some other things that I probably shouldn’t have said because it’s not my faith. It kind of made me feel ignored by everyone.”
“I don’t believe he’s corrupt. It was hard for me. I regret saying this part. I was emotional, it was very difficult for me to deal with it.
“It’s a human thing to react this way after being pushed away for almost two years.”
Wandelt said Karen Sprague was “verbally” aggressive towards Mrs McCann when they visited her home in December last year, adding: “Sorry Karen”.
Asked if Sprague was aggressive, Wandelt said: “I didn’t want her to have any problems. She did it verbally, out of emotions. She was just as frustrated as I was.”
The court heard that Wandelt had told Sprague not to yell at him during his conversation with Mrs McCann.
Mr Duck asked: “You thought it was intimidating for someone in Mrs McCann’s position, didn’t you?”
Wandelt replied: “Yes.”
When asked about a friend named Steven Dempster offering her money for DNA testing, Wandelt said she wanted to use it to pursue legal action in family court.
She said: “That’s why I came to the UK… then officially to compare this DNA profile with the DNA from the crime scene and then go to court, to the family court, and take legal action.”
Wandelt and his co-defendant, Sprague, 61, of Carrow Court Road in Carrow, Cardiff, both deny a single count of stalking.
The lawsuit is ongoing.